with Augustine August de Symb. l. 3. Iudex ille nec gratiâ praeuenietur nec misericordiâ flectetur nec fletibus mitigabitur This Iudge will not be preuented with fauour moued with mercy nor mitigated with teares nec sententia eius lata vnquam reuocabitur neither will the sentence once past against them euer bee reuoked any more which is the third thing that I am to speake of This sentence is the more dreadfull because it is irreuocable sentence proceeding from the Iudgement seate of mortall men may be reuoked or stopped by sundry meanes as first by appealing vnto some higher Iudge as Paul appealed vnto Caesar but at this great Assise there is no higher Iudge for he is the onely and blessed Prince the King of Kings and Lord of Lords 1. Tim. 6.15 And the Father hath committed all Iudgement vnto him Ioh. 5.27 2. The Iudge vpon better and more mature deliberation may alter his opinion but there is no alteration of Iudgement when it is once gone forth from the Throne of the Lord whose Iudgements are more resolute then the Decrees of the Medes and Persians which might not bee altered When Esau came to his father for a blessing which was formerly past to Iacob his father said I haue blessed him and hee shall be blessed Gen. 27.33 So resolute shall the Lords sentence be at the day of Iudgement I haue cursed them and they shall bee cursed and as Balaam said vnto Balak The Lord hath blessed and he cannot reuerse it Numb 23.20 So say I The Lord will not reuerse this his sentence of malediction Goe ye cursed neither will hee alter the thing that is gone out of his lippes 3. By supplication but because the wicked turned away their cares from hearing the Lord whē he entreated them by his Word it shall bee iust with God not to lend an eare when they doe call and cry vnto him there is not any of that glorious Court of Heauen that will friend them so much as to speake a word in their behalfe Should the Saints whom they euer despised accounting their life madnesse and their end to be without honour Wis 5.4 Should the Angels whose Ministry they haue refused and abused if they did should God himselfe heare them whose Spirit they haue so oftentimes grieued And therefore Iob said well There is no vmpire when God and man are at oddes Iob 9.33 Reas 6 Now the last Reason which doth aggrauate the horrour of the wicked is the punishment of losse Schol. poena damni the consideration of Heauens banishment and Hels eternall imprisonment is a sufficient torture vnto the soule of the wicked and as Chrysostome iudgeth it to bee much more bitter and irksome then the paines of Hell Duplex est damnatorum poena nam mentem vrit tristitia corpus flamma Isidorus de meditatione Ignis gehennalis yea worse then a thousand Hells if there were so many Chrysost super Mat. Hom. 33. according to our Sauiours saying There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when they shall see Abraham Isaac and Iacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdome of God and they themselues thrust out of dore Luk. 13.18 VVhere shal be Dogges and Enchanters and VVhoremongers and Murtherers and Idolaters and whosoeuer loueth or maketh lies Reuel 22.15 And not only shall they be debard of the ioyes of Heauen and glory of the Saints but they shall be depriued of all Earthly comforts and all their former delights The Pome granat tree the Palm tree the Apple tree shall wither the Apples after which their soule lusted shall depart from them and they shall finde none Yea if a drop of cold water would comfort them it shall be denied them The Epicure shall bee depriued of his daintie dishes the Drunkard of his bowles of wine the Adulterer of his wanton Mistris the Couetous and Vsurer of their gold which they made their God To conclude they shall be depriued of all Heauenly ioyes of all earthly comforts But I will begin to sing a Song of melody and proclaime a yeere of Iubile vnto the children of God Consolemini consolemini Lift vp your heads saith our Sauiour Christ for your redemption draweth neere Luke 21.28 There is a great Emphasis in the Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which doth signifie a freedome from captiuity a restoring vnto a former libertie As if our Sauiour should say The Church as lōg as she is in this world she is like Israel vnder Pharaoh held captiue in imprisonment and slauerie But now at this great Assise there shall be a gaole-deliuerie an euerlasting freedome from all euils whatsoeuer our life is wouen full of miseries Psal 90.10 Diu viuere est diu torqueri Aug. Tertul. vita carcer the best of it is but labour and griefe We are borne into the world weeping and bewailing as it were our owne ensuing miseries the progresse of our life is labor the end is griefe Ioseph was neuer wearier of the dungeon Daniel of the Den of Lions Dauid to dwel in the Tents of Kedar then the children of God are to remaine so long in the Land of Egypt in the Prison of this world and therefore it is said that they looke and long for a Citie to come whose Builder and Maker is God But then shall we be euerlastingly deliuered from all the miseries and calamities which now we are subiect vnto the soule shall be deliuered from disordred passions as hope feare ioy and sorrow the body from sundry outward calamities as sicknesse paine labour reproch from prouocations and intisements of the wicked world from the power of the deuil frō the slauery of sin from death from hell it is our marriage day when our rotten bones shall be raised out of the dust of the earth we shal be clad with glory shal meet Christ in the clouds 1. The. 4 1◠shal be euer with the Lord Where we shall haue an euerlasting Sabbath ioy vpon euery ones head sorrow sighing shal flee away Thē shal we see God face to face that with these eyes saith Iob. God shall wipe away all teares from our eyes there shall be nö more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shal there be any more paine Reuel 21.4 There shall be no more Winter nor Summer heat nor cold day nor night death nor hel But there shall be Vita sine morte Dies sine nocte securitas sine timore c. There shall be life without death day without night security without feare pleasure without paine tranquillity without labour beauty without deformity strength without weaknesse euery thing that is good without any thing that is bad To conclude Eye hath not seene nor eare heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that loue him Isa 64.4 1. Cor. 2.9 Let the faithfull soule sigh out this meditation with blessed Gregory Bone Iesu
