be seen in all its Glories among us so we are assured of a burning Lake of an endless Misery which attends the unconscionable and disobedient whereof the Notions of Pagans and Idolaters were but dark and consequently we have a stronger Bridle to curb the Violence of our sinful Desires than they and therefore this must make our Doom more terrible The helps we have to arrive to Vertue are not only more in number but more powerful our Knowledge is greater our Instructions greater our Illumination greater our means of Grace richer and we have greater Examples of Holiness than ever Heathens had we have besides Philosophy and the Law of Nature the Sacred Scriptures and besides Conscience the Spirit of God to exhort us to reprove us to admonish us to assist us and to help our Infirmities If a Heathen sin he doth but stumble in the dark if a Christian sin he falls at Noon-day We have Sacraments to bind us to a perfect hatred of Sin and Semiramis took no more pains to fence her City with Brick Walls than the Almighty doth our Souls from falling a Prey to the Prince of Darkness nay our Impediments in our way to Bliss are less than the Pagans had by Baptism and the Power of Christs Death the Powers of Darkness are broken the Devil's Strength is much abated his Arrows are not half so fiery as once they were The Heathens have far greater Obstacles The Devils Power among them seems unlimited and therefore for us to fall a Prey to this Enemy for us to yield to his Suggestions for us to be drawn into his Net will scarce admit of a charitable Apology These things are now made light of but nothing is more reasonable then that they who have abused the greatest Mercy should feel the severest Lashes Christian why should God give thee greater Light and greater advantages then to other men They are men of the same passions thou art of and they are Flesh and have Reason and are God's Creatures and depend upon his Providence as well as thou why should God make a difference betwixt thee them No other Reason can be assigned but his undeserved compassion Thou wicked Servant had thy Master a greater kindness for thee then for thy fellow Servants and could not this distinguishing kindness prevail with thee to be faithful and loyal to him Thy ingratitude is abominable and thy torment shall be proportionable Thy impiety was intolerable and thy flames shall be so too Thy baseness is inexpressible and thy plagues shall be so too Thy unworthiness is uncommon and thy agonies shall be so too Thou deservest a bitterer Cup and thou shalt drink it too If God should not punish thee more then Heathens he would be partial his Honour would suffer in the indulgence and he hath but little encouragement from thy good nature to lessen his Wrath and Fury Dionysius talked Atheistically as well as thou but he had no Scripture to direct him the Sybarites were luxurious as thou art but they knew not what the Gospel meant Novellius Torquatus was given to drunkenness as thou art but he never made Vows against it in a Sacrament of Baptism Tarquinius was proud as thou art but he never heard of the humble Jesus Julia was vain in her dress and habit as thou art but she understood not what the stupendious Work of Redemption meant Decius Mundus was lecherous as thou art but he was not acquainted with a Holy Sanctifying Spirit Themistocles was envious as thou art but he never heard God speaking to him by his Son Epicurus was careless of a future Immortality bu he had not Ministers to preach to him Simonides was covetous as thou art but he knew of no Articles of belief Philagrius was cholerick as thou art but he made no profession of Goodness and Religion Sisamenes was unjust as thou art but he never heard that the Unrighteous are not to inherit the Kingdom of God Vnidius was uncharitable as thou art but he had not that Cloud of Witnesses those holy Examples that thou hast Sardanapalus minded nothing but his Lusts and Belly as thou dost but he never heard of a Crucified Saviour Democles was a flatterer and dissembler as thou art but the Terrors of the Lord were never manifested to him All which advantages thou possessest above these Pagans therefore it must needs be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah at the Day of Judgment then for thee 11. Let the process of this Day among other Vertues engage you particularly to a practical Charity and readiness to do good to others who are under affliction especially where God hath blessed you with conveniences and superfluities for the Judge is resolved to insist upon this Vertue more then others This he has not only assured us of Matth. 25.34 35 c. but it is also the most reasonable thing in the World that we who hope to find Mercy in that Day should be acquainted with the shewing Mercy to Christ's distressed members here or it is Christ's Rule that with what Measure we mete here with the same Measure it shall be meted to us again and to this purpose the Apostle He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly but he that sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully 2 Cor. 9.6 The Virgins that wanted Oyl were excluded from the Wedding-feast when the Bridegroom came that Oyl was Charity which therefore the good Samaritan poured into the Wounds of the distressed Man and as Oyl supples the Joints gives ease to the part which is in pain and is an ingredient of most Chirungical Operations so Charity relieves the Miserable and refreshes the Calamitous and hath an influence upon all other Virtues It was therefore wisely said by that pious Duke of Savoy when one ask'd him where his hunting Dogs were he led them into his Hall where abundance of Lame and Blind and Poor People fed at his cost and charges these faith he are my Dogs that serve me in my hunting after Heaven and Happiness All other Vertues lose their glory where Charity doth not bear them company To this Vertue we are born and it is the most easie of all the rest and therefore to want it when we come before the Judge must needs turn his Face and Favour from us And it is remarkable that the Judg represents all the acts of Charity he reckons up in this Day as done to himself I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was a thirsty and ye gave me drink c. whereby he doth not only intimate the close union and communion the poor Man hath with him insomuch that he is one with him but shews that in our Alms and doing good we must have respect chiefly to Christ Jesus Let the Man that begs thy Charity or wants thy Relief be brought to Poverty by his own folly let him be wicked let him be ungrateful give him with respect to thy Saviour look upon Christ when thou dost supply his
hast broke through the Guards and Fences I have set betwixt thee and sin how couldst thou find in thy Heart to afflict and grieve me so often who have endured such agonies already for thee on the Cross why wouldst thou forsake me the Fountain of Living VVaters How is it that thou wast not afraid to make thy Belly thy Gold thy Harlot and such a great Man thy God Did ever any Person oblige thee more than I Didst thou ever receive such Favours at any Man's hand as thou hast received at mine and why could not I have thy Heart and thy will and affections Why must a sottish Lust and Passion engross thy desires and my Law be cast behind thee If ever Law-giver had reason to be offended This Judge in the last Day hath for his Commandments were not grievous his Yoke was easie and his burthen light all that was required was love and it 's hard if so small a Tribute for his ineffable and incomprehensible Mercies must not be paid him It 's true this love must extend and branch it self into various acts of Meekness and Patience and Humility c. but still where love is the Principle none of all the other things which are required can seem tedious or difficult Nor is this all for the same Judg will be Witness against the Sinner too Indeed no Creature can be so true a Witness against him as the Judge himself There are many sins no Creature ever saw but he and therefore who so fit a Witness against those Crimes as he I will come near to you to judgement I will be a swift Witness against the Sorceres against the Adulterers against the false Swearers and against those that oppress the Hireling in his Wages the Widow and the Fatherless and that turn aside the Stranger from his Right and fear not me saith the Lord of Hosts Mal. 3.5 This Judge sees all nor will the Sinner be able to elude this Testimony of the invisible God When thou wast under the Fig-tree I saw thee said Christ to Nathanael his Conscience knew he had been there and he believed But this was in love In that Day we speak of such Language as this will be pronounced in wrath and indignation and therefore will cause other Thoughts in the Hearts of the Wretch that shall hear it Thou careless Creature couldst thou imagine that any thing was hid from me Did not I see thee at such a time in such a place in such a Garden in such a Chamber playing the Rebel and the Wanton Did not I see thee treating with mine Enemies Did not I see thee conspiring against me Hadst not thou such base thoughts such wicked intentions such impure desires in such Company I opened the Windows of Heaven and look'd upon thee when thou wast committing Fornication with such a Woman Wilt not thou believe me who look'd within the Curtains and saw thy abominations Couldst thou think I would look on and not set thy sins in order before thee There will be no contradicting of this Testimony for thy Conscience O Man will immediately join issue with it and say as Nathan to the guilty King Thou art the Man For besides this grand Witness there will abundance of other Witnesses come in which will all help to cast thy impenitent Soul thy Conscience here will have a great share in the Accusation that Conscience which once thou didst smother and curb and put by when it pull'd thee by the sleeve and bid thee be wise and serious that Conscience that once boggled and winced when thou offered'st violence to it and said to thee as the Baptist to Herod it is not lawful for thee to espouse this sin that Conscience which was aware of this judgment and gave thee warning and could not with all the strongest arguments it used prevail with thee to stand in aw of God this like one of Job's Messengers when the House falls and all these out-ward things are gone alone escapes to tell the Sinner of his folly Conscience even in this life doth sometime force the guilty to make confession of their sins It forced the the Multitude that came to St. John Matth. 