the world and takest thy fill of pleasure and bearest all before thee and wilt have thy minde and art stout and stubborn in thy way and scornest the truthes of God by his Ministers but what wilt thou doe in the day of visitation when the time shall come that puts an end unto thy dayes here O the change that wil then be in thy spirit God will then look upon thee with indignation and say O wretched creature that hast spent thy dayes in vanity thou shalt continue no longer in this world and now the wrath of the Almighty is let out upon thee Thou art upon thy sick bed in distresse and conscience now is awakened and tortures that soul of thine and tells thee that such and such wickednesse at such a time in such a company in such a chamber thou didst commit and thou beginst now to curse thy selfe for thy folly and for neglecting the day of grace and salvation and now thy time is almost gone well thy sicknesse encreaseth thy paines continue thy friends are all sent for and they come about thee bewailing of thee and thou beginnest to look gastly and drawest thy breath short and the devil waits for his prey thy mouth falls thy soul departs and there is an end of thee an end of all thy pride and an end of all thy stoutnesse and an end of all thy vanity and wickednesse and this is the man that hath not made God his portion mercy hath had her time but thou hast neglected it and now thou art gone for ever We speak much of the mercy of God and is it not rich mercy for God to give to thee a wretched sinful creature such a blessed time of repentance as thou hast in this world for God to call and cry to thee and to tender thee grace and pardon and peace he did not doe so to the Angels that sinned when they committed but one sin against God he cast them away and would not so much as treat with them about any termes of peace and therefore seeing thou hast had thy time already let all the Angels in Heaven and Saints and creatures yea and devils themselves acknowledge that God was merciful to this man to this wretched man and woman that had such a faire time though now judgement be upon them O my brethren the thoughts of death under this notion hath a great deal in it to work upon your hearts I remember I have heard of one that used to pray six times a day and being asked why he spent so much time in praying he gave no other answer but this I must dye I must dye that which was to come after would put a period to the time of his life upon which so much did depend O that we had hearts to consider it and that we knew even now in this our day the things that belong to our everlasting peace before it be too late Brethren these things are of infinite concernment to your immortal souls the Lord grant they may be prevalent upon every one of us We may apply this dreadfulnesse of death that followes upon the meditation of this point I have been upon unto divers sorts of people as first me thinkes it should be of great force and efficacy to work upon the hearts of old people your time is neer you had need be sure that your work is done for certainly you have no long time for the accomplishing of that great work of making your peace with God it is three or foure a clock as it were in your day of grace the Sun is setting with you Now if a man be to goe a journey upon his life and hath neglected the fore-noon and much of the after-noon also and sees the Sun draw low he thinkes with himself I had need make haste now for if the Sun be once set and I not at my journeyes end I am a lost man my life is gone They that goe over where the Sea is dry at one time and flowes at another but so that if they misse but half an houre they are dead men if by their watch they finde the time is almost come for the waters to returne then their hearts are daunted and they say one to another we had need make haste for the time is almost at an end O consider this you old men that have neglected the time of your youth and now your time is almost at an end know in this your day the things of your peace double now your diligence It is a most dreadful thing to see an old wicked man an old sinner an old scorner an old carnal wretch that never understood the great businesse that he came into the world for Secondly this concernes all prophane wretches who instead of doing the work of their time and preparing for their everlasting estate goe directly backwards and make the breach between God and their souls wider If a man have a journey to goe for his life and he must goe it before the Sun be set and he goes a quite contrary way when he begins to reflect upon himself he then sayes where am I If the Sun goe downe before I am at my journeyes end I am a dead man so is it with you that goe on in wayes of prophanesse God hath sent you here to live to the praise of his name and to work out your salvation with feare and trembling and you have gone directly backward and the time of your lives hath been spent in nothing else but in making your selves seaven-fold more the children of wrath then before you had need now look to your selves for if you dye in your course of prophanesse you are undone for ever Thirdly for those that have been heretofore in a good forwardnesse in the way of life and salvation that have had some stirrings of conscience in them but yet through the violence of their lusts have been turned back againe and have fallen off from their former state certainly this point might strike thee to the heart As a man that is to goe over the Sea for his life by such a time and he hath a good gale for the present but when he is come neer the haven a great gust drives him back againe O what a sad condition is this man in so is it with thee the time was when thou hadst a good gale God came graciously to thee by the work of his spirit and thou seemedst to be in a good forwardnesse in the work thou wast borne for but the gust of fin and the violence of lust hath carried thee quite back againe and now thou art further off then before how should this awaken thee to improve all thy time and opportunities to the uttermost for the good of thy soul Againe this concernes those that upon every discontent wish themselves dead as some froward people if any thing crosses them they presently wish themselves in the grave O vaine man and woman dost thou know what thou doest