THE GREAT DAY OR A SERMON SETTING forth the desperate estate and condition of the wicked at the day of Iudgement Preached at Saint Andrews in Holborne at London By Nathaniel Grenfeild Master of Artes and Preacher of the Word of God at Whit-feild in Oxfordshire LONDON Printed by W. Stansby for Iosias Harrison and are to be sold at the Golden Anchor in Pater-noster row 1615. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL SIR GEORGE SPEAKE Knight N. G. wisheth heartily all happinesse SIR THe Wise mans censure concerning the many Booke-makers of his time Morbus insanabilie scribendi cacoëthes Iuuenal Quod de scriptis sacris authore spiritu sanctâ—dici non potest veruÌ„ de illis quae vanitas humana exculpit quotidie Fayius Traditiones decreta Pontificum Canones generalium consiliorum quoad obsequij fidei necessitatem praesertim refelluntur mee thinks as much taxeth this Writing world of ours wherein men are almost no men vnlesse they be men in print all is but a CoÌ„mentarie vpon the Preachers words Of making many bookes there is no end Eccl. 12.12 I wish to God that there were once an end which I feare me will not bee vntill the world ends of making such books as serue to no end but to the corrupting of maners infecting the hart weakening zeale and that some good Augustus would banish them as hee did fleshly * Amatoriae Nafonis in quibus non est tutum rudem exerceri Erasmus Ouid out of our Bethel Christian England into some Bethauen into some Idolatrous Superstitious and Heathenish Nation that worship the Sunne and the Moone Castor and Pollux Rats and Mice in stead of the true God of Heauen or sent backe for Vagrants into Italy or the Stewes of Rome where like an adulterous broode they were first borne and bred or that they were all serued with the same sauce Stapleton Praefat. Moral as by Stapletons report Saint Ephraim wittily vsed two bookes of Apollinaris who finding them in a womans keeping borrowed them of her and glued the leaues so hard together as the booke could neuer after be opened For as one saith well ten Sermons at Pauls Crosse doe not so much good for moouing men to true doctrine as one of these bookes doe harme with entising men to ill liuing and that more Papists are made by the merry bookes of Italy then by the earnest bookes of Louaine so that they doe not only win the wils of the weake vnto wantonnesse but tend something to the corrupting of true religion Saint Iames reprooues very sharply those that with the same tongue blesse God curse man Iam. 3.9 why then should the same Caracters set foorth Machiauels workes and Moses writings Christ and Belial the vnchast loue of wanton Heathens and the chast and reciprocall loue of Christ and his Church But as for such bookes as haue our Sauiour for their subiect the holy Ghost for their Author Gods glory for their end that are like so many Cannons planted against the Gates of hel that tend wholly to the demolishing of Satans Kingdome vndermining the Bulwarks of Babylon but building vp the Walles of Ierusalem why should not the sound of such goe foorth into the ends of the world and when they sound foorth the end of the world To which end I haue preacht pend and through the importunitie of others contrarie to mine owne minde and meaning when I preached now imprinted this little Tract and Treatise how free I am from Salomons censure of such as print themselues let him that is wiser then Salomon bee a witnesse I am bold to fly vnto your Worship and to entreate you that you would vouchsafe to bee cald a Patron vnto it as you are to learning though farre I must confesse below your worthinesse The many testimonies of your loue from time to time toward my eldest Brother and my selfe doe challenge more at our hands then my penne can expresse or the weakenesse of our vtmost power make the least requitall A handfull of water was fitter to be powred into a Beggars dish then to be presented vnto a King yet a King accepted of it though a beggar gaue it because he gaue what he had and had no better to giue nay it is acceptable to God if we haue no greater gift to offer to cast a mite into the Lords Treasurie whereby I am induced to conceiue that you will no lesse willingly accept of this Paper gift of mine a Schollars Mite the truest testimoniall of mine intimate affections and manifestation of my duty what is wanting shall bee supplied in praying for you vnto God for your preseruation and for an encrease in all spirituall graces namely of faith which may keepe you from trembling at the day of your death and in the day of Iudgement From Whitfield Iuly the 10. Your Worships to be commanded in the Lord NATH GRENFEILD THE GREAT DAY REVEL 6.15.16.17 verse 15 And the Kings of the earth and the great men and the chiefe Captains and the mighty men and euery bondman and euery free man hid themselues in the dennes and in the rockes of mountaines verse 16 And said to the mountaines and rocks Fall on vs and hide vs from the presence of him that fitteth vpon the Throne and from the wrath of the Lambe verse 17 For the great day of his wrath is come and who can stand THis Chapter contains in it sixe parts and euery part the opening of a Seale by the Lambe and euerie seale a distinct mystery the foure first Seales being opened mention is made of foure Riders riding vpon foure horses of foure different colours a white vers 2. a red vers 4. a blacke vers 5. a pale verse 8. vnto the beholding whereof Saint Iohn was inuited The first Rider is described by two adiuncts Adiunctis Arcu Corona Effectu Fine a Bow and a Crowne was giuen vnto him vers 2. Secondly by the effect conquering Thirdly by the end to conquer vers 2. The second Seale being opened the second Rider which Saint Iohn was willed for to come and see is described Potestate Instrumento first by his power power was giuen vnto him c. vers 4. Secondly by an instrument there was giuen vnto him a great sword The third Rider is described by a paire of Ballances he that sate on this horse had a paire of Ballances in his hand vers 5. the mystery whereof is vnfolded by a sounding voice vers 6. The fourth Seale being opened there came foorth a Rider vpon a pale horse and the Rider is described first by his name death Secondly by a companion hell followed with him and both are described by their power power was giuen vnto them c. vers 8. The interpretation of these foure horses is as mysticall as Nebuchadnezzars dreame and may very well beare the selfe same interpretation which Daniel gaue of that great Image whose head was of gold brest and armes of siluer belly and thighes of brasse