3.6 It forced Judas to cry I have betrayed Innocent Blood when no Creature prompted him to the confession It forced those who had used curious Arts Act. 18.18 19. to bring their Schemes and Figures and Astrological Tables and burn them before the Apostles of our Lord. How much greater then may we suppose will the force of it be in that day when terrour will surround it when it will be readier to speak and to accuse then God to ask and when no noise no tumult no croud no business will be able to divert it With the Conscience the Devils themselves will join who are therefore emphatically call'd The Accusers of our Brethren Rev. 12.10 These cannot but know our sins for they were the tempters and remember how we yielded and consented to their suggestions These were the constant and indefatigable Observers of our lives These watch'd our going out and our coming in these were about us when we lay down when we rose when we walk'd and when we sat and whatever we did these were still at hand to take notice of our doings our words and our behaviour nor is their Memory so frail as to forget it nor their malice so little as so let it slip without making publication of it These rejoice in our ruine and will be sure to make the worst interpretation of our deportment These are they that presented us with charming Objects and were restless till they had made us enamoured with them first drove us into the Snare and now will be ready to accuse us for being taken And therefore the Fathers in their Discourses concerning this day do justly bring in the Devil arguing and pleading with the Almighty Judg Behold these men it's true they were thine by Creation but they became mine by imitation of me they had thy Image upon their Souls but see they have defaced that and chosen mine thou didst breath on them by thy holy Spirit but they were more fond of my suggestions then those motions Thou didst indeed draw them with Cords of Love and by Temporal and Spiritual Mercies soughtest to make them in love with thy will but they turned a deaf Ear to thy call and invitation I never gave them any nor promised them any thing yet they served me like Slaves thou courtedst them and didst oblige them to love thee yet they had rather be my Favourites then thy darlings it thou didst command them any thing that was against their Lusts either they did nothing or would be sure to provoke thee with their inventions I did but becken to them and they flew to my Camp nay they were more impudent than I believed less than I found out sins I did not dream of durst do more than I bid them I bid them deny a thing they had done
in Darkness and after all to share in the boundless Inheritance with the Children of Light How unlike thy self wilt thou appear before God if thou come without these qualifications Thou art a Christian but where is the Life of Christ that should be in thee Will the Judge ever take thee for his Sheep when it 's evident thou do'st not hear his Voice How ridiculous is that Man that hangs out a Bush and yet hath no Wine to sell And how foolish is that Apothecary that writes glorious Names upon his Pots when the rich drugs that are named have no being in his Shop And will it not tend to thy everlasting confusion that thou hast had the Name of a Christian and done nothing like a Christian Thus the particular proceedings of that future judgment must be applied to our selves if we resolve that the prospect of a future Judgment shall damp our carnal delights and satisfactions and without using this method we do but trifle and talk of breeding Mountains and bring forth ridiculous Mice play with Religion and are not in good earnest when we say we believe a future account 3. But neither the Reflections aforesaid nor the Application we have spoken of will make any deep impression except all be seconded with earnest Prayer that God by his holy Spirit working in our Minds would make the attempt effectual this must set to its Seal drive in the Nail and clench it The Eternal Spirit must give success to these enterprizes and in vain do we plant or water except he gives the increase He is that anointing which must supple the Soul and Crown all with Laurels and Victory By strength of thought and application the Fort of sin may be assaulted but without this Spirit lends his helping Hand it will never be taken or subdued His Power must overcome the Oppositions our Flesh and the World will certainly make in this case and if he blows upon our Hearts the strong Holds of Iniquity like the Walls of Jericho will fall and nothing can stand before him and he will certainly come in to our assistance if our Prayer and Addresses be fervent and importunate Upon such Devotions the frequent Discourses of this Day of Judgment we read or hear will be so far from bringing the thing into contempt with our Souls that our Hearts will be awaken'd more and it 's impossible we can miscarry in the pious design if with strong cries we apply our selves to him who hath appointed a Day in the which he will judge the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordain'd whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the Dead Act. 17.31 That which we are chiefly to insist upon in these Addresses is that we may get lively apprehensions of that Day and such apprehensions as no pleasure no folly no temptation of the World may darken or destroy and here let the Soul break forth into such Ejaculations O God Great and Glorious make me deeply sensible of that Day and of that Hour when the Son of Man will come when the Goats shall be separated from the Sheep the Tares from the Wheat the Good from the Bad when neither Prayers nor Tears shall be able to deliver the guilty and polluted Soul from the impendent danger when it shall be said to the humble Friend sit up higher to the proud Fool Give place to him that 's more Honourable than thou art when the Book of Conscience shall be open'd and the Dead Judged by the contents of that Book when the Sinner will not know where to flee and his Spirits will fail him for fear of him that sits upon the Throne O God! Fix these considerations in my Soul strengthen my Faith that I may believe these things unseen without wavering How apt is the World to get between this tremendous Day and my sight Quicken thou mine Eyes that I may see through all impediments into that process and reflect what manner of Person I ought to be in all Holy conversation and Godliness Lord Jesu Great Judge of the World Let the Lines of that Judgment be written so legibly in my Mind that my Soul may delight to read them that nothing may divert me from studying and considering them let this be my chief study and let me feel the same effect that those men did who were converted at thy Apostles Sermon let me be prickt at the Heart and cry out What must I do to be saved Let the thoughts of this Day make a Reformation in my outward and inward Man that it may appear that thou hast touch'd me with a Coal from the altar O God to whom Vengeance belongs shew thy self and disperse my foolish desires Let my Soul feel the transactions of that day as well as believe them Clear my Understanding and enlighten my Mind that I may have a livelier prospect of it I will not let thee go except thou bless me Look down from the Habitation of thy Holiness and visit my Soul Expel the prejudices I have against severity of Life and with the Thoughts of this Day destroy them utterly Let the consideration of this Day so work upon me that my Ambition Covetousness Pride and Anger may tremble at the sight and leave their Habitation and may be ever afraid of returning Oh tell me that this Day will certainly come and that the Day of my Death will be the Emblem of it Oh assure me of the Terrour of that Day that shall burn like an Oven wherein all that do wickedly shall be Stubble and the Fire shall burn them up that it shall leave them neither Root nor Branch let me not take example by the careless World that put this evil Day far from them Let it be always before me Let my Mind be never free from the contemplations of it Let it mingle with my Business with my Meals with my Converse with my Sleep and with all my Undertakings In every sin I am tempted to let it frighten me in my going out and in my coming in let it continually beat upon my Mind Oh my Lord let me muse upon this Day of Retribution this Day of Recompence this Day of Trouble this Day of Terrour this Day of Joy this Day of Comfort this Day wherein thy Promises and Threatnings will be fulfill'd this Day which must decide the controversy of my Life and Death this Day which will bring to light all hidden things this Day which will revive the good and confound the bad this Day of Consolation this Day of Consternation let me ruminate upon it till thoughts of this Judgment prevail with me to become a new Creature thy Grace must melt my stubborn Heart without thee I can do nothing O relieve me O come in with the light of thy Countenance Stir up my Soul and rouze it from its carelesness Call to me as thou didst to thy People of Old let that Voice sound in my Ears
The great Day of the Lord is near it is near hasteth greatly even the Voice of the Day of the Lord the mighty Man shall cry bitterly that Day is a Day of Wrath a Day of Trouble and Distress a Day of Wastness and Desolation a Day of Darkness and Gloominess a Day of Clouds and thick Darkness a Day of the Trumpet and Alarm against the fenced Cities and against the high Towers and I will bring Distress upon men that they shall walk like Blind Men because they have sinned against the Lord and their Blood shall be poured out as Dust and their Flesh as the Dung neither their Silver nor their Gold shall be able to deliver them in the Day of the Lord 's Wrath. O let me not lose the sense of this Day Oh let me consider how much better it is to be humble and contemptible and to hunger and thirst and to suffer here and afterwards to enter into my Great Masters Joy than to be a Slave to my Lusts and Pleasures here and to be bound at last with everlasting Chains of Darkness Chains which never wear out Chains which always bind are always grievous always painful Oh let me consider how much better it is to Mourn here and to Water my Couch with my Tears and to Afflict my Soul and after this to triumph with the Spirits of men made Perfect than to feed upon Pleasures which at the best are but like the crackling of Thorns under a Pot and then to be sent away to howl with Devils Help Lord help that my Soul may be concern'd at her danger and despise the World and prepare against that Day and encounter with Powers and Principalities and Spiritual wickednesses in High-places if by any means I might attain unto the Resurrection of the Dead Such Prayers offered from a Heart that hath no reserves from a Heart resolved to do any thing rather than miss of Salvation such Prayers I say if they