notwithstanding the infinitenesse of Gods holinesse yet there should be a way for us polluted creatures to looke upon this God with joy This mystery is onely taught in the Gospel Though men now thinke they can come and cry to God for mercy yet hereaafter when God shal let out the brightnesse of his holinesse to thee and thou comest to see thy uncleannesse then thy heart will sinke down in eternall despaire thou wilt not endure to behold God then And if thou beest not acquainted with God in this way of reconciliation thou art undone for ever therefore study the mystery of the Gospell and make use of Christ that the glory of Gods holinesse may not be to thy terrour but to thy comfort This Sermon was preacht March 21. 1640. COLOS. 3. V. 11. latter end of it But Christ is all in all March 28 1641. IT is not long since as some of you may remember that in this place that subject was handled of the Saints enjoyment of God to be all in all out of 1 Cor. 15. v. 28. and then I told you we had such an expression in Scripture but onely twice applyed to God in the happinesse of the Saints enjoyment of him in heaven and applyed here to Christ of what Christ is to them for the present That which was handled about Gods being all in all is the end this that is to be delivered concerning Christ being all in all is that which brings the soul to that blessed end Wherefore then as Christ him selfe sayes John 14. 1. Yee believe in God believe also in me So I say as God shall be all in all eternally to the Saints doe you believe in that believe also in this that I am to deliver to you this day that Christ he is all and in all The Apostle Saint Paul was a chosen vessell to beare the name of Christ to carry it up and downe in the world and indeed his spirit was full of Christ he desired to know nothing but Christ to Preach nothing but Christ to be found in none but Christ the very name of Christ was delightfull to him he seekes in all his Epistles to magnifie Christ and in these words that I have read unto you he doth omnifie Christ he makes him not onely great but makes him all There is neither Greeke nor Jew circumcision nor uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond nor free but Christ is all in all that is there is no priviledge in the one to commend them to God and no want of any thing in the other to hinder them from God let men be what they will in their outward respects what is that to God let them be never so mean in regard of all outwards that cannot hinder them from the enjoyment of God for God lookes not at these things but Christ is all and in all to them so farre as God seeth Christ in any he accepts of them if Christ be not there whatever they have he regards them not Christ is all in all even in the esteeme of the Father himselfe he was the delight of the father from all eternity Prov. 8. 30. and the father tooke infinite contentment in him upon his willingnesse to undertake this blessed worke of the redemption of mankinde God the father is infinitely satisfied in Christ he is all in all to him Surely if Christ be an object sufficient for the satisfaction of the father much more then is he an object sufficient for the satisfaction of any soul But that which is the maine scope here of the holy Ghost in this high expression of Christs transcendent excellency that I may come presently to it I shall deliver it in this doctrinall proposition That Christ is the onely meanes of conveighance of all good that God the father intends to communicate unto the children of men in order to eternall life he is all and in all This that I am now to Preach unto you namely Gods communicating of himselfe in his mercy to mankinde through a mediatour it is the very sum of the Gospell the great mystery of godlinesse 't is the chiefe part of the minde and counsell of God that he would have made knowne to the children of men in this world This is the great embassage that the ministers of the Gospell have to bring unto the sons and daughters of men and 't is the most absolutely necessary point in all Divinity I suppose in the first hearing of it every one yeilds to the truth of it 't is true you will say we can have no good from God but in and by Christ Well there is a great deal in that you say when you say all must come from God in Christ in all your prayers and petitions you usually conclude them through Jesus Christ but certainely this is many times spoken when we see little of the glory of God that there is in such an expression and that which I shall this day endeavour shall be to shew you somewhat of the glory of God shining in this truth that God doth communicate himselfe through a mediatour through his son This is the great point of Divinity that is absolutely necessary to be known to eternall life it is possible to be ignorant of many other truths and yet be saved but there must be some knowledge of this or there can be no salvation the mistake in this very thing is the miscarriage and the eternall undoing of thousand thousands of souls many there are who believe that they have need of and can never be saved but by Gods mercy and this the light of nature convinceth us of but that God is to communicate his mercy through a mediator this they are ignorant of and see not into the reallity of this truth and miscarry and perish eternally with cryes to God for mercy because they come to God but not through a mediator This is the sum of the Gospell and the most supernaturall truth revealed in all the book of God It is a truth that was hidden almost from all the world for many ages the Scripture saith The Princes of the world knew it not A truth we are not able to understand any thing of by the light of nature 1 Cor. 1. 21. The world by wisdome knew not God that is by all their arts and sciences by all their naturall wisedome they knew not God savingly they did not know God in Christ There is no footsteps of this truth in all the works of creation or providence therefore in Ephes 3. 8. Saint Paul sayes he was appointed to Preach the unsearchable riches of Christ that riches that hath no footsteps that is the propriety of the word there is no footsteps of the riches of the Gospell in the creature therefore you cannot trace it there whereas many other points of religion have many footsteps in the creature and by the light of nature much may be discovered about God as that all our good consists in communion with God that when