Sonne of God the Sauiour of the world the Redeemer of Israel For the great day of his wrath is come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iude 6. the great day where we may note the vniuersality of it all the dayes of iudgement going before were but types and figures but Epitomes and compends of that day that great day that is to come the drowning of the old world was a great day the burning of Sodome and Gomorrah a great day the ransacking of Ierusalem a great day yet all these together will not expresse and shew forth the least part of that dreadfully incomparable great day that is to come And who can stand It is a Metaphor drawne from those that whiles some eminent danger hangeth ouer their heads cannot looke vp but speedily they flie away vntill they are out of breath their spirits spent so they fall groueling to the ground so saith our Sauiour Christ mens hearts shall faile them for feare and for looking after those things that shall come to the world Luke 21.16 The cause of this their flying is not only the fearefull apparitions of heauen as presages and prognostications of their dismall doome but Erynnis conscientiae as Melancthon cals it the sting of conscience like a fiend of hell dogs and driues them for the wicked flie when none pursueth them Pro. 28.1 They therefore are said to stand that are not terrified appaled which are not cast downe neither in body nor minde but doe confidently expect and wait their Masters comming therefore it was our Sauiours counsaile vnto his Disciples and in them vnto his whole Church hauing forewarned them that he would come vpon them at a time that they wote not of as trauell vpon a woman as a thiefe in the night he doth fore-arme them too by willing them to be frequent in watching feruent in prayer Watch therefore pray continually that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and that you may bee able to stand before the Sonne of man Luke 21.36 Thus hauing Analysed the whole Chapter diuided my Text and expounded the wordes I draw forth this generall doctrine and it flowes naturall of its owne accord without any violent strayning or iniury vnto the Text this is the doctrine 1. Doct. that the state and condition of the wicked is full of horror at the day of iudgement This is proued by phrases of Scripture First It is called the Lords day the day of the Lord intimating thereby that as the wicked haue had their day the terme of their life wherein they dare as boldly to commit sinne as if they should neuer come to iudgement and as the Prophet Amos speaketh putting farre off the euill day and approching to the seat of iniquity Amos 6.3 so likewise the Lord will haue his day and these are the dayes of vengeance saith our Sauiour Christ Luke 21. v. 22. wherein the Lord will execute the seuerity of his wrath vpon sinne and sinners Secondly it is called the day of wrath now the wrath of a King is the messenger of death how much more the wrath of the Lord of Hosts the breath of whose nostrils kindleth that euerlastingly burning Tophet and his wrath abideth for euer vpon the children of disobedience in that burning Lake of hell fire for they that haue iustly prouoked the Lord vnto wrath in this their life time by fornication by vncleannesse by inordinate affection by euill concupiscence by couetousnesse which is Idolatry by wrath by anger by maliciousnesse by cursed and filthy speaking Colos 3.5.8 shall be sure to finde the recompence and their reward wrath for wrath the very fruit of their owne fruitlesse works for for these things sake the wrath of God commeth vpon the children of disobedience Colos 3.6 temporally by manifest iudgements of his wrath and eternally in hell where his wrath abideth for euer and for euer in that dungeon of Dogs that is among the wicked whose estate is worse then a Dogs as namely Inchanters Whoremongers Murtherers Idolaters and whosoeuer loueth or maketh lyes Reuel 22.15 Thirdly our Sauiour Christ speaking of that day saith that it should come vpon the world as trauell vpon a woman with child which is not onely to be vnderstood of the vncertainty of it when it will come yet as sure will it come as trauell vpon a woman with child but the similitude holds true in another sense that as a woman with child drawing neere to her trauell is in sorrow and cryeth in her paines Isay 26.17 a punishment peculiar to that sex by reason of our first Parents transgression Gen. 3.16 she doth oftentimes send foorth bitter sighes and sobbes grieuous grones lamentable cryes vncertayne whether her issue will bee a Beniamin the sonne of her right hand or a Benoni the sonne of her sorrow death yet still doth shee lift vp her eyes vnto the Hils from whence commeth her helpe so the wicked shall lift vp their eyes vnto the Hils for they shall cry vnto the Hils for helpe vnto the Mountaynes for succour and vnto the Rocks for safety yet they shall receiue none from neither Me thinkes I heare not onely Ieroms Trumpet sounding in mine * Surgite mortui venite ad iudicium eares but a horrible howling of a promiscuous multitude a greater mourning weeping and lamentation was neuer heard in Rama Matt. 2.18 Parents weeping for their children children for their parents the husband for the wife the wife for the husband yet can they not helpe one another but as they haue beene companions in sin so shal they be cōpanions in torments and such torments that are matchlesse farre beyond the paynes of women for her paynes end either with a happy birth or with as happy a buriall for better is the day of death then the day wherein we are borne but the paines of the wicked are endles easelesse remedilesse and as they haue conceiued iniquity so shall they receiue the fruit thereof Fourthly S. Iohn describing the miserable estate condition of the Church vnder Antichrist doth very liuely set forth the desperate estate and cōdition of the wicked at the day of iudgemēt they shall seeke for death in those dayes and shall not finde it they shall desire to dye and death shall flye from them Reuel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist l. 3. Ethic. 9.6 Death according to the Philosopher is of all terribles the most terrible and vnto the naturall man it is euen death to remember death yet full glad would the wicked bee if they might returne to their graue againe neuer heare and feele that dreadfull doome of diuine iustice denounced and inflicted vpon them at that last euerlasting iudgement in Hell Gregor Moral Vbi erit miseris mors sine morte finis sine fine defectus sine defectu quia mors ibi semper incipit deficere nescit where the wicked shal be