express the very desires of our Souls will certainly put Death and Paleness into our sensual Pleasures and oblige us to entertain other Thoughts of the Gauds and Gaieties of the World than now we have and make us sensible that this casting such a damp on the foolish satisfactions of the Flesh with a prospect of that Day is not only a task fit for Hermits and Melancholick Scholars and contemplative men but a duty incumbent on all that carry immortal Souls in their Breasts which calls me to the fourth Point 4. Whether every Man is bound to embitter his Carnal delights with this prospect To this I must answer in the Affirmative For though the young Man be particularly mention'd here yet since the expression in the Text reaches all men who are fit for action all such must necessarily fall under the Obligation of this duty and all that are capable of such delights are bound to make use of the aforesaid consideration in order to this self-denial if the young Man is obliged to this seriousness much more Older men if God will not allow of these delights in Youth they must necessarily be intolerable in Years of greater Maturity and if the tender Age be concerned to embitter them with this prospect when it meets with any temptation to them without all peradventure the stronger cannot be excused And the Reasons are these following 1. If they be not embitter'd with such Thoughts as these they will infallibly lead the Soul into innumerable dangers there is no Man but is obliged to preserve his Soul from danger It is said of the Prodigal Luk. 15.13 That he took his Journey into a far Countrey these sensual Pleasures alienated his Soul from God drove it away far from him made him travel as far as Hell the Truth is the Soul is lost in such sensual Pleasures they wear out the bright Notions the Soul had of God and Religion as it is said of the Sicilian Dogs that running through the sweet and floury Fields they lose their Scent in huntting so the Soul where these pleasures these white Devils become her Familiars loses the Noble apprehensions it once had of God's Omniscience and Omnipresence of his Holiness and Goodness and of the Truth of his Promises and Threatnings and these Characters like Letters written with bad Ink vanish and consequently the Life of the Soul for which reason the Prodigal who drowned himself in these delights is said to be dead v. 32. These choak the good Seed that 's sown in the noble Ground and as you have seen a Field of Wheat where the red Poppies spring up as fast as the richer Grain though the proud Flowers are pleasing to the Eye yet they retard and hinder the growth of the more useful Blade and suck away the moisture that should have fed the other so sensual delights where they are taken in as Partners and suffered to grow in the Soul in which some Fruits of the Spirit do appear in a short time blast those excellent Fruits the Effects of the Holy Ghost or Education or the Ministry of the Word and prove Bryars and Thorns which will not suffer any of the better Corn to grow under them Man's Soul and Body are like two Buckets while the one comes up full the other goes down empty Carnal delights advance the bruitish or fleshly part make it grow strong lusty and vigorous whereby it wrests the Scepter out of the Hand of Reason and the Soul looses her strength and power and Sagacity in Spiritual things grows weak and faint and at last expires and dies I mean the vertuous Principles which either kind Nature or kinder Grace or Afflictions or some other means and Instruments have incorporated with the Soul which indeed are the life of that excellent Creature and the Soul being thus dead it falls a Prey to Devils who rejoice over so great a Prey and lead it in Triumph take it Prisoner and make it draw in their Victorious Chariot and now all the Curses of the Law are in force against it the threatnings of the Gospel become her Portion and there is nothing left to stand betwixt her and Eternal grief and anguish but the slender Thred of this Mortal Life which if it chance to break or tear the Soul sinks irrecoverably into the Gulph of Perdition from whence there is no returning so fatal is the influence of these flattering Guests which in time starve their Keeper and finding the House empty swept and garnish'd like the Evil Spirit spoken of Matt. 12.45 go and take with them Seven other Spirits more wicked than themselves and they enter in and dwell there and the last state of that Man is worse than the first and thus they plunder and boldly rob the Soul of her Riches and hinder her from that Holiness which is her Food her Cordial and her greatest support and without which no Man can see the Lord they had need therefore be embittered with something that 's sour and unpleasant to Flesh
every Man's Interest not to do that which he will wish he had not done when it is too late But of this I have said enough before The next Point follows and is a Case of Conscience how far sensual delights must be embittered with this prospect 5. Whether a Christian that would be saved is upon this account obliged to forbear and abandon all sensual and worldly delights and recreations whatsoever So not a few have thought in the Primitive times which made them retire from the World and deny themselves in all the comforts of this life and put themselves to very great hardships and self-denials being of Opinion that they who laughed here would mourn hereafter and such as enjoy'd the good things of this life would be miserably poor hereafter They look'd upon the two Worlds as opposites and consequently believed that the means to arrive to the happiness of the future were directly contrary to all present satisfactions they concluded that they who would be happy hereafter must be unhappy here and that they who would be happy here could not be so hereafter from hence rose their selling all they had and giving it to the poor and the strange severities they used upon their Bodies whereof I have discoursed elsewhere and indeed the Gospel gives very little incouragement to any thing that savours of wordly pleasure nor do the Apostles allow much liberty in this particular whether it were that they thought that all sensual delights were improper for a state of persecution in which the Church then lived or whether it was that they were afraid such delights would damp their Spiritual fervour this is certain that there is little to be gathered from their Writings in favour of Sports and Recreations Yet as strict as the Gospel is it grants that we have Bodies as well as Souls and that if the Bow be not unbent sometimes the String will crack and become useless and though it 's possible for our Minds to soar so far above the World as to know and care for no other delights but what savour of God and the Glories of another Life yet those Spiritual delights will not be of any long continuance without the Body be allow'd suitable refreshment and hath its fits of ease and relaxation Were not some Divertisements lawful Christ would scarce have vouchsafed his presence at the Wedding-feast in Cana much less provided them Wine to encourage temperate cheerfulness and hither may be referr'd St. John the Evangelists playing sometimes with a Bird and going into a common Bath whereof Ecclesiastical Histories give us an account yet since there is nothing more common with men than to confound their sinful delights with lawful Recreations it will be necessary here to explain the Point in these following Particulars 1. This must be laid down as a grand Principle of our Religion That a Spiritual delight in God in a Crucified Saviour and in the Blessed Effects and influences of the Holy Ghost in the Graces and Fruits of the Spirit in feeling the Operations of the Divine Power Glory upon our Souls in the precious Promises of the Gospel in the Revelations God hath vouchsafed to Mankind in the good we see wrought in our selves and others in the Providences of God and in Contemplation of his various dealings with the several states orders and degrees of Men in Psalms and Hymns and Praises of the Divine Majesty in the Thoughts and Expectations of a better Life in the Treasures God hath laid up for them that fear him in another World and in the various Priviledges Prerogatives and advantages of Holy men c. It 's certain I say that delighting and rejoicing in such Spiritual Objects is the Chief the Principal and Soveraign delight which a Christian is with greatest application of Mind to labour after and in comparison of this is obliged to count all these outward comforts Dross and Dung and Dogs-meat this is the delight which must engross his Desires affections and Inclinations this must rule in his Soul this must be Mistress and Queen Regent in his Mind to this all must stoop and then things cannot but go well if this be secured and established Without worldly Pleasure Thousands of Saints have arrived to Everlasting Bliss but without this none sensual delights are no part of a Christians comfort but this Spiritual delight is the one thing necessary and till a prospect of a future Judgment causes this delight to rise in our Souls whatever impression it may make the Plant is not of our Heavenly Fathers planting Such must be the temper of our Souls in the aforesaid objects our Souls must delight more then in all Riches and this delight being once setled in us such Worldly delights as are subservient to this and do neither diminish nor darken nor hinder nor quench it may justly be said to be Lawful 2. This being premised we do not deny but such Worldly delights as are neither sinful in themselves nor apparent occasions of evil are allowable And of this nature are all those masculine exercises whereby the Body is preserved in health and rendred more capable of serving the Soul in her Religious severities as walking or riding abroad to take the Air Planting Gardening Raising curious Plants and Flowers running Wrestling Fowling Hawking Hunting Fishing Leaping Vaulting Casting of the Bar Tossing the Pike Riding the great Horse Running at the Ring and such divertisements which stir the Blood make us Active and Vigorous fit us for greater and more useful enterprizes and promote cheerfulness and liveliness such cannot be supposed to be forbid by the Gospel provided that they be used 1. Seasonably not on those days and hours which are appointed either for Devotion or more weighty business and therefore these cannot be proper exercises of the Lords day or days of Fasting and Abstinence or days of Mourning 2. With moderation so that much time be not spent upon them and our love to them may keep within its due bounds and limits 3. For a good end which must be to render our selves fitter for the discharge of our Duty to God and Man 4. With purposes of self-denial so that we can leave or quit them for a greater good when either a work of Piety or an act of Charity is to be performed or scandal to be prevented where these limitations are not observ'd the Honey turns into Gall and that which deserv'd only our civility and transient respect becomes our Idol and our Souls receive considerable hurt which had these divertisements been used with circumspection might have been beholding to them in some measure for their wellfare and edification 3. From this Rule we may rationally infer that delight in Orchards Gardens Rivers Ponds either Natural or Artificial and in the comforts of Wife Children Friends in our Trades and Relations Houses Buildings and Possessions the bountiful hand of Heaven hath bestow'd upon us is consistent with a serious prospect of a future judgment
