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A62603 A sermon preach'd before the Queen at White-Hall, March the 7th, 1689/90 by John Tillotson ... Tillotson, John, 1630-1694. 1690 (1690) Wing T1240; ESTC R9502 13,884 38

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Dr. TILLOTSON's SERMON Before the QUEEN March the 7th 1689 90. A SERMON Preach'd before the QUEEN AT WHITE-HALL March the 7th 1689 90. By JOHN TILLOTSON D. D. Dean of St. Paul's And Clerk of the Closet to His Majesty Published by Their Majesties Special Command LONDON Printed for Brabazon Aylmer at the Three Pigeons against the Royal Exchange in Cornhil Will. Rogers at the Sun over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street and John Tillotson Bookseller in London M DC XC A SERMON Preached at White-Hall MATTH 25. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the Righteous into life eternal AMong all the arguments to Repentance and a good Life those have the greatest force and power upon the minds of men which are fetch'd from another World and from the final state of good and bad men after this Life And this our Saviour represents to us in a most lively manner in that prospect which in the later part of this Chapter he gives us of the Judgment of the great Day namely that at the end of the World the Son of Man shall come in his glory with his Holy Angels and shall sit upon the Throne of his Glory and all Nations shall be gathered before him and shall be separated into two great Companies the Righteous and the Wicked who shall stand the one on the Right hand and the other on the Left of this great Judge who shall pronounce sentence severally upon them according to the actions which they have done in this Life The Righteous shall be rewarded with eternal happiness and the Wicked shall be sentenc'd to everlasting punishment And these that is the Wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment but the Righteous into Life eternal The Words are plain and need no explication For I take it for granted that every one at first hearing of them does clearly apprehend the difference between the Righteous and the Wicked and between endless Happiness and Misery But although these Words be so very easie to be understood they can never be too much consider'd by us The Scope and design of them is to represent to us the different Fates of good and bad men in another World and that their Ends there will be as different as their Ways and doings have been here in this World The serious consideration whereof is the greatest discouragement to Sin and the most powerful argument in the World to a holy and vertuous life Because it is an argument taken from our greatest and most lasting interest our happiness or our misery to all Eternity A concernment of that vast consequence that it must be the greatest stupidity and folly in the World for any man to neglect it This eternal state of Rewards and Punishments in another World our Blessed Saviour hath clearly revealed to us And as to one part of it viz. That good men shall be eternally happy in another World every one gladly admits it But many are loth that the other part should be true concerning the eternal punishment of wicked men And therefore they pretend that it is contrary to the Justice of God to punish temporary Crimes with eternal Torments Because Justice always observes a proportion between Offences and Punishments but between temporary Sins and eternal Punishments there is no proportion And as this seems hard to be reconcil'd with Justice so much more with that excess of Goodness which we suppose to be in God And therefore they say that though God seem to have declar'd that impenitent Sinners shall be everlastingly punish'd yet these declarations of Scripture are so to be mollified and understood as that we may be able to reconcile them with the essential perfections of the Divine nature This is the full force and strength of the Objection And my work at this time shall be to clear if I can this difficult Point And that for these two Reasons First For the vindication of the Divine Justice and Goodness That God may be justified in his sayings and appear Righteous when he judgeth And Secondly because the belief of the threatnings of God in their utmost extent is of so great moment to a good Life and so great a discouragement to Sin For the sting of Sin is the terrour of eternal punishment and if men were once set free from the fear and belief of this the most powerful restraint from Sin would be taken away So that in answer to this Objection I shall endeavour to prove these two things First That the eternal punishment of wicked men in another World is plainly threatned in Scripture Secondly That this is not inconsistent either with the Justice or the Goodness of God First That the eternal punishment of wicked men in another World is plainly threatned in Scripture namely in these following Texts Matth. 18. 8. It is better for thee to enter into Life halt and maimed than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire And Matth. 25. 41. Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels And here in the Text these that is the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment And Mark 9. It is there three several times with great vehemency repeated by our Saviour where their worm dyeth not and the fire is not quenched And 2 Thess. 1. 