euer burning and yet neuer consume euer dying and yet neuer dead for there is death without a death an end without an end because death alwayes begins and knowes not how to end If Death be acceptable vnto the aged whose strength faileth and are vexed with all kinde of euill things Eccles 41. vers 2. and are depriued of all kinde of good belonging vnto a naturall life as of Seeing Hearing Tasting Smelling Feeling how much more welcome would Death bee vnto the wicked at that dreadfull day of iudgement whē they are banished out of the society of Saints excluded out of heauen sent packing to hell where their sight shall bee afflicted with vncomfortable darknesse and vgly Deuils their smelling with noisome stinks their taste with rauenous hunger and bitternesse of gall their hearing with hideous and horrible cryes their feeling with intolerable fire yet notwithstanding death shall bee far from them Hell must be their habitation the Deuils their companions and they must embrace flames of fire in their armes for their inheritance 5. The Prophet Malachie in his fourth Chapter vers 1. prophecying of the terrible day of the Lords comming compares and likens it to an Ouen Behold the day commeth that shall burne as an Ouen and all the proud yea and all that doe wickedly shall be stubble and the day that commeth shall burne them vp so that there shall not bee left neither roote nor branch The Ouen whereinto the three Children were cast was exceeding fearefull being made seuen times more hotte then it was wont to bee and yet not an haire of their head was burnt nor their coates changed nor any smell of fire came vpon them Dan. 3.27 But how dreadfull shall this fornace of hell be being so infinitely hotter then that was Our Sauiour Christ calls it a fornace of fire Mat. 13.42.50 S. Iohn the Diuine a lake of fire and brimstone Reuel 21.8 The Apostle to the Hebrewes a deuouring fire Heb. 10.27 an vnquenchable fire Matth. 3.12 wherein all vnbeleeuers and the abominable and murtherers and whoremongers and sorcerers and all lyars the proud and all that doe wickedly shall be fuell for they shal be bound in sheaues and bundles saith our Sauiour Christ Matth. 13.30 The Adulterer and the Adulteresse in one bundle the Drunkard and the Glutton in another bundle the Couetous and Extortioner in another bundle the Vsurer and the Oppressor in another bundle the Swearer and the false Swearer in another bundle the Contemners of God and Breakers of his Sabbaths in another bundle and shall bee cast as faggots and fire-brands into this Ouen into this fornace into this lake of brimstone into this deuouring and vnquenchable fire vbi nec tortores deficient nec torti miseri morientur where their torments shall neuer cease but there shal be torments alwaies for the body and body alwaies for the torments world without end 6. Our Sauiour Christ setting forth the desperate estate and condition of of the wicked at that day saith Anxietas gentium in consilij inopia Bez. vsque ad desperationem Ierom. that there shall be distresse of nations with perplexitie Luke 21. the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly belongs vnto captiues and prisoners that are so shut vp in dungeons or close prisoners and brought vnto such a doubtfull and narrow strait that there is no meanes possible for them to get out Regiomentaenus in Brussia or alluding vnto some kind of prisons wherein the partie imprisoned is in such a perplexitie that he can neither sit stand vpright nor lye vpon the ground such is the estate of the wicked at that day they are in such a strait in such a perplexitie euen vnto desperation that they see no meanes possible to escape the hand of God If they looke vpward there is Index iratus Greg. an angry Iudge if they looke downeward there is horrendum inferni chaos the horrible wide gaping mouth of hell if they looke on the one side of them there are peccata accusantia their sinnes accusing them if they looke on the other side of them there are infinita daemonia ad supplicium trahentia Anselm a Legion of deuils ready to draw them to execution if they looke without them there is mundus ardens a world of fire burning round about them ready to deuoure them if they looke within them there is conscientia vrens a griping conscience the worme that neuer dieth Latere erit impossibile to lye hid it wil be impossible apparere erit intolerabile to goe forward 't will be intolerable No maruell therefore though at the worlds end men bee at their wits end Luke 21.26 Hinc illae lachrimae hence arise Esaus teares to no end nor purpose Hinc eiulatuum angustiae hence ariseth a horrible howling when all the wicked shall be gathered together as prisoners in the pit and shal be shut vp inprison Isaiah 23 22. to be arraigned at the barre of Gods tribunall and to receiue according to those things which they haue done in the flesh 2. Cor. 5.10 Then tribulation and anguish nay desperation shal be vpon the soule of euery one that doth euil Rom. 2.9 then shall the wicked not bee able to stand because they haue walked in the counsell of the wicked and stood too long in the way of sinners Psa 1.1 They cannot sit because they haue been too long sit fast in sin and Moablike haue weltred in the dregges of their owne impieties or as the Psalmist speaketh haue sit too long in the seate of the scornefull They cannot lye along vpon the ground because they haue had a sufficient portion of rest already they haue liued at case all their life long and done nothing but stretch themselues vpon their beds of downe spent their daies in chambering and wantonnes taking thought for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof and like the Israelites sit downe to eate and drinke and so rise vp to play but now their ioy shall be turned into heauinesse their mirth into mourning their singing into sighing their case and rest into caselesse paines and restlesse torments for the wicked shall be turned into hell and so shal al they that doe forget God If wee looke backe againe vnto the Text the Parent of my doctrine wee shall finde that it will yeeld much strength to the confirmation of this truth then shall the Kings of the earth and great men and rich men c. They that in their life time haue beene able to controle whole Kingdoms with their countenance and chase before them millions of men shal be compeld to seeke such weak shelters such bootlesse refuges as to hide themselues in dennes creepe into the craggie rockes and hollow vaults of the earth as though that the infinitely-discerning eye of Almighty God could not finde them out though they could goe downe into the very depth of the sea or center of the earth whither can they goe or clime