have not you seen how they are become strangers to that life which must adorn it to that contemplation of good things they formerly delighted in to that strictness they once professed Have not you seen how they have remitted in their warmth and how the holy fire that once burn'd in their breasts is gone out And is your Christianity so fierce and violent that it needs a bridle Is it so hot that it must have an extinguisher Is it so flaming that it wants this stolen water to quench it With what face dare you approach the Table of your Lord who have been a spectator of such shews but a little before With what eyes can you appear in the presence of that King of Kings who have but a little before prostituted your Soul to the Devil With what conscience can you promise the Lord Jesus to follow him when you intend to expose your self again to these temptations Do not you blush to think how you serve both God and Mammon Christ and the World contrary to your Redeemers protestation that you cannot serve two Masters If you come to the Lords Table one day and run to a Play-house another do not you destroy all that you built the day before If you come to the Supper of the Lord there to profess your sorrow for loving the World are you in good earnest sorry for it or are you not If not why do you play the hypocrite or do you think to put a cheat upon the Almighty as if he did not see your heart or would be taken with shew and pomp If you are how can you run into the same temptation again or go to a place where you will infallibly be tempted to the love of the World Is not this to shut the gates of mercy against you Is not this to make your self odious to that God whose favour you expect in the last day Is not this to live in contradictions In this Sacrament you profess to imitate your Lord in despising the World and is this imitation to go one day into the house of God and the next into a den of Thieves for so the Stage may justly be called where men are robb'd of their rellish of spiritual objects Whence hath come that Atheism that looseness that indifferency in things Divine that low esteem of the tremendous mysteries of Christianity which of late like a Land-flood hath over-run us Have they not deriv'd their boldness from these places Have not the vices represented there in jest been practised by the forward youth at home in good earnest And can a Christian have a good opinion of these houses where so many have lost their vertue Can any man of reason think that after all this mischief they may be safely hugg'd and applauded Those many notorious Fornications and Adulteries we have heard and know of those bare-faced cheats mens boastings of their sins and glorying in their shame their impudence their courage to do evil their daring to do things which sober Heathens have detested whence have they come in a great measure but from these poison'd fountains Why should we be afraid to call a spade a spade Do not even wicked men confess so much men who have been guilty of such crimes Shall men of no great sense of Religion complain of it and shall a Christian do any thing that may contribute toward the holding of them up If wanton lustful and obscene jests are expresly forbid by the great Apostle nay are not so much as to be named among Christians how can a man that makes profession of that Religion hear them or be taken with them when Gods name is profaned in such houses when Religion is mock'd when vertue is rendred odious how can you hear it without reproving the men that do it how can you have patience to let them talk at this rate you are bound by your profession to rebuke your neighbour for notorious sins and not to suffer iniquity upon him can you hear these things and see men affront their maker and be possess'd with a dumb Devil How can you discharge your conscience to let your neighbour do evil without giving him an Item of Gods displeasure If we are to exhort one another to take heed lest any of us be harden'd through the deceitfulness of sin how can you see men harden themselves in their sins on the Stage without a fraternal admonition If you have no courage to admonish them what makes you appear there where you must be silent under the indignities offered to your Master Had you a Friend whom you loved and saw his concerns in danger his reputation attack'd his credit torn his good name wounded would not you stand up in his vindication You own Christ for your Friend and profess you love him and can you see his laws trampled on and his blood and wounds made a complement of Speech and not be moved at it or if you have some little regret upon your spirits where is your tongue to speak for your friend Do you think such men are like to be his favorites and is not this to fall under the lash of that threating Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my Gospel in this adulterous and sinful Generation of him shall the son of man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father since you have not spirit enough to reprove such sinners why do not you stay away why do not you keep out of their company you are obliged to do either one or the other if you cherish any hopes of salvation and since to reprove them you are ashamed staying away must necessarily be your duty Do you ever examine your self at night about the actions of the day and if you do doth not your presence at such shews and your being pleased with them fly into your face Do not you think what have I done to day how did I spend my time might not I have spent it better then at a Play-house How many persons have I harden'd and confirm'd in their sins by my example How much lightness and vanity have I encouraged by my presence hath not such a sin been pleasing to me Have not I been delighted with seeing my neighbour abus'd have not I been tickled with mens speaking ill of him had God struck me dead in that place how sad would my condition have been how many vain and foolish thoughts have these sights sent into my mind If you examine your self in this manner and find these effects have not you reason to ask God forgiveness and if you ask him forgiveness how dare you run upon the same rock again will you sin willfully after this will you sin against your knowledge will you do that again which will require a new repentance what is this but a mock-repentance to go on in a circle of confessing and sinning of sinning and confessing But I doubt this self-examination is a thing you do not trouble your head with and
Prince that Epaminondas being content with such a Dinner is not easily to be drawn by Bribes into a base and trayterous Action Fabritius the Roman General having concluded a Peace with the Samnites the Magistrates of the Samnites by way of Gratitude send six Ambassadours to him with vast Sums of Money begging of him to accept of it but he stroaking his Head and Face and Breast and Knees Gentlemen saith he while I can command these Limbs I have no need of Money and so dismissed them Curius gave the same Answer to them adding that he had rather rule over Persons that had Money than be possess'd of Money himself These Men were Heathens whose Delight in Virtue drown'd their Delight in these outward Comforts They saw what an Impediment to Goodness these Heaps of Silver were and therefore scorn'd to delight in a thing so base and trivial they were sensible that the Soul had her Riches as well as the Body and as the former by the Confession of Mankind went beyond the other in value so it was reasonable they should delight in the one more than in the other These Men were better Christians by the Light of Nature than thousands among us are with all the helps that Revelation and Grace affords not that the Fault lies in the means which are larger and richer than Pagans and Infidels have but that men stupifie their Souls more under these Advantages than Heathens did under the lesser Irradiations of the Divine Light and Splendour So then the very Heathens saw that the more spiritual the Delight was the nobler it was and the more it was refin'd and purified from the Dross of the World the more rational it was and therefore more amiable and fitter to be embraced and sure God must have provided but very ill for Mankind when he embued and impregnated their Souls with a Sense of Religion if he had not put something into Religion that 's charming and lovely whereby their Souls might be attracted to delight in it Religion being derived from him who is the Fountain of Delight and Satisfaction must necessarily have that in it which may make humane Souls rejoyce and exalt their Delight into a victorious Supremacy above all worldly Pleasures What did the Lord Jesus delight in who lived upon Alms What did the Apostles delight in who were in much Patience in Afflictions in Necessities and Distresses in Stripes in Imprisonments in tossings to and fro in Labours in Watchings in Fastings What did all the Primitive Believers delight in that were poor and naked driven into Exile banish'd forced to work in Mines chased away from the Comforts of Wife Children and Relations Something certainly they delighted in for humane Nature cannot well subsist without delight in something It could not be the Riches of this World for they had them not nor indeed did they care for them when they were offered them it was Religion that engrossed their Delight This made them joyful in all Condiditions this raised their drooping Spirits under the Rage of their Persecutors and certainly it would be hard if a glorious God with all his Attributes and the wonderful things he hath revealed to our Comfort were improper Objects of Delight and since these are the genuine Delights of a Christian O besotted Soul why dost thou delight in broken Cisterns when thou hast the Fountain of living Waters to delight in Why dost thou delight in Apes and Peacocks when thou hast the