also who continuest in thine abominations Tophet is ordained of old yea Isai 30.33 for the King it is prepared he hath made it deep and large the the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a streame of brimstone doth kindle it There is elbow roome enough in hell for all the drunkards swearers Atheists in the world He hath made it deepe and large it will hold them all there is no feare of it this is the place prepared for thee Be thou a great sinner or little sinner it matters not if so be thou be an unrepenting sinner it may be thy sin is soe secret way of ū just gain it may be it is wilfull ignorance constant neglect of holy duties be it what it will be if thou be an unrepentant sinner if thou keep thy sin in thy bosome if thou hide it as a sweet morsell under thy tongue the wrath of the Lord is gone out against thee Oh how great how dreadfull is that wrath Jerem. 10. v. 10. The Lord is the true God he is the liveing God and an everlasting King at his wrath the earth shall tremble and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation Revel 6.14 15 16 17. And the heaven departed as a scrole when it is rolled together every mountain Island were moved out of their places And the Kings of the earth and the great men the rich mē the chiefe captaines the mighty men and every bond-man and every free-man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountaines And said to the mountaines and rocks 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 Thou mayest mock at the word now and despise the messengers of the Lord and make a light matter of sin hell wrath and judgment and every such thing Yea but then shalt thou cry to the rocks mountaines to fall on thee to shelter thee from the wrath of the Lord and the siercenesse of his anger The wrath of the King is as the roaring of a Lyon but what is the wrath of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when the Almighty shall strech forth his owne hand against a poore rebellious creature one that had wallowed in his filthinesse and took his swinge in his base and swinish lusts and he shall set his owne almightynesse on worke to make him miferable Oh how great must that misery bee Revelation 1.7 Behold He commeth and every eye shall see him all kindreds of the earth shal wail because of him There is a mighty emphasis lies on it it is he that commeth who is that look back at the 5. verse and you will see it is Jesus Christ the faithfull witnesse the first begotten of the dead the prince of the Kings of the earth unto whom glory and dominion is due for ever and ever Behold he commeth it is ushered in with a note of astonishment and amazement it is not a poore despised Christ it is not a carpenters sonne that now appeares he commeth not in that meane low abject way as once he did no it is the glorious Lord Jesus it is the the faithfull witnesse one that hath received publique testimony in heaven of his truth and faithfullnesse in his fathers worke it is he that was raised up by the glory of the Father whom he hath set at his owne right hand Far above all principality and powers and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come 'T is he commeth he comes not in a poore meane and abject manner no he commeth with clouds he shall come in the glory of his father and all the holy Angells with him Behold he commeth Or else we may refer this to the following verse v. 8. I am Alpha and Omega the beginning the ending saith the Lord which is which was which is to come the Almighty It is that Eternall that Almighty one Behold he comeeth So in the Epistle of Jude v. 14. Behold the Lord commeth Here we have a behold too The Lord commeth with ten-thousands of his Saints To see ten thousand Saints and thousand thousandes of Angells comming to Judgment Oh what a dreadfull sight would this bee but it is the Lord that commeth in the front and head of these they are but his followers attendants The Lord he whom thou hast hated scorned opposed all this while it is the Lord that cōmeth whose cōmands thou hast made bold withall and regarded no more then the dust under thy feet The Lord commeth to execute vengeance v. 15. who said expressely thou shouldst not be drunken riotous unjust abuse his mercies and the like this glorious mighty Lord he himselfe commeth he whom thou hast dishonoured provoked blasphemed so many yeares together and yet he let thee alone but now thou shalt pay for all he comes to execute judgement upon all and to convince all that are ungodly amongst them he will spare none high nor low rich nor poore all shall stand before the judgement seat But is that all it followes he will convince them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed Thou canst be tipsy in a corner and commit filthinesse in secret and reserve some hidden close haunts of sin which are remote from the eyes of men but thou shalt not carry it so the Lord will convince all that are ungodly among them as subtill and as cunning an hypocrite as thou art thou shalt be unmasked the Lord will lay thee open before men and Angells thy basenesse and underhand dealing thy dodging and dawbing