I must here breake off This Sermon was preacht April 21. 1641. HEBR. â— v. 27. the latter end of the Verse But after this the judgement April 29. 1641. THe scope of the Holy Ghost in this Epistle is to prove the excellency of Christ that he is the Messiah that was to come into the world and that all the types and shadowes of the law pointed at him And a special part of the Epistle is to shew the excellency of the Priesthood of Christ by preferring it above the Priesthood of Aaron and amongst other regards in this that those Priests did offer up sacrifices often but Christ offered himself but once and this once offering of himself was available for ever and needed no further offering And this the Holy Ghost doth illustrate by comparing the efficacy of Christs sufferings with the efficacy of what a man doth here in this world that as the actions of men here in this world whatever they are whether good or evil are available for ever what a man doth in this life accordingly when he dyes he comes to be stated eternally so the death of Christ it is available for ever It is appointed for men once to dye and then comes judgement By judgement here I doe not think the Holy Ghost intends especially the judgement of the great day though it be true that after death the judgement of the great day will follow and all men must come to judgement but I shall not speak one word of the judgement of that day But there is another judgement that I conceive is the intent of the Holy Ghost here and that is the particular judgement that passeth upon every soul immediately after death which is the stateing of the soul in the eternal condition of it either of happinesse or misery While men live here their condition is not stated by any act of God though in regard of his eternal purpose it is the same for ever even the Saints themselves would be here in much hazzard and danger about their everlasting estate in regard of themselves and what they have actually bestowed upon them were it not that the grace of God is above them the people of God in this life are not without many feares and doubts about their everlasting condition and what would many poor children of God give to be delivered from their feares and doubts which are a grievous burthen to them that they might never have feare or doubt more about their eternal estates Well if thou beest godly in a little time it will be so with thee this is the good that death will bring unto thee that after death judgement will come to thee that is thou shalt be so actually stated in thy everlasting condition as to be beyond all hazard about it thou shalt be beyond all feares and doubts and temptations thou shalt never feare more never doubt more never be tempted more never more lose any of the good that thou art possessed of this is the judgement that comes to the Saints after death And on the other side wicked men here in this world are not without their hopes and confidences that all shall be well with them but after death comes judgement to them that is as we have it Proverbs 11 7. when a wicked man dieth his hope perisheth he is stated in such a condition as he is never like to have hope of good more he is past all hope and possibility of ever receiving further mercy from God and this is the meaning of the Text on both hands that after death comes Judgement Whatsoever mens conditions are here in this world though the Saints have many fears doubts about their estates yet I say immediately after death they shall be so stated and actually possessed of happinesse that they shall never doubt more And howsoever wicked men in this world have many hopes and confidences and blesse themselves in their way yet immediately after death all shall vanish for then judgement shall come Job hath this expression Job 8. 14. The hope of the hypocrite is as the spiders web he spins out of his own spirit a cunning web but the besome of death at once dasheth it all away for immediately after death he comes to judgement This then is the doctrinal conclusion we are to handle out of these words thus opened unto you That the onely time that men have to provide for their eternall condition is the time of this life if it be not done here there is no help afterward for after death comes judgement I shall desire to handle this point so farre as it may be a ground to work upon your hearts and to stirre you up in the time of your lives to make all sure between God and your souls for after death comes judgement This point that I am now to treat about it is one of the most serious points that concerns the children of men and usually one of the first things that the Lord settles upon the hearts and consciences of those whom he converts to himself For a man going on in wayes of sin and death to bethink himself Lord where am I what am I doing what is like to become of me wherefore was I borne wherefore came I into the world what have I to doe here Then God answers that which thou hast to doe here and art sent into the world for is to make provision for eternity t is about this great businesse to make up all between God and thy soul and look thou beest careful in it for though thy life be short and uncertaine yet this great businesse doth depend upon this short and uncertaine time of thy life and if it be neglected in this little space of time I give unto thee thou art lost and undone for ever for presently after death comes judgement and you shall be then stated so as there can be no alteration It is the observation of the School-men that what did befal to the Angels that sinned that in death befalls unto wicked men that is as the Angels upon the first act of sin were presently stated in an irrecoverable condition so wicked men when they dye are stated in an irrecoverable condition It is true while we live in this world though we are sinful yet our condition is to be lookt upon as better then the condition of the fallen Angels there is not here such an actuall stating of us but when once death comes a wicked man is then in the same condition with the devils themselves that is his condition is then so stated and made as certaine and sure and as irrecoverable as any of the Angels that sinned While we preach to men though never so wicked and ungodly because an actual judgement such as the Text speakes of is not past upon them we are to offer grace and mercy to them in Christ but if this offer be neglected for a while if the twine thread the single thread of thy life be once