wicked Infidels shall be iudged the one being cleared the other condemned in their owne conscience Ambrose thinketh that the righteous only shall come into Iudgement quia festinant innoxij adiudicium the righteous they do hasten to Iudgement and long to heare that cōfortable sentence pronounced Come yee blessed of my Father c. But the places may better be reconciled thus there is a twofold Iudgement a Iudgement of absolution and a Iudgement of condemnation The wicked shall not stand in that Iudgement which the righteous shall receiue as namely to bee quitted and absolued The latter part of the verse thus expounding the former nor the sinners in the assembly of the righteous and the righteous shall not come into Iudgement that is shall not bee condemned with the wicked for they shall both be iudged apart the one at the right hand Mat. 25.34.41 Non iudicabitur .i. no◠condemnabitur Irenaeus the other at the left hand of Christ and shall receiue a farre different doome as farre as a curse differs from a blessing hell from heauen so that the Texts alleaged are thus to bee reconciled The righteous shall not come into Iudgement that is into condemnation the wicked shall not stand in Iudgement that is they shall be conuinced in their owne conscience of the iust sentence and deserued condemnation that they shall not be able to gaine say or contradict Now the strictnesse of their account will appeare if wee consider how many things they shall bee call'd vnto an account for First De cogitationibus of the thoughts of our heartes though neuer so secretly contriued though neuer vttered by the tongue though neuer acted by the hand yet if there be a deliberate consent and free approbation of the will and affections and a full resolution to put the same in practice if we had place and fit opportunitie I say this sinne of thought shall not goe for nought at the day of Iudgement else why should the Lord take notice of all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart Genes 6.5 why should the Lord desire so much the heart My sonne giue mee thy heart but because it is the roote and fountaine either of good or euill If it be the storehouse of good things and Treasurie of diuine meditations it is a Temple meete for God to dwell in but if it bee a cage of vncleane birds of euill thoughts it is already possessed with so many deuils If the euil thoughts of the heart were not sinnes and so by a consequent come to Iudgement Why should the Lord stile himselfe the searcher of the heart and trier of the reines were it not so punish according to the saying of the Wise man There shall inquisition be made for the thoughts of the vngodly there shall not a wicked thought passe in Iudgement Wis 1.9 If adultery be a sinne and lusting after a woman though it breakes not out into act be adulterie Matth. 5.28 And no adulterer shall enter into the Kingdome of Heauen 1. Cor. 6.9.10 then are the thoughts of the heart sinne and so by a consequent they shall come to Iudgement and shall preuaile in Iudgement If manslaughter be a sinne as indeede it is a crying sinne 1. Ioh. 4.15 and if he that hateth his brother be a manslayer and no man-slayer shall inherit the Kingdome of Heauen Reuel 21.8 then are the thoughts of the heart sinne and they shall bee brought foorth to the condemnation of the wicked at the day of Iudgement Hence is it that our Sauiour Christ so sharpely inueigheth against the Scribes and Pharises who stood so much vpon their owne righteousnesse in fulfilling the Law thinking that if they did not violate the Law in act by killing or committing adultery or by any other actuall transgression contrary to the Law of God that they had performed the Law to a haires bredth But our Sauiour reproouing them and their righteousnesse which they did so much extol that they should not enter into the Kingdome of Heauen notwithstanding this their righteousnesse sheweth that there was a stricter course required in performing the Law for whosoeuer is angry with his brother vnaduisedly shall bee culpable of iudgement Matth. 5.22 The Law condemneth euery inclination to be euill and the heart doth kill as well as the hand in will in wish in desire the heart committeth adultery the heart doth steale as well or rather ill as the outward members For if we consent to those wicked motions suggested by Satan though wee neuer performe them outwardly in act yet before God wee haue done the sinne and if the thought bee truly sinne farre greater is that sinne of act Yea the sinne of thought is not onely a sinne but is the very originall the fountaine and roote from whence all other sinnes do spring and therefore saith our Sauiour Christ That which goeth into the man defileth not the man but those things which come forth from the hart as euil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false witnesses blasphemies these defile the man Mat. 15.19 So that there is not a sinne of what nature soeuer great or small from the least infirmitie to the highest blasphemie but it had its first beginning from the heart thought is the seede of all sins and though but a spark at the first yet wil it encrease into a flame if it be not repressed For this is sins gradation first Hall Meditat there is presented a fit obiect from the obiect is raised an il suggestion suggestion brings on delight delight consent consent endeuour endeuour practice practice custome custome excuse excuse defence defence obstinacie obstinacy boasting of sinne and boasting of sinne a reprobate sense when the custome of sinne hath taken away the sense of sinne and miserable man is sold as a bondslaue vnto Satan to commit wickednes euen with greedines And therefore Salomons counsel in this kind is very worthy to be embraced Keepe thine heart with all diligence for thereout commeth life If thou keepest it not diligently and warily thereout will proceed death Prouerbs 4.23 As Christs aduice vnto the Church is that the little * Heresies Foxes be taken and bee kild whilest they are but Cubs not that they can doe much harme but if they liue vntill they bee Foxes they will spoile kill and make a prey of any thing whatsoeuer euen so the thoughts of the heart at the first may seeme to be but small sinnes but if they bee not slaine at the first and smothered as soone as they be conceiued they will breake forth into actuall transgressions and so lade the soule with sinne kill therfore these Cockatrices in the egge slay them whilest they be but Cubs Oh happie is he that taketh these young children and dasheth their braines against the stones and so much the rather because they are sinnes and shall come to Iudgement for the Lord shall iudge the secrets of men Rom. 2.16 Secondly Inquisition shall not