in matters of religion shall be brought to light at that day Thou sayest as those mockers did wher is the promise of his comming What is this day of Judgment hell and wrath that ministers tell us so much off Tush these are but Bug-beares to fright little children with and Preachers are grown so proud now a daies as they will have all men come to their bowes and have an awe and reverence of them but let us not be so weak to hearken to such tales But what followeth He will convince them of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him Alas for thee poore man It is not the minister thou speakest against those thy wicked thy accursed thy hard speeches they are against him The Lord will not be mocked neither will he suffer his creatures to laugh him to scorne He will convince thee one day that sin hell and wrath are not dreames fancies and idle tales when thou hast lyen some millions of yeares in those insufferable torments and hast eternity for ever lying before thee to think what thou hast still to endure then thou wilt see whether sin be sin
great mourning there shall be a fountaine opened for sin Zach. 13.1 and for uncleannesle Mourne you must mourne greatly mourne bitterly yea but it is the fountaine that must wash away sin it must be the fountaine of the Lord Christs blood that must wash away the fowle and horrible sins of Witney Come then wash in this fountaine wash and you shall be cleane In the 16 of Numbers we read of great wrath no sooner had God executed that fearfull judgment upon Korah and his rebellious compāy but the people fell to murmering immediately v. 41. But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmered against Moses and against Aaron saying ye have killed the people of the Lord. Oh desperate and adventrous sinners that when they saw the judgment of God executed the very day before yet they fell into the same sins which they were guilty of which had been so plagued How angry is the Lord for this v 44 45. And the Lord spake unto Moses saying get you up from among this congregation that I may consume them as in a moment But what doth Moses do in this case v 46. And Moses said unto Aaron Take a censer and put fire therein from off the Alter and put on incense and go quickly unto the congregation and make an atonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun This represented the mediation of Jesus Christ Isa 53.12 who is said to make intercession for the transgressors He is that Angell in the Revelation that stands at the Alter having a golden censer and much incense given to him that he should offer it with the prayers of thee Saints chapt 8.3 Now Moses saies to Aaron go quickly or as it may be read make to go with speed that is as the Chaldee and Greeke translateth it carry quickly or in haste 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Make haste to the Lord Jesus away to him every soule of you all you that have not known what the worth of the Lord Jesus is till this houre know now how to prize him it is he that must pacify the wrath of God that is gone out against thee for thy prophanenesse and thine uncleannesse and thy neglect of the word and thine Atheisme Oh fall in love with the incomperably pretious Lord Jesus this day as soon as ever thou commest home fall upon thy knees beg thou mayest have a Christ given to thee the wrath of the Almighty is gone out against thee and will otherwise certainly consume thee There is no dealing with a sin-revenging Majesty but only in by a Mediator As for you that have interest in this pretions Name O make use of it present the righteousnesse and satisfaction of the Lord Jesus Christ unto the father It is he that must stand betweene the dead and the living some are cut off already and the wrath of the Lord is not yet appeased If you interpose not the Lord Jesus you may expect more wrath and more plagues This I commend to you as the chiefe and maine direction of all the rest it is not all thy carelesnesse and security it is not all thy sleighting and despising the judgments of God that will be able to keep off the wrath of the Lord in the end No this will bring on thee so much the more wrath and heavyer vengeance Get into the Lord Jesus hide your selves in the clefts of that rock till this indignation be over past If ever Christ be worth having now is the time You that cared not for Christ when you were at ease and when you lived in pleasure my thinkes you should long after Christ and be restlesse till you have gotten him now judgment is come upon you Oh Brethren if the Judgments of God in this world be so terrible that they are enough to abash and appale the stoutest sinners how terrible and how dreadfull will that last and great day of judgment bee If thou canst not stand before an angry God now without a Saviour without an advocate to plead thy cause when he doth but manifest a little of his displeasure and gives but a gentle touch of his finger how wilt thou stand before him without a Saviour and an advocate when he shall come with millions of Saints and Angells when the Bookes must be opened and every mans life ripped open and it shall