Creator of all these to rejoyce in Why dost thou delight in a morsel of Meat when thou hast the Birth-right of eternal Glory to delight in Why dost thou delight in the shade of the Bramble when thou hast the shadow of God's Wings to delight in Why dost thou delight in the nether Springs when thou hast the upper Springs of Mercy to delight in Why dost thou delight in Houses when thou hast a House made without Hands to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Rivers of Damascus when thou hast the River of God's Pleasure to delight in Why dost thou delight in a fading Beauty when thou hast him that 's altogether lovely to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Voice of a deceitful Siren when thou hast him whose Voice comforts the Mourners of Sion to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Slavery of thy Lusts when thou hast him whose Service is perfect Freedom to delight in Why dost thou delight in a little Gain in Drops of Happiness in Crums of Bliss in shining Dust when thou hast a Sea of Glory to delight in How deep must thy Soul lye immerst in Body if such illustrious Objects cannot delight it How far must thou be yet from the Kingdom of Heaven if things of this nature cannot content thee How earthly must thy Heart be how debauch'd how perverted from the end of its Creation if these spiritual Delights are insipid to it There are some here I believe who have tasted of both Delights the sinful ones of the Flesh and those which are proper for holy Souls tell me I beseech you whether you think a Fit of Laughter or a drunken Bout or a merry Meeting you once delighted in so sweet so comfortable so refreshing as the gentle and soft and kinder Influences of God's Spirit when you have been engaged in Prayer and Praises and Contemplations of a future State When you have been wrestling with God and after that work of Love have felt a holy assurance of God's Favour upon your Spirits can any thing be more pleasing or charming than those divine Communications When you have entred into Meditation of God's Goodness and the Love of God hath shined bright upon your Souls have not you felt that which hath been as much beyond all sensual Delights as an oriental Pearl is beyond Brass or Copper or such baser Minerals Have not you found a Joy stealing upon your Souls after such refreshing Considerations as hath transported you even into love of Martyrdom How contented have you been after such Exercises or after some signal Self-denial How harmonious have your Spirits and Affections been after such Enjoyments of God's loving Kindness and how like soft and curious Musick have these Gales of the Divine Goodness composed your troubled Thoughts and hush'd them into a lasting Peace And is not this infinitely better than the Pleasures of Sardanapalus of Dives and other luxurious men Will not this turn to better account at last than fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul Look upon Heliogabalus who tryed how great a Monster a man could make himself in his Cloaths you should see nothing but Gold and Purple his Beds were embroidered and the Feathers that were in them must be the softer Feathers of Partridges taken from under their Wings mix'd with the finest Rabbets hair He would ride in a Chariot shining with Rubies and Diamonds and not only in the out-side of his Shooes but even within he would have precious Stones he would not
ride abroad under six hundred Coaches with him his Beds and Rooms were strow'd with all sorts of curious Flowers and an everlasting Perfume filled his Halls and Parlors sometimes in a Frolick he would be drawn in a Chariot by four Mastiff Dogs sometimes by four Stags sometimes by four Tygers as Bacchus sometimes by four Lions as Cybele sometimes by four beautiful Women Now and then he would cause Ships to be richly laden with all costly Commodities and then sink them in the Sea At some of his Meals he would have six hundred Estriches Heads at the Table And when the Humour took him all his Courses should be nothing but Pheasants heaped and piled together in Dishes sometimes they should all be Pullets sometimes nothing would serve him but to have all sorts of deformed men at his Table eight lame Men eight blind eight Blacks eight gouty eight fat eight bald eight deaf In such Fooleries he delighted and because the Syrian Priests had told him that he would dye an unnatural Death he would keep Posion in golden Vessels to kill himself before any Person should be able to lay hold on him to this purpose he would have silken Halters about him and Penknifes set with Diamonds to dispatch himself when he should see occasion and he built also a Tower which he over-laid with Gold that in Case of any sudden Attack he might throw himself from the top of it These were the sottish Delights of this man and yet after all he died in a Jakes I have mention'd this Brute and his Actions because there are in his short Life all the extravagant Actions that a distemper'd Brain can invent and all the Delights that a mad man could think of yet who would not prefer a Delight in a good Conscience and delight in God's Worship and delight in Acts of Charity and delight in heavenly Thoughts before it Sensual Delights must at last expire but spiritual Delights do not die but as you have seen those vast Balls of burnish'd Brass on Church-Steeples cast a glorious lustre as soon as the Sun shines upon them so at a serious man's Death his delight in Holiness upon God's favourable Acceptance of it instead of expiring and decaying immediately grows bigger in its Glory the Rays of it spread and enlarge their Borders and stretch themselves into Eternity And therefore 4. Who can harbour any hard Thoughts of Religion because it debars us of disorderly sensual Delights In doing so it does us a kindness is our Friend prevents our Danger saves us from the Pit delivers us from Hell makes us live like Men. It doth not debarr us of that which will make us happy nor hinder us from solid Joy nor deprive us of such sensual Delights as are necessary for our Preservation The Delights it keeps us from are fitter for Swine than for rational Creatures it separates us from delights which will lead the Soul into the Shadow and Valley of Death from Delights which dethrone the ruling part in us make the Master serve the Man and from Princes debase us to a state of Thraldom It denies us such delights as make God our Enemy move him to depart from us and provoke him to Indignation It will not suffer us to meddle with Delights which destroy the Glory of the Mind damp our Zeal alienate the Heart from God and drive away his holy Spirit from us It is against all such Delights as would make us miserable and enamoured with Sin and the World and in being an Enemy to such Delights it consults our good It is more favourable to us than we are to our selves and seeks to make us like God God is above all sensual Delights he is not taken with the Beauty of the Face in Man or Woman he undervalues a great Table and hates the Prodigality of the Spend-thrift he hath no Body to please no Eyes to satisfie with glittering Objects no Ears to delight with artificial Sounds no Blood to cherish with studied Cordials and though the World be his and the fullness thereof yet he solaces not himself in the Pleasures of it his Delights are great like himself spiritual like his Essence infinite as his Glory eternal as his Being he delights in himself and is to himself the Object of his Pleasure he delights in the eternal brightness of his own Glory and the express Image of his Person he delights in his own boundless Understanding whereby he knows all things past present and to come and sees all Beings before they are and what will come to pass and dives into their nature ends designs and the Accidents that befall them his delight lies in doing good and communicating the Rays of his Holiness to his Subjects He delights in his own Perfections and Virtue is the amiable Spectacle of his Eyes he delights in a Soul that loves him and an humble Heart is to him a glorious sight The Soul that loves her own Lowliness and is content to be little and despised in the World embraces Contempt and Reproaches and like the mighty Jesus runs with Patience the Race that 's set before her this causes Joy in Heaven To this likeness Religion would advance the Soul not that it hopes to give it the same Perfection but that it designs to work some Resemblance betwixt her and that Sovereign Being The Soul being in some measure capable of this Delight its Endeavour is to bring her to a sense of it In a word it seeks to reduce Man to the first state of Innocence from which by Sin he fell And though Adam had all the Riches and Glories of the World concentred in his Paradise yet his Delights were more spiritual than sensual since his Joys were not so much from the Flowers and Trees and Animals themselves as from the Excellency Power Wisdom Greatness of God which glistered in their Make and Use and the Ends for which they were created He saw indeed the proud Tulip the fragrant Rose the odoriferous Jessamin and rejoyced he beheld the Cherry the Fig the Almond and the Apple and triumph'd he cast his Eyes on the laden Trees and how they seemed to let down their Arms to put their richer fruits into his Mouth and was glad he took a view of the Fishes that danced and leap'd in the Chrystal Rivers that water'd the glorious place and his Spirits were enliven'd but at the same time the Bounty Liberality and Omnipotence of the great Architect of all appeared so lively to his Mind that he made his Garden a true Emblem of Heaven fell down and Day and Night sung the Praises of his Creator as if he vyed with the Angels of the upper World and were trying who should hold out longest at melodious Hallelujahs This Kindness Religion intends to our Souls and therefore suggests unto us the Promises and Threatnings of God to keep our Feet steddy in the way they are to walk in to this purpose it tells us That he who loves sensual Pleasure