we haue kept them how wee haue spent them whether we haue gained our goods through others hurt building our houses like the Moth Iob 27. vers 12. The Moth is made fatte by spoyling the booke and barkes wherein they liue so the couetous is made rich in deuouring the poore Of which sort are these Vsurers Extortioners Cheaters Brokers and all couetous Ahabs whatsoeuer that ioyne house to house land to land vntil there be no place for the poore to dwell in For great men must render great account when that great Land-Lord comes to reckon with them and biddes them giue an account of their steward-ship for they may be no longer stewards Secondly we shall giue an account how wee haue kept them Indeed wee are but keepers of our wealth though wee had the world at will Amb. l. de Nab. c. 14. Custos es tuarum non Dominus facultatum Thou art but a keeper thou art not Lord ouer thy goods and substance Chrys Deus enim diuitiarum suarum dispensatores esse voluit non Dominos God will haue vs dispensers and disposers of our goods vnto the good of others and not to bee Lords ouer them our selues and therfore they be goods Non quod faciunt bonum sed vnde facias bonum not that they make a man good but because a man by them may doe good imploying them to the glory of God the good of his neighbour and his owne comfort First vnto God laying out temporall things for spirituall comforts in maintaining the Preachers in defending the Gospell in repayring his Temples Secondly thou must lay them out vpon thy neighbor making friends of thine vnrighteous Mammon as thy Master commands thee Luk. 16. v. 9. Stips pauperum thesaurus inopum was the word of the good Emperour Constantius The rich mans treasure is the poore mans stock so that he that denies them what they stand in need of denies them their due of which sort Saint Iames speaks of that haue their presses full of garments and their chests full of coyne but their gold and siluer is cankered their garments motheaten whiles Christ himselfe in the person of a begger stands at their doore with an empty belly and a naked backe crying for a morsell of bread to put in their belly or some old cast garmēt to couer their nakednesse and yet they are sent away as comfortlesse and as empty-handed as euer they came thither No maruell therefore though Saint Iames so sharply inueigheth against rich men against such kinde of keepers of their goods Goe to now ye rich men weep and howle for the miseries that shall come vpon you your riches are corrupted and your garments motheaten your gold and siluer is cankered and the rust of them shall be a witnesse against you and shall eate vp your flesh as it were fire ye haue heaped vp treasure against the last dayes Iames 5. v. 1.2.3 Thirdly he shall giue an account how hee hath spent them whether vpon workes of superstition to the dishonour of God or in the vnnecessary quarrels of the Law to the hinderance of his neighbour or in spending of them vpon Whores and Harlots vntill pox and penury bee his end or in surfetting and drunkennesse to the ruinating of his estate danger of soule hurt of body losse of credite griefe of friends vndoing of his children 1. Tim. 5.8 and such a one is worse then an Infidell To conclude therfore this point euery man must giue his account vnto God the King as wel as the Subiects the Prince as well as the People Ministers and Magistrates Parents and children Masters and seruants rich and poore good and bad and euery transgression from the highest blasphemy to the least infirmity must be brought to a strict tryall at the Day of Iudgement Which is the third reason aggrauating the fearefull estate and condition of the wicked at the Day of Iudgement The fourth reason why the estate and condition of the wicked is so full of horror at the Day of Iudgement is by reason of the multitude of witnesses and accusers which shall come forth to witnesse accuse and condemne them at that Day As first of all GOD himselfe aboue them which knoweth and sealeth vp their sinnes as it were in a bag Iob 14.17 And therfore saith Iob in a case of controuersie that could not bee decided My witnesse is in heauen So Samuel declaring to the people his integrity how vprightly he had conuerst amongst them hee takes the Lord to be a witnesse betwixt him and the people 1. Sam. 12. v. 5. Whereby we may see how fearefull a thing it is thus to dally with our all-seeing and all-knowing God as to call his sacred Maiesty to be a witnes in matters of vntruth cōtrary to our own knowledge and the testimony of our owne conscience For assuredly the Lord will bee a witnesse a swift witnesse they are the words of his owne mouth I will be a swift witnesse against the Sorcerers against the Adulterers against false swearers against those that oppresse the hireling in his wages the widdow and the fatherlesse and that turne aside the stranger from his right and feare not me saith the Lord of hostes Mal. 3. v. 5. The second sort of accusers are the Deuils the whole rabble of that infernal Kingdome the common sworne aduersaries to all mankind and if they dare to accuse the brethren the Saints and seruants of God as hee did that perfect and vpright man of God holy Iob. Assuredly this will bee his practice at that day he wil bring forth a most exact bill of all our sinnes committed all our life long Presto erit saith Augustine Diabolus ante tribunall Christi recitabit verba professtonis nostrae obijciet nobis in faciem omnia quae fecimus in quo die in quo loco peccauimus quae facere debuimus The Deuil wil be ready before the Tribunall of Christ and will recite the words of what wee haue made profession of and obiect our owne sinnes to our faces in what day and at what place wee did commit them and all other circumstances howsoeuer wee now cast them behind our backes then will hee bring them forth before our faces It behooues vs therfore to be watchful ouer our owne wayes considering the Deuil watcheth ouer vs so that hee wil not let passe any one of our sinnes vnregistred but will bring them forth to the confusion of the wicked yea if it were possible of the Saints at the day of Iudgement The third sort of accusers are the Angels beside them I wil not here maintaine Origens opinion who saith Vnusquisque Angelorum aderit producens illos quibus praefuit qui testimonium prohibebit quot annis circa eum laborauit ad bonum instigando sed monita eius spreuit That as euery man hath his particular Angel attending on him prouoking him to good protecting him from euill euery mans particular Angell shal