be said There wast thou drunk in such a corner there hadst thou thy wanton dalliances upon such a bed at such a time didst thou revile at the Ministers of God and mock at his waies and the professors of them so many yeares thou livedst in the world and yet never didst study how thou mightest come to the knowledge of God or the way to life and happinesse when all this and much more shall be said and then the Lord shall not come to let in a veine of his wrath only but he will pluck up all the sluces open all the floud-gates of his wrath and vengeance when that dismall place of torment shall be set before thee where those unquencheable flames are where thou shalt heare the devills roaring the damned yelling and see all this prepared for thee how wilt thou be able to hold up thy head at such a day Make sure of Christ betimes They were the last and dying words of one who in his life time was the Jewell and Paragon of Religion and piety in the country where he lived Make sure of Christ He is better then all the gold and treasures in the world better then the Rubies or the Onyx stone Thou art eternally happy if thou get him and Eternally miserable if thou come short of him 3. The next thing that is to be studied and endeavoured after is Reformation It is Reformation that the Lord looketh after Do you think that the Lord delighteth in the death of your children that he taketh pleasure in the breaking bruising of your bones is it matter of joy to him to see the hurts and heare the dolefull complaints of your wives servants and neere relations No no God is love as you have many times heard had not your sinnes put him upon it there had not been so sad a spectacle found amongst you Put away therefore that evill thing which is in the middest of you When the children of Israel had fallen before their enemies Achan who had taken the accursed thing and been the occasion of the misery and distresse that fell upon them must be found out and stoned You have seene already some of the Achans that have troubled your peace stone them now and put them to death You have heard it was the prophanenesse the ūcleannesse the contempt of the Gospell the Atheisme and irreligion that is among you that hath caused all your trouble put away these accursed things And here let me speake more fully to you under these foure heads 1. To the looser and prophaner sort 2. To them
there them that hold such and such things In thee O Pergamos are found such monstrous and abominable Doctrines in thee are found such as maintaine thē will stand for them with thee it is that they have their seat and residence Are there not to be found in thee O Witny corrupt licentious abominable Doctrines hast thou not also them that hold them that contend for them with might maine Are there none amongst you that make a mock of sin that make sin nothing that hold there is no such thing as sin Are there none amongst you that deny the great fundamentall Doctrines which are the very hinges pillars and foundations of all religion denying the resurrection the immortality of the soule election and reprobation Heaven and hell that deny the damnation of any and maintaine the salvation of all that can take away the scriptures the whole Bible and religion it selfe all at once are there none such as these are These are sad provocations black and dismall provocations I would feigne believe some poore soules are led aside through weaknesse and simplicity and are beguiled through the subtility of that old serpent whose wiles they are ignorant of The good Lord deliver them that they perish not It s a dangerous thing to stumble at the fundamentalls of religion and godlinesse although it be through weaknesse But if there be any such who obstinately and pertinatiously maintaine such Doctrines against cleare and convincing light formerly shining on them against the truth which sometimes they owned and professed they are in a sad and fearfull case Read the Epistles of St. Peter and Jude and there you will see the ends of those men 2. Pet. 2.1 They bring upon themselves swift destruction v. 3. Their Judgment now of a long time lingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not Ep. Iude v. 4. who were before of old ordained to this condemnation If a man out of despight make a mock of Preaching sabbaths ordinances if there be any worse place in hell it is reserved for that man You see what the sinnes are which are found amongst you I have now shewen you your wounds my next work is to endeavour the healing of them and indeed that was my maine intention it was not a pleasure to me to search and lance your your soares yet that was necessary to a cure The maine exhortation pressed on you hath been an exhortation to repentance to serious to speedy repentance And that which remaines is to give more particular direction what your carriage and deportment ought to be under the present hand of God There are these foure things you ought to set before you and to have in your eye 1. The work of Humiliation 2. The work of Reconciliation 3. The work of Reformation 4. The work of Remembrance for so it may be called laying it as a solemne charge upon your selves to keep in remembrance this strange and wonderfull providence 1. The first Duty to be set upon is the work of Humiliation I do not meane you should set upon it in your own strength but take the strength of Christ with you and the strength of the spirit with you and then you may go on You have sinned greatly oh humble your selves greatly before the Lord Manasseth did so after his great sinnes 2. Chron. 