shall be a poor man poor in Grace poor in gifts of God's holy Spirit poor with Respect to God's Favour poor even to contempt destitute of those richer incomes which sanctified Souls receive deprived of the Juice and Sap which flows from the flourishing Vine the Lord Jesus in want of a foretaste of Heaven and of a sense What the hope of Gods calling is and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance is in the Saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his Power toward them that believe according to the working of his mighty Power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right Hand in heavenly places Eph. 1.18 19 20. Who can grumble at Religion after all these advantages Who can find fault with it after this prospect of its benefits Who dares asperse that beauteous Virgin after such Fruits it bears Who would not esteem it Who would not prize it Who would not honour it Who would not speak well of it Who would not look upon it as a horn of plenty and a treasury of the greatest comforts Who would not maintain the honour of it against all opponents who would not vindicate it when it is abused Who would not rise up in defence of it when blasphemous Tongues would traduce and revile it Let no man say here I can follow my Carnal pleasures and yet be religious too Alas What Piety can that be where thy Affections are divided betwixt Religion and Worldly Pleasures and where these Delights commonly have the greater share May be thou sayest thy Prayers so have I seen Parrets and Magpies repeat a few Sentences which they have been taught May be thou goest to Church so have I seen a Blind-man sit down by a Candle but to no purpose Thou mayest attempt to reconcile the Temple of God and Idols but these attempts are as vain as thy pleasures are while these sensual delights ingross thy Mind the Word must needs be a dead Letter to thee Heaven cannot supple thy Soul Hell cannot fright it the Thunders of God are insignificant to it and thou art unfit to dye unfit to appear at the great Tribunal The Heathens tell this Fable That Ceres coming down from Heaven one day gave out that she was a Nurse whereupon King Eleusius took her to attend his Son Triptolemus and having him under her Tuition in the day time she fed him with celestial Milk and in the night she cover'd him with Fire to give him Immortality Religion is that Fire which must make you immortal this purges away your dross and cleanseth your Hearts from the dregs of Sin and Death makes you bright and shining and capable of eternal Light No Nurse is so tender of you as Religion is it feeds you with celestial Milk that you may be strong in the Lord and able to put on the whole Armour of God and grow up into a perfect Man in Christ what if it will not suffer you to please your Flesh beyond what is necessary for it's Subsistence must it therefore be your Enemy Will you count it a Foe because it denies you the Sword which would kill you How lovely should this very thing make it in your Eyes How dear should this make its holy Precepts to you How should you rejoyce that you have such a Monitor to prevent your Ruine What Praises do you owe to God that witholds you from that which would throw your Souls upon their Death-beds I conclude the Inference with this Story Two Brethren were travelling one a very prudent Man the other rude and silly coming to a place where two Ways met they dispute which of the two they should take one look'd as if great Art had been bestow'd upon it Flowers grew on both sides and it seemed to be most frequented the other look'd rough and uneven liker a Foot-path than a High-way the weaker Brother charmed with the out-side was clearly for making choice of the former but the wiser though he saw that the pleasant way invited the Eye yet I fear saith he it will not bring us to a commodious Lodging the rather because I have heard that the less beaten Path leads to an Inn where we may have excellent Accommodation The foolish Fellow was peremptory in it that the most pleasant way must be the right way and prevails with the Brother to bear him Company and being advanced considerably in it they light upon a Company of Robbers who immediately clap Shackles on their hands and feet and hale them both to their Captain and Governour Here one Brother accuses the other the wiser charges the other with Stubbornness the weaker blamed the other's Facility and alledged That since his Brother pretended to greater Wisdom than he he should not have been perswaded In fine both are found guilty and both laid up in Prison These two Brethren are your Souls and Bodies your Soul is the wise your Body the foolish Brother Let not your Body by its Importunity prevail with the Soul to consent to its Desires and Fondnesses of the dangerous Delights of the World O! hearken not to the Perswasions of a sensual Appetite that chooses a present Satisfaction but considers not there are Robbers at the end of the way which will certainly throw both into outward Darkness 5. The great Day is at Hand let 's prepare for it So Christ told his Disciples and so the Apostles taught the Christian World nor must we wonder that the Blessed Jesus should fright his Followers with the Approaches of that day when he knew it would not come in sixteen hundred Years and more which are past since his appearing in the World I omit here the Calculations of curious Men who have been bold to determine the Year in which the day of Judgment will happen some that follow the Tradition of Elias have allow'd two thousand Years to the Oeconomy before the Law two thousand to that under the Law and two thousand to that under the Gospel and after this have placed the Succession of that tremendous day But I doubt that this is rather a Jewish Criticism than a real Prophecy for God having created the World in six days and a thousand Years being as one Day with the Lord it 's like Men have concluded from this Notion That as the World was created in six days so after six days i. e. six thousand years it would be destroyed Some when they have seen any extraordinary Judgments of Hail or Rain or Thunder or Locusts or great Confusions happen in the World have from thence inferr'd the immediate coming of this Day Some have placed it in one Year some in another but all these are needless Speculations It 's enough that the Decree is sealed in Heaven that there will be such a prodigious day and it was as truly at hand in Christ's time as it is now and now as much as it was then nay as much now as it will be
with his Family to his Country-House adorned with Tyrian Silke and Persian Carpets and with all the Eastern Riches and there lives merrily and at his ease one Night being very jovial at Supper a Servant of his base and ill-natured puts some Lethargick or Opiate Potion into his Master's and Fellow-Servants Cups and having rocked them all asleep opens the Doors le ts in Thieves and Robbers who having plunder'd the House at last lay violent hands on the Master and to make sport with him drag him thus intoxicated into the open Field and there leave him In the mean while the Heavens grow black and a hideous Tempest gathers in the Clouds the Sky begins to lighten and the Voice of Thunder to be heard and a dreadful Rain falls and in the midst of all this Noise and Confusion the besotted Master wakes looks about quakes trembles believes himself in another World is astonish'd to see himself lying on a barren Turf without Servants without Attendants without Friends without Necessaries without Conveniencies among Showers and Storms and Tempests stiff with Cold frozen to Death almost and beholding nothing but Misery about him O my Soul thou canst not but look upon such a Person as the very Emblem of Confusion and while thou dread'st this fearful State take heed thou doest not prepare for it or drop into it take heed of carnal Security for that will expose thee to the Rage and Fury of hellish Thieves and make God's Indignation strangely surprizing The Terror that will seize the sleepy Soul when it is summon'd away to the Bar of a righteous God will be beyond Storms of Hail and Tempests of Rain and Flashes of Lightning and Claps of Thunder When Covetousness would entice thee shew it the miserable Gehazi trembling before the Throne of God when Luxury would tempt thee bid it look upon the wretched Belshazzar mourning to eternal Ages for his Intemperance when worldly Mindedness would debauch thee find out Nabal among the damned Spirits and with that Sight fright the foolish Lust away when Envy would enter into thy Soul call out Cain from that unhappy Crew and bid it see its Doom in his Funeral when present Satisfactions would make thee slight the after hopes of Glory bid the profane Esau stand forth from his fiery Cell to which he is condemned and it will lose its Courage Thou readest of the Syrians how in a Consternation sent upon them from above they fled in the Night leaving all their Provision behind them But what is this to the Consternation the Judgment Seat of Christ will strike into that Man who having slighted his Commands is on a sudden ordered to come and answer the Reason of his Contempt and forced to leave all his vain Excuses and Apologies behind him The Name of some Warriours hath frighted Men Women Children and then how terrible will the Name of the Lord of Hosts be to them that have fought against his Holy Spirit by their Stubbornness O my Soul Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame Rev. 16.15 3. Walk circumspectly every Day and use that conscientiousness you would use were you sure you should be summon'd to Judgment at Night Say not next Year or when I have accomplished such a Business I will trim my Lamp and make it ready against the Bride-groom comes Every Day to live in expectation of the Summons is the act of a Wise and Blessed Servant And he that every Day walks with God walks in a mighty sense of his Omniscience and Omnipresence and in his company business conversation dealings keeps God in his Eye sets his Laws before him walks as one resolved to please God in all things le ts not a Day pass over his Head without doing some good uses the World as if he used it not and if through inadvertency he slips rises again presently and arms himself with fresh resolutions is the Person that lives every Day as if it were his last Day Sinner wert thou sure that this Night thou shouldst be summon'd to the Bar of God wouldst thou swear and lie and dissemble and be Cholerick or backward to good works Live as if thou wert sure of it For suppose thou continuest in the Land of the Living that Night thou losest nothing by this preparation nay thou art a mighty gainer by it for hereby thy Soul is refresh'd thy Mind preserved in an excellent temper thy Goodness strengthen'd thy Graces renew'd thy Affections enlarg'd thy Understanding enlightned thy Will made more tractable thy Spirits eased thy Calmness maintain'd and thy very Body kept in Health God loves thee the Promises of the Gospel belong to thee Devils cannot hurt thee thou livest like a Christian actest like a Man of Reason preparest for thine own quiet thy Condition is happy thy Estate safe thy Life out of danger thy Conscience clear thy Confidence in God encreases thy Satisfaction swells thy Comforts grow bigger and thou freest thy self from that Mire and Clay in which so many Souls do stick and deliverest thy Soul from that terrible Pit which swallows up