9. speaking of them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of his Son it is said of them who shall be punish'd with everlasting destruction I know very well that great endeavour hath been us'd to avoid the force of these Texts by shewing that the words for ever and everlasting are frequently us'd in Scripture in a more limited sence only for a long duration and continuance Thus for ever doth very often in the Old Testament only signifie for a long time and till the end of the Jewish Dispensation And in the Epistle of St. Jude verse 7th The Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are said to be set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire that is of a fire that was not extinguish'd till those Cities were utterly consumed And therefore to clear the meaning of the forementioned Texts First I shall readily grant that the words for ever and everlasting do not always in Scripture signifie an endless duration and that this is sufficiently proved by the instances alledg'd to this purpose But then Secondly it cannot be denyed on the other hand that these words are often in Scripture used in a larger sence and so as necessarily to signifie an interminable and endless duration As where Eternity is attributed to God and he is said to live for ever and ever And where eternal happiness is another World is promised to good men and that they shall be for ever with the Lord. Now the very same words and expressions are used concerning the punishment of wicked men in another life and there is great reason why we should understand them in the same extent Both because if
immortal Souls and by suffering the vengeance of eternal Fire What is it then that can give men the Heart and Courage but I recall that Word because it is not true Courage but fool-hardiness thus to outbrave the Judgment of God and to set at nought the horrible and amazing consideration of a miserable Eternity How is it possible that men that are awake and in their wits should have any ease in their minds or enjoy so much as one quiet hour whil'st so great a danger hangs over their heads and they have taken no tolerable care to prevent it If we have any true and just sense of this danger we cannot fail to shew that we have it by making haste to escape it and by taking that care of our Souls which is due to immortal Spirits that are made to be Happy or Miserable to all Eternity Let us not therefore estimate and measure things as they appear now to our sensual and deluded and deprav'd Judgments but let us open our eyes and look to the last issue and consequence of them Let us often think of these things and consider well with our selves what apprehensions will then probably fill and possess our minds when we shall stand trembling before our Judge in a fearful expectation of that terrible Sentence which is just ready to be pronounced and as soon as ever it is pronounc'd to be executed upon us When we shall have a full and clear sight of the unspeakable Happiness and of the horrible and astonishing Miseries of another World When there shall be no longer any Veil of Flesh and Sense to interpose between them and us and to hide these things from our eyes And in a word when Heaven with all the Glories of it shall be open to our view and as the expression is in Job Hell shall be naked before us and Destruction shall have no covering How shall we then be confounded to find the truth and reality of those things which we will not now be persuaded to believe And how shall we then wish that we had believed the terrors of the Lord and instead of quarrelling with the Principles of Religion and calling them into question we had lived under the constant sense and awe of them Blessed be God that there is yet hope concerning us and that we may yet flee from the wrath to come and that the Miseries of Eternity may yet be prevented in Time And that for this very end and purpose our most Gracious and Merciful God hath so clearly revealed these things to us not with a mind to bring them upon us but that we being warned by his Threatnings might not bring them upon our selves I will conclude all with the Counsel of the Wise Man Seek not Death in the errour of your Life and pull not upon your selves destruction with the works of your own hands For God made not Death neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the Living But ungodly men with their works and words have called it down upon themselves Which that none of us may do God of his infinite Goodness grant for his Mercies sake in Jesus Christ To whom with Thee O Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory Dominion and Power Thanksgiving and Praise both now and for ever AMEN FINIS Books Published by the Reverend Dr. Tillotson Dean of St. Pauls THirty Sermons and Discourses upon several Occasions in three Volumes in Octavo The Rule of Faith or an Answer to the Treatise of Mr. J. Serjeant by Dr. Tillotson To which is adjoyned A Reply to Mr. J. S. his third Appendix c. by Edward Stilling fleet D. D. late Dean of St. Paul's now the Right Reverend Bishop of Worcester 80. A Discourse against Transubstantiation in 80. Price 3 d. A Persuasive to frequent Communion in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in 80. Price 3 d. A Sermon Preached at Lincolns-Inn-Chappel on the 31st of January 1688. being appointed for a Publick Thanksgiving to Almighty God for having made His Highness the Prince of Orange the Glorious Instrument of the great Deliverance of this Kingdom from Popery and Arbitrary Power 40. A Sermon Preach'd before the Queen at Whitehall 40. A Sermon Preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton-Court 40. Printed for B. Aylmer and W. Rogers A Practical Discourse concerning Death by William Sherlock D. D. Master of the Temple The Third Edition 80. Printed for W. Rogers II. * Ita me Dij Deaeque omnes ●ejùs perdant quàm hodiè perire me sentio c. Rev. 20. 14 Wisd. of Solomon chap. 1. ver 12 13 16.