33.12 And when he was in affliction he besought the Lord his God and humbled himselfe greatly before the God of his fathers Every particular soule should humble himselfe for his particular sinnes and say Good Lord what have my sinnes been that such wrath should come upon Witny in my dayes Every family should mourne and lament over the sinnes of that family Husbands should mourne apart and the Wives a part children a part and servants a part every one mourning for his owne personall sinnes and the family sinnes In the 12. Zachar. 11. we read of a great mourning a great mourning indeed as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon When was that When that good King Iosiah was slaine 2. Chron. 35.23.24.25 Oh that was a dreadfull a terrible Judgment to have such a Prince taken from them and this occasioned a great mourning the text saies all Iudah and Ierusalem mourned for Iosiah All were turned mourners then and there was no one but bare a part in these lamentations Ieremiah the Prophet he lamented for Iosiah and the singing men and the singing women spake of Iosiah in their lamentations unto this day Their singing was turned into mourning and their rejoycing into lamentation You have had a great many singing men and singing women in this place such as would goe frō doore to doore singing their songs and carolls to make themselves and others mirth Oh! it were well if your singers were turned into mourners if your harpers were turned into lamenters if insteed of al your songs carols dācings you would now come and weep together and say as Ieremiah doth Lament 3.1 How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger How hath the Lord covered poore Witney with a cloud in his anger and as it is in the 4. verse He hath bent his bow like an enemy he stood with his right hand as an adversary he powred our his fury like fire Complaine as the Church also doth in Lam. 3. with a little change in the expression We are the people that have seen affliction by the rod of his wrath v. 3. Surely against us is he turned he turneth his hand all the day v. 4. our flesh our skin hath he made old he hath broken our bones Thus I say cōe weep together every soule should weep every family should weep the whole Town should weep and indeed it were well if God would put it into your hearts to keep a day of weeping to set apart some solemne day to fast and pray and weep and humble your selves before the Lord. Say unto the Lord as it is Lam. 1 18. The Lord is righteous for we have rebelled against his commandements and as the Church bemoanes her selfe Lam 3.39 40 41 c. Wherefore doth a living man complaine a man for the punishment of his sins let us search and try our wayes and turne again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens We have transgressed and rebelled thou hast not pardoned Thou hast covered with anger and persecuted us thou hast slaine thou hast not pittied 2. Aime at Reconciliation The Lord is displeased he hath been highly provoked oh labour to get his anger removed and his wrath pacifyed Run apace to the Lord Jesus entreat him to stand betweene you and his fathers wrath go to him speedily go to him immediately before farther wrath breake forth It is not all our teares though we could poure out whole rivers of thē that can wash away one sin no no in that day 't is spoken immediately after the mention of that
be in the whole towne Away now with all your sinfull sports and merriments away with all your cards and dice singing dancing and such like vanityes Insteed of these things set up Catechizing praying in the family morning and evening and let one neighbour come to another and say come let us go to heaven together and seek the Lord together Jerem. 50 4.5 In those dayes and in that time saith the Lord the children of Israel shall come they and the children of Judah together going weeping they shall ge seek the Lord their God They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward saying come and let us joyne our selves to the Lord in a perpetuall covenant that shall not be forgotten Oh what a blessed change would this bee if young and old rich and poor husbands and wives parents and children masters and servants would all joyne together if they would come weeping together and seek the Lord if all the people in this place would set their faces towards Heaven and toward Religion and say Come let us joyne our selves in a perpetuall Covenant we will strike in with the Lord this day and we will never alter our choice more it shall be a Covenant that shall never be forgotten If you would all resolve this day Come we will goe to Zion with our faces thitherward We will go where the word is