so many imprudent Travellers 4. When ever you see or hear of the judicial Process of a Malefactor think and reflect upon this Day Think how terrible the sight of the judge is to the guilty Prisoner and how much more terrible the sight of a Majestick God will be to the unhappy Sinner that would not be kept in by the Laws and Sanctions of the great Commander of the World and stood more in awe of a Child or Servant when he was going to commit lewdness then of him who gave him life and being Think how the Malefactor is frighted confounded with the vast company of Men and Women that crowd in to hear his Tryal and how much more the impenitent Sinner will be ashamed in the last Day when all the People that have been since the Creation of the World will look upon him and hear what his fate will be some Orators have been struck dumb with the greatness of their Auditory what effect then may we suppose will the Congregation of Mankind have upon a wretch that never saw the hundred thousandth part of them before Think how it must be with the Malefactor before the Sentence of Death passes upon him how heavy his mind is how Melancholick his Thoughts how drooping his Spirits are and what Palpitations he feels about his Heart and how far greater the heaviness of the sinful Soul must be before the Sentence of Condemnation proceeds against her from the mouth of God how much more sad remembrances how much more dismal reflections will seize upon her And if it be so sad with her before the Sentence be past what trembling and horrour will invade her after it A Malefactor here on Earth may yet entertain hopes of Pardon his Prince may be merciful pitty the distressed condition of his Family remember past services and relent and change
the Sentence but the sinful Soul once condemned to suffer hath no hopes of forgiveness no hopes of being Repriv'd no hopes of being released not but that God is infinitely more merciful then the meekest Prince on Earth can be but the time of Mercy is past Once he was merciful to her to a Miracle his Mercy was her Shield Mercy did encompass her Mercy lay entreating of her Mercy courted her Mercy though abused came again and tried new arguments Mercy followed her Mercy preserved her from a Thousand evils Mercy would not suffer the roaring Lion to touch her for many years Mercy stood by her even then when she desperately affronted her Maker Mercy was patient towards her Mercy wept over her Mercy call'd to her Mercy would have pull'd her away from her Errors but she thrust this bright Angel away would have none of it made light of it laught at its charms despised its entreaties scorned its carresses disregarded its smiles refused its offers rejected its embraces and therefore cannot seed her self with hopes of Pardon now Nay the Malefactor here on Earth when Men will not Pardon hath yet hopes that upon his true Repentance God will Pardon him but the Soul that departs hence in a sensual carnal condition the same she lived in hath no higher Court to appeal to none above God to make her moan to none beyond the supream Lawgiver to address her self to The God the hath despised and whose Mercy could make no impression on her is to be her last Judge and therefore how much more disconsolate must her state be then the condemn'd Malefactor's here on Earth 5. Whenever you converse with sick and dying men and are present when their Breath leaves their Bodies think and reflect upon this day Think with your selves This man is going to be judged his Soul is entring into the Territories of another World to know what her everlasting state must be This will shortly be my case I must ere long follow her to God's Tribunal here my stay will be but short here I have no continuing City here I am not to tarry long my Friend that 's gone shews me the way that I must go I saw him expire I heard his last groans I was by when his Eye-strings broke if the Lord Jesus gave him any assurance of his favour before he died with what chearfulness will his Soul meet her Bridegroom in the Air how welcome will he be in the Court of the great King What rejoicing will there be when he and the other glorified spirits behold one another and they see that one more is added to their Number for there is no envy in Heaven no grudges no fretting because so many are admitted into the Everlasting Mansions but the more holy Souls do enter there the more their joy encreases If this my Friend hath lived above the World while he lived here with what gladness will his Soul be brought and enter into the Kings Palace How will his Name be remembred there How kindly will Angels talk of him How favourable will the Judge be to him but if his Devotion and Piety hath been but Paint and Shew what a surprize will it be immediatly upon his coming among the spirits of another World to be arrested at the suit of the Great God and to be carried away to his Tryal He is taken away from his sick Bed but should his Soul be sent away with a Curse how much worse will Hell be then his sick Bed In a sick Bed Physick may yet give some ease but Hell scorns all Medicines no Drugs are of any use there no Cordials no Cataplasmes are to be found there no vulnerary Herbs grow in that Wilderness On a sick Bed Friends may yet comfort us but in Hell there is no Friend all are Enemies all hate one another because none can deliver the other from his Torments In a sick Bed Neighbours may give their advice but in Hell no advice can be given for the Inhabitant are not capable of taking it The Devils indeed may advise them to speak evil of God because of the irreversible doom they lie under but that 's a Remedy infinitly worse then the Disease and they that follow this counsel increase God's Anger and their own Plagues and as they venture upon new Sins so God must inflict new Curses and try new Rods and new Scourges which makes the misery truly infinite Such Reflections the sight of a sick and dying Man will cause nor is this judging of his everlasting and final State but a mere conditional Meditation undertaken for no other end but to affect our own Souls with the day of God's righteous Judgment to improve our own Thoughts and to make a holy use of such Occasions as God's Providence thinks fit to present to us 6. Whenever you go to a Funeral think of this Day of Judgment When you see the Mourners go about the Streets when you your selves accompany the Corps to the Grave think of the great Sentence the Soul will receive upon her Approaches to the Throne of the Heavenly Majesty St. Hierom describing the Funeral of the happy Paula that famous Saint who while she lived here was Eyes to the Blind a Nurse of the Poor a Staff to the Lame and an Example to all religious Persons tells us That when she was dead there were heard no Shrieks no Howlings no Weeping no despairing Lamentations but Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs her Corps was carried to the Grave upon Bishops Shoulders Prelates carried Lamps and Wax-Candles before her and a Quire of Singing-Men accompanied her to her Tomb and most of the People of Palestina came together to attend the Funeral The Monks crept out of their Cells the Virgins from their Retirement and good Men in all Places thereabout thought it Sacriledge not to pay the last Office to her The Widows and Orphans as in the case of Dorcas came and shew'd the Garments she had made for them and all the indigent and needy cryed they had lost a Mother and for three Days Psalms were sung in Greek Hebrew Latin and Syriack and every Body celebrated her Funeral as if it had been their own When you behold the Funeral of such a holy Person think how with far greater Pomp the Angels meet her Soul at the Gates of Heaven and on their Shoulders carry it to the Throne of everlasting Mercy Think how joyfully those blessed Ministers conduct such a Soul to her eternal Rest and how they triumph that she is deliver'd from the Burden of the Flesh and advanced from a Valley of Tears to a Place of endless Glory When the great Constantius died in Brittain his Ashes were put in a golden Chest and with great Pomp carried through France and Italy to Rome but think how far greater Honour it is for such a holy Soul to be convey'd by the Spirits of Light into the City coming down from Heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her
Husband the twelve Gates whereof are twelve Pearls and the Streets pure Gold as it were transparent Glass On the other side when you see the stately Funeral of a voluptuous and sensual Man such as Attila was the Souldiers tearing their Hair the Courtiers weeping the Body wrap'd up in Silk the Guard proclaiming his valiant Actions and Monuments erected upon the Grave of Gold of Silver and of Iron think on the more dismal Funeral of his Soul in case it was not wash'd here with the Waters of Repentance and which is the greatest Purification with the Blood of Jesus think if the Soul be for ever separated from the glorious Presence of God and commanded away into everlasting Darkness not all the stately Monuments raised for the honour of her Body will qualifie her Misery in the other World not all the Acclamations or Applauses of Flatterers will give her any Comfort not all the Riches she enjoy'd on Earth nor all her Wealth and Greatness and Dominion will there extinguish the least Spark of Fire her Conscience will feel This dreadful Funeral will be attended with crouds of unhappy Spirits who instead of mourning will rejoyce at the Guest that 's come into their Tents and Lycaon like cover her with eternal Darkness Such a Soul is laid in a worse Grave than her Body even in the burning Lake where the Misery is proportion'd to her former Sins and her Conscience frighted with Scenes of Horror and the Remembrance of her quondam Pomp encreases her Discontent and Anguish think of this and learn to be sober think of this and learn self-denial think of this and learn not to love the World think of this and learn to secure the Light God's Countenance think of this and learn to honour them that fear the Lord think of this and learn to do good in your Generation 7. To avoid the Terror of this future Judgment judge your selves here on Earth for if we would judge our selves we should not be judged saith the Apostle 1. Cor. 11.31 Then we judge our selves when we confess our particular Errors and condemn our selves for the Commission when with Grief and sorrow of Heart and Indignation against our selves we do acknowledge that we have abused the Divine Mercy and by so doing deserved his taking his holy Spirit from us when we lay his Threatnings before us and confess that these Plagues are due to us and that we have deserved them and wonder at the Patience of God that hitherto hath been loath to