the silent night onely is guiltie of these vnchast actions and secret chambers are only priuie vnto these works of darkenesse this sin is more suspected then knowne and yet knowne too well to be too too generall Drunkennesse may be the third head of this monstrous Hel-hound and Cerberus of sinne how generall is this shamelesse swinish idle base beastly sinne growne It was once but one mans sinne and of infirmity too as not knowing the vertue of the grape Chrysost nor the qualitie of that liquor and long since it hath beene scorned as the beggers fault Hence came the Prouerbe As drunke as the Begger But now adayes it is reputed not only the Seruingmans complement but the Gentlemans grace Seneca spake wel of these times Habebitur aliquando abrietati honor plurimum caepisse vini virtus erit The time shall come that honour shall be attributed to drunkennesse and to drinke much wine shall bee accounted vertue and valour How many now adaies draw their whole Patrimonie thorow their throate making a practice almost a profession of drunkennesse rising vp earely to follow strong drinke and so continue vntill night till wine enflame them Isaiah 5.11 And as the Wise man speaks tarrie long at the wine Prou. 23.29 Our Tauernes our Innes and Alehouses were they well lookt into by the Magistrate would yeeld too many of such kind of stayers by who vnder pretence of drinking a pot or two fill their braines ere they go away and emptie their purse I will not insist any longer in discoring Satans kingdom From the generalitie of these sins we may conclude an vniuersalitie of all the rest What sin is there but is growne as generall as euer the Plague was in any citie or countrie like Naamans leprosie it hath ouerspred the whole body From the sole of the foote to the crowne of the head there is no soundnes but wounds swellings putrifying sores Isa 1.6 Sin is growne vnto such an height and to such a head that it is safer for a man to commit sin then to reproue it and hee that refraineth his foote and runneth not into the same excesse of riot shall be a prey a scorne a by word a derision a laughing stocke Behold the regions are white vnto haruest sinne is ripe euen to the full growth and therefore assuredly it will not be long ere the Lord sends foorth his Labourers those winged executioners of his wrath with sickles in their hands to gather the wicked into bundles that they may be cast into hell It is the Lords gracious and mercifull dispensation to prorogue a while the tearme of his comming because wee should haue a little more time to repent in and so be left without lesse excuse Let vs then vse the Lords patience as a spurre and prouocation vnto repentance so saith the blessed Apostle prophesying of the Atheists of our time who doe not sticke to say VVhere is the promise of his comming Sheweth what vse they should make of the seeming slacknes of his comming his long suffering is an argument that the Lord is not willing that any should perish but that al should come to repentāce 2. Pe. 3.9 And thus mercifully the Lord dealt with the old world after hee had threatned their destruction hee gaue thē one hundred and twenty yeeres to repent in Gen. 6.3 Put not then off farre from thee the euill day if the Lord seemes slack it is because thou shouldest flye speedily with Lot vnto Zoar that is accelerate thy repentance Almighty God hath already whet his sword and bent his bow and made it ready how soeuer he may seeme slack yet he may easily come before thou art ready if hee doth come thou being vnprepared and vnprouided assuredly he will pay thee home for thus abusing his patience The Heathen writer could say thus much Valer. Max. Deum grauitate supplicij compensare tarditatem puniendi the greatnesse of his punishment shall recompence the slacknesse of his comming when he doth come when Deus dies vltionum conuenerint when the God of vengeance and the day of vengeance shall meet together thou shalt bee payed home for altogether I will conclude with that questioned Authour to the Hebrewes Yet a very little while and he that shall come wil come and will not tarry Heb. 10.37 The last vse shall bee an exhortation to repentance and that betime while wee haue time Walke saith our Sauiour Christ in the day Iohn 11. v. 9. that is in thy life which is but a moment a spanne of time The night commeth wherein no man can worke Iohn 9. v. 4. that is the night of thy death which is the conclusion of the day of thy life and then there is no more time to worke out our saluation For an Angell hath sworne from heauen by him that liueth for euermore that time shall be no more Apoc. 10.6 that is after this acceptable time no more time for repentance no more daies of saluation The Apostle wils vs to doe good while we haue time intimating therby that after this time Cypr. there is no more time Vitae aut hic amittitur aut tenetur cùm isthinc excessum fuerit nullus poenitentiae locus nullus satisfactionis effectus Life here is either got or lost for when we goe out of the body there is no place for repentance no effect of satisfaction if we haue sinned to day and haue not repented it may be wee shall haue leaue of the Lords patience to learne it better another day but after the transmigration of the soule from the body there remaines nothing else but a fearfull looking for of iudgement It stands vs therefore vpon the saluation of our soule to looke before wee leape to be certaine that wee haue one foote vpon the border of Canaan before wee leaue our earthly tabernacle Let vs make our election sure vnto vs by true and speedy repentance and seale vp this comfortable conclusion to our soules that our sinnes are pardoned in the bloud of Christ Suppose that the generall day of Iudgement were farre off and that this day of saluation were to shine vpon this Land still on to the worlds end yet what is that to thee or mee the day of grace endeth to thee and mee at the day of our death after that the Lord shall neuer offer mercy vnto vs. It is the gracious and merciful dispensation of almighty God who when hee may iustly cut thee off as thou art committing of sinne and throwe thee downe to hell yet hee giues thee space and time to repent of this thy sinning and so thy sinnes may bee done away Thus our Sauiour speaking of that woman Iezabel for so the holy Ghost points her out by the finger as it were in contempt saith That hee gaue her space to repent of her fornication and shee repented not Reuel 2.21 Meaning hee did let her liue to repent whereas if hee had cut her off before hee had taken