preached and where the ordinances are set up and where the worship of God is celebrated oh we will neglect the word no more we will neglect the ordinances no longer This is one of the last requests I have to leave with you oh do not neglect the opertunityes of hearing the word and comming to the Ordinances as you have done For the Lords sake you that are masters of families come your selves and bring your children and servants along with you you that have friends bring your friends with you Go weeping as they did and say oh we have neglected the word and neglected Christ and neglected salvation but we will neglect them no more Let that prophecy be fulfilled of you which was spoken Isai 2.3 And many people shall goe and say Come ye and let us goe up to the mountaine of the Load to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his wayes and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall goe forth the Law and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem Redeeme an houre in the week day to heare the word your callings will not prosper ever the worse 4 The last thing I have to propound to you by way of direction is the Duty of Remembrance Forget not the Wonderous workes which the Lord hath wrought When mercyes or Judgements are new and fresh we are apt to speak of them and to be affected with them but a little time weares them out of our minds and blots them quite out of our Remembrance Oh take heed of this Bind this sad Providence for a signe upon your hands and let it be as Frontlets between your eyes Set it down in your Almanacks and keep a Register of the Day oh this was the black and dismall day of Gods visitation on poor Witny It were good if you kept some solemne day every yeare as a remembrance of this sad and heavy stroke For as great mercyes require great and and solemne praises so do great judgments require great aed solemne humiliation They speake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day and made them an Ordinance in Israel and behold they are written in the Lamentations 2. Chron. 35.25 It seemes they had a constant remembrance of that judgment the losse of good Josiah they speak of him to this day It was a constant practise amongst them to remember that sad stroke and they had a solemne Book of Lamentations appointed to mourne for this judgment Luke 17.32 Remember Lots wife We have not many such Remembers in all the Book of God upon so speciall an occasion they may easily be all reckoned up and therefore here is some speciall thing hinted to us Here was a speciall monument of Gods judgment on a woman that was hankering after her old pleasures she had been used to the delights and contentments of Sodom and she was loath to part with these she lookt back to the Sodom of her former pleasures and contentments and whilst she is looking back she became a Pillar of salt Oh remember this saith our Saviour Remember Lots Wife There is an accent put on this You of this place have been hankering after sports and merriments you have been mightily set on these things and the Lord hath shewen his displeasure by an Eminent hand and a streched out arme Oh remember this remember the Tragicall story at the White Hart. You have heard now at large what your duty is in generall it is to fall upon the work of Repentance You have likewise been directed particularly how to carry your selves in that work and what the particular Duetyes are which are to be done by you and what the Lord expects from each of you in your severall rankes and places That which remaines is only in the close of all to adde a motive or two to that which hath been already said to presse that which is your duety on you 1. If you do not repent some worse thing will come upon you It may be the Lord may send a Fire next to consume all your houses it may be he may send the pestilence among you to devoure you or if not that a famine the Lord hath wayes enough to punish unrepentant sinners Read over that 26. of Leviticus there you will see what the Lord threatens in such a case v. 23.24 If ye will not be reformed by these things but will walk contrary unto me then will I also walk contrary unto you and will punish you yet seaven times for your sinnes v. 27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me but walk contrary unto me then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury and I even I will chastise you seaven times for your sinnes If you think to wax stout and stubborne against the Lord he will be as stout against you if you walk contrary to him he will doe so to you and if one judgment will not do it he will follow you with a second a third and if you still harden your hearts against him he will cōe against you in Fury he will summon up all his wrath and vengeance and if he be able to break and ruine you to be sure he will do it Oh it is a dreadfull word v. 17. I will set my face against you and that in the 28. verse I even I will chastise you As much as if he should say I the great God I that made heaven and earth and can turne the foundation of it upsidedown whē I please I will set my selfe against you I will engage all my