give order to the destroying Angel to seize on us when from a sense of our Neglect and Sins we cry It is a bitter thing and evil that we have forsaken the Lord and that his Fear hath not been in us and are so convinced of our Demerits that we can give no other Reason for our Escape and Preservation so long but God's infinite Goodness when we are angry with our selves for our imprudence in neglecting so great Salvation and study how to be revenged upon our Corruptions when we decry our inward and outward failings and are resolved to mortifie them were they as dear to us as our right Hand and Foot and the Apple of our Eye when we erect a Tribunal in our Souls and bid our disorderly Thoughts and Words and Actions appear before us and give an account of their behaviour and finding they have been exhorbitant lash them into better manners when we lay mulcts on our inordinate desires in case they will not yield and put our Flesh to some more than ordinary trouble in case it will not be kept within its due bounds and limits when we punish our Eyes by fixing them so many hours on Heaven or on the Word of God because they gazed on things which God hath forbid when we chastise our Ears with hearing so many Sermons because such a Day they listned with pleasure to an offensive story when we inflict silence upon our Tongues for some days because such a time they spake things either undecent or injurious to our Neighbours when we bid our Feet keep at home for a considerable time because they ran into evil Company when they should not when we deny our Body its necessary Food and Refreshment for some time because it pamper'd it self such a Day and plaid the wanton when we will not let our sensual Appetite enjoy its harmless and innocent delights for a certain time because the other Day it it was greedy after outward and carnal satisfactions when we suffer our selves to be reproached without answering because such a Day we flew out into an unruly passion This is to judge our selves and they that do so may be confident they shall not be condemn'd with the World in doing so we do that to our selves which God would have done to us if we had continued impenitent insensible and take that vengeance of our selves which God would have taken of us in a severer manner in case we had not bethought our selves and thus we prevent his anger and shew that we dread his Wrath and seek his Love that his Threatnings fright us and that we have just apprehensions of his Indignation and such men the Holy Ghost counts happy for blessed is he that feareth always saith the wise Man Prov. 28.14 8. In your Actions regard not so much how they are relish'd with Men as whether they will hold Water and endure the Test before the Judge when your naked Souls must appear before him Abundance of our Actions appear plausible to men who see no further then the outside but let 's consider whether they will bear the piercing Eye of this All-seeing Judge it 's true should God lay our Righteousness to the Line and measure our Religious actions by the exact Rule of his Wisdom Justice and Holiness he would spy innumerable flaws even in the Services of the devoutest Person living but he proceeds not according to that rigour but upon the account of the Great Mediator vouchsafes Grains of allowance for accidental infirmities and incogitancies and unforeseen and involuntary slips and the sincerity of a good work is that he chiefly takes notice of whether the intention was good whether the design was Holy whether Love was the Principle of it whether it was without reserves of some secret sin whether there was candour and ingenuity in it and whether the offering was free unforced unconstrain'd by any outward Motive and whether Charity lay at the bottom Many of our Actions may want these qualifications of Sincerity and yet appear specious and gay and glorious in the Eyes of Spectators and those we converse withal Look not Christians on the commendations of your Neighbours in your acts of Piety but on the commendations of that Judg to whom ye must give an account for not he that commends himself or whom men commend is approved but whom the Lord commendeth 2 Cor. 10.18 If he do not commend our works all the approbations of Mortal men will do
us but little good another day and serve only to tell us that we were cheated by those Encomiums Alas How many men are counted Just and Righteous Honest and Good here on Earth whom the Great Judge will not find so when he comes to examine their deeds by the Rule of Sincerity Sirs matter not whether men do look upon you as devout but see that God may esteem you so Alas what doth it signifie that men call me Religious when God knows I am an Hypocrite What comfort can it be to me that men think me charitable when God sees I give Alms to be seen of men What will it profit me that men call me Zealous and Fervent when God sees that gain and profit is the cause of it What doth it avail me that men say I pray well when God sees I study to please the Company What great matter is it that men applaud me for a single Virtue when God sees I am partial in my Obedience What great advantage can it be to me that men say I am humble when God sees pride in that very humility The Apostle therefore bids us look to the manner of our performances He that gives let him do it with simplicity He that rules with diligence He that shews Mercy with cheerfulness Let love be without dissimulation be kindly affectioned one to another with Brotherly love c. Rom. 12.8 9 10. So when you pray let your Hearts breath out holy Desires when you sing let your Minds bear a principal Part in the Hymn when you come to the Table of the Lord let your Souls be touch'd with the love of Jesus when you are kind to your Neighbours banish all sinister Designs when you express any holy Fervours let God's Glory be in your Eye when you discharge any part of your Duty to God and Man let a cheerful Obedience to the Gospel be the Motive Do all this as unto God not as unto Men do it as if no Creature saw you do it as if none but God were before you do it as if you were to be summoned this Moment to Judgment such Services will endure the Probe such Devotions will stand good such Acts of Piety will hear searching such Works God himself will be a witness to that they were wrought according to his Will and by the Power of his holy Spirit 9. What Injuries you receive in this World from Men bear them patiently out of regard to this great Day of Judgment when God will set all things to rights and take care that you lose nothing by your Sufferings Rejoyce Christian in thine Innocence which God intends to proclaim in this Day before all Men and Angels He 'll wipe off all the Dirt and Aspersions that are thrown upon thee in this day He will bring forth thy Righteousness as the Light and thy Judgment as the Noon-day What need'st thou take notice of an Affront offer'd to thee when thy God stands engaged to take notice of it with a Witness in this day What need'st thou seek Revenge when thy Master whom thou servest is resolved to judge thy Cause in this Day What need'st thou fret and rage at the Contempt Men put upon thee here when thy great Lord will be sufficiently angry with the Offender in this day What need'st thou grieve that Men abuse thee here when thy Sovereign Master will grieve every Vein of the Reviler's Heart in this day What need'st thou be concerned for the Reproaches Men cast upon thee for thy Righteousness sake when he for whose Name thou sufferest will vindicate thy Wrong and call the Persecuter Fool for his Pains in this day Say not At this rate there will be no living for me in the World trust that God who hath promised to clear thy Innocence in this day and he will hide thee under the shadow of his Wings while thou art in this troublesome World he that preserved Elijah when Ahab and Jezabel and all the Prophets of Baal were enraged against him knows how to keep thee in the Hour of Temptation Ay but Revenge is sweet What if it be so to Flesh and Blood it will prove bitter to thy Spirit and if ever thou art saved a bitter Repentance must come in and salve the Wound and wilt thou prepare for a needless and uncertain Repentance How knowest thou whether God will after the Fact give thee his holy Spirit to come to this Repentance And what Cruelty is it when God is resolved to revenge thy Quarrel that thou wilt needs revenge it too If thou revengest it God will take no care to plead for thee but if thou leave thy Cause entirely to him thy Wrong will be infinitely recompens'd in this day Thus did thy blessed Master who when he suffer'd threatned not but committed himself to him that judges righteously Wilt thou boast of being his Disciple and art thou loth to follow his Example Fear not those Men who wrong thee now will be sufficiently sorry for the Injury either here if ever they be truly converted or hereafter when the Almighty will convince them to their everlasting Grief how much they were mistaken in their Verdicts and what sinister Constructions they put upon thy Actions how barbarous their Rage was against thee how inhumane the ill Language they gave thee and how unjust all their Reproaches were Do but stay a little while and thou shalt see it with thine Eyes Have but Patience untill that appointed day and thou wilt find the Prophet was in the right when he said The Righteous shall rejoyce when he sees the Vengeance so that a Man shall say Verily there is a reward for the Righteous Verily he is a God that judges in the earth Psal. 58.9 10. 10. Consider particularly That it will be more tolerable for Heathens and professed Infidels at this day than for Christians and not without reason Treason is more excusable in a Stranger than in a Citizen or Domestick and more may be pleaded for a sinful Life in a Pagan than in one of Christ's own Houshold A Heathen is obliged to God by the Right of Creation and Preservation but a Christian hath besides these Baptism and his Vows to tye him his Motives to the Fear of God are stronger than they can be in other Religions Where the greatest Rewards are there we may justly believe People will be most industrious most laborious and most sedulous No Religion proposes those rewards that Christianity doth The Heathens either had doubtful Apprehensions of an everlasting Happiness or were Strangers to the nature of it Among us this endless Glory is not only professed but most clearly revealed we are sure of it confident of it have no reason to dispute the certainty of it and the nature of it is discovered to us by him who came out of his Fathers Bosom therefore he that under these Manifestations proves careless and negligent of God's Love can have no Excuse And as Heaven is or may