from her the time of repentance Thus after he had threatned a Deluge and destruction vnto the old world hee gaue them many yeeres to repent before hee washt them away with the waters of his wrath He gaue Sodom Gomorrah two sinfull Cities hee gaue them a time to repent Niniue had a time Ierusalem had a time two and fortie yeeres after the passion of Christ the Figge Tree had a time Chrys obseruat the foolish fiue Virgins had a time when they might haue entred nay God giues a time and lends a long space vnto the most prophane to make them the more inexcusable Cursed Cain prophane Esau desperate Iudas they had all a time This gracious proceeding doth the Lord obserue and keepe and will vnto the worlds end hee giues vnto some of vs twenty yeeres vnto some thirty vnto some forty vnto some fifty euen vntill gray-headed Age the blossome of the graue Hec momentum vnde depēdet aeternitas Aug. bids vs prepare our winding sheete And if in all this time which in all is but a spanne a moment a small scantling wee let it slippe vntill our glasse bee all runne out and the thred of our life cleane cut off then are wee left without excuse and our end is damnation The children of this world are wise in their generation they take their time and opportunity The Marchant buyeth while the Mart lasteth the Souldier fighteth while the battell indureth the Husband-man soweth while it is winter reapeth when it is summer That faithfull measurer of time heauens great Ornamēt obserueth his rising and setting The Sunne the Moone and Starres keepe their constant reuolution according to the will of their Maker in the first Creation The Storke the Turtle and the Crane know their appointed time Ierem. 8.7 But man neglects his time and lets it steale away one day after another vntill the day of grace bee closed vpon him Wee are called vpon to repent in the dayes of our youth before sin is habituated custome of sinning hath taken away the sense of sinne Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth Eccles 12.1 But men for the most part refuse to repent vntill they be old and so by a iust iudgement of God they goe downe to the graue hauing their bones full of the sinnes of their youth for how almost is it possible that we should repent truely when wee be old repentance is so hard and difficult a thing a heauy burthen a difficult duty Age of it selfe is a burthen a sicknesse a languishing disease the Sergeants and Officers of Death haue arrested euery limbe haue taken vp the whole body as an habitation of death One crieth with the Shunamites child Non vita longa sed longa aegritudo Alas my head alas my head another with with Antiochus My belly my belly the third with Asa Shaking Palsie My feet my feete this mans limbs tremble as a reed shaken with the winde another mans limbes are like the dead boughes of a dying barke Dead Palsie one laboureth in one disease another in another one in the chollicke another in the stone this mans eyes begin to waxe dimme his eares deafe his wind-pipes euen stopt vp with flegme his teeth falling out of his head his hands possest with the palsie his legges not able to beare vp his body his knees strike one against another his backe not able to beare the waight of a Grashopper and when man is brought vnto such an exigent that hee cannot put off or put on his owne clothes how shall he put off sins and put on newnesse of life Surely I see not how he can repent vnlesse hee repents that he hath liued too long and therfore they wish for welcome death when little doe they well consider that death is the dissolution of a miserable life but a passage to a worse a gate an entrance to hell if they dye vnrepentant Augustine his counsell in this case is very heauenly and very worthy to be embraced Lib. de Vtilitat poen agend Age poenitentiam dum sanus es si sic agis dico tibi quod securus es quia poenitentiam egisti eo tempore quo peccare potuisti si vis agere poenitentiam quando iam peccare non potes peccata te dimiserunt non tu illa Repent while thou art in good health if thou dost so I tell thee thou art safe because thou repētedst whē thou couldst haue sinned if thou dost repent when by reason of the weakenesse of thy body thou art not able to performe the workes of darknesse sinne hath left to saue mee Acts 3.19 Repent therefore that thy sinnes may bee done away when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of God and that with all speede Pharaoh bad Moses pray for him to morrow but doe thou repent to day thou knowest not whether thou shalt liue vntil to morrow thy life is but a flower flourishing to day fading to morrow but a bubble soone blowne vp soone blowne out thou maist dine in all thy royalty with Balthasar carouse in golden bowles yet ere thy dinner be ended such is the vncertainty of our fleeting life thy soule may bee diuorced from thy body and thy body fit for no company but the wormes It is not to morrow that God requireth but to day To day if you wil heare my voice Heb. 3.15 Remember that there will be a day when there will be iudgemēt without mercy when if thou neglectst this day of saluation this acceptable season thou shalt bee cast to Hell and there shalt lye in misery howling and crying out O miserable wretch that I am what did I meane that I did not confesse my sins repent and turne to God when I was vpon earth now I see others partakers of heauenly ioyes and I thrust out and cast into these miserable torments where thou shalt bee inforced to say O how iust are Gods iudgements I was spoken vnto but I would not heare I was instructed out of Moses and the Prophets and intreated by the Ministers of Christ to repent but I stopped mine eares against their admonitions How doe I iustly feele that which nothing could make me feare Let vs not therfore neglect this opportunity this space which is our life time a time which God in mercy hath allotted vnto vs to repent in after this time repentance will neuer be preached any more nor sinnes pardoned Nazian Hic namque peccatorum remissio vbi peccatorum commissio hic nobis prompt a medela est post autem clausa est omnis medicinae falutis For sinnes are remitted here where as they were committed Heere onely haue wee the Balme of Gilead to cure the wounds of a sinfull soule but hereafter all medicines of saluation shall bee lockt from vs and we from them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil Basil This present time in which wee liue is the time of repentance and remission of sinnes Frustra sibi homo post hoc corpus promittit quod in hoc corpore comparare neglexit Augustine August And therefore in vaine doth man promise vnto himselfe that after this life which he doth neglect to obtain this life This is our day the next is the Lords day wherein he wil come to iudge euery man according to his wayes as the Tree groweth so it falleth and as it falleth so it lyeth as men liue so they die and as they die so they come to Iudgement In what sinnes sosoeuer wee dye vnrepented of in the same shall wee bee iudged and condemned Let vs learne therefore in our growth to grow the right way let vs looke toward Ierusalem growe toward heauen that is let vs liue wel that wee may dye well so that at the worlds generall Iudgement at the resurrection of the iust wee may meet our Sauiour in the ayre and be euer with him Amen Come Lord Iesus come quickely FINIS