consider the euils you haue committed and the good you haue omitted the tormenting worme will seize vpon your conscience the worm that Esay 66. speaketh of The worme shal neuer dy And the Euangelist Marke 9. did testifie the same Their worme dieth not their fire neuer goeth out their torments are endlesse neither is there in that day any partiality to be vsed For the Kings of the earth Gentlemen the rich men the great chiefe Captaines the mighty men euery bond-man and euery frée-men shall hide themselues in the dens and in the rockes of the mountaines shall say to the rocks and mountains fal on vs and hide vs from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the wrath of the Lambe For she great day of wrath is come and who shall be able to stand But when the Son of man shall come in the Maiesty of his glory and the holy Angels with him before whom all Nations shall be gathered He shall then separate them one from another as she shepheard diuideth his shéepe from the Goats and he shall set his shéepe on his right hand and the goats on the left hand and the King shall say to them on the right hand Mat 25. Come yee blessed of my father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world but to them on the left hand hée shall say Depart from me you wicked into euerlasting fire prepared for the diuell his angels and those shall goe into euerlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternall To conclude this point heare she Counsell of our Sauiour Châ—ist Take heed lest at any time your hearts be ouercharged with surfeting and drunkennesse c. 2. 34 and cares of this life and so that day come vpon vs vnawares For as a snare it shall come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth watch yee and pray alwayes that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and to stand before the Sonne of man Since therefore all these things are suddenly expected to be fulfilled and all that reade the Scriptures may heare this both from Prophets and Apostles nay and Christ himselfe That it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God It is a wonder that since all things as the Apostle saith shall be dissolued that now at length we become not pure and walke in an holy conuersation and godlinesse looking for 2 Pet. 3.11 and hasting vnto the comming of the day of God Wherein the Heauens being on fire shall be dissolued and the elements shall melt with feruent heat It is a wonder that we doe not deny all vngodlines and worldly desires and lusts of the flesh the glory of the world the deceitfulnesse of riches and the choaking cares of all earthly things and exercise our selues in all sobriety and godlinesse looking for that blessed hope Tit. 2.3 and the glorious appeaâ—ance of that great God and our Sauiour Iesus Christ It ought therefore to be our â—rst and chiefest care in these dangerous â—nd wicked times not being drowned in â—he imployments of this world to haue a â—are of our owne saluation and to make â—ure the anchor of our hope and saith that â—ur soules suffer not eternall shipwracke â—et vs not perswade our selues that the â—ord is not néer Let vs not say with them â—hat Peter reprehended where is the proâ—ise of his comming For since the fathers â—el asléep all things continue as they were â—nce the Creation for how long these â—hings shall continue the Lord of Hosts by the Prophet Haggai doth declare Yet once it is a little while and I wil shake the heauens and the earth the Sea and the dry land Now the Apostle Peter giues the reason why he is not yet come 2 Pet. 3.9 'T is his long suffering saith he to vs-wards not willing that any should perish but that all should come vnto repentance wherefore account that the long suffering of the Lord is saluation and be diligent that you may bee found of him in feare without spot and blamelesse we must be diligent watchfull the Grecians are gone aside we haue a Sinon in vs that will yéeld the place to them we must continually watch and haue alwayes an eye to the watch holding our weapons in our hands vnlesse wee be minded at all times to be surprised and yéeld at the pleasure of our enemie For the day of the Lord commeth as a theefe in the night in which the Heauens shall passe away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with feruent heat Therefore be yee ready for in such an houre as you thinke not the Sonne of man commeth Now they that deferre the comming of the Lord and say with that euill seruant My Lord delayeth his comming Let vs eate and drinke be drunken let them know The Lord will come in a day when they looke not for him and in an houre when they are not aware and will cut them asunder and will giue them their portion with the vnbeleeuers Hypocrites where there shal be weeping and waâ—â—ing and gâ—ashing of teeth Now Luk. 12.3 they that know these things and prepare not themselues neither doe according to the Will of God shall be beaten with many stripes as the same Apostle Saint Luke hath in his Gospel pronounced Let vs endeauour therefore that when the last day cometh we may say with S. Paule I haue fought a good fight 2 Tim. 4.7 I haue finished my course I haue kept the Faith henceforth there is laid vp for me a crowne of righteousnesse which the Lord that righteous Iudge shall giue me that day but is this crowne laid vp for thee alone O Paul not onely for mée he saith but also for them that loue the Lord Iesus and expect his appearance Oh that this would take some impression in the hardest of hearts that doe sing a temporall requietem here vnto their soules lest while they think the day of the Lord farthest from them it on the sudden come vpon them and so they be found in a condition too late to be amended and by no meanes whatsoeuer to be auoided To conclude all gird vp the loynes of your mindes be sober and hope to the end for the glory that is to be brought to you at the reuelation of Iesus Christ as obedient children not walking after your former lusts of ignorance let your loynes I say be girded and your lights burning and you your selues like vnto them that wait for the Lord â—uk 12 15 when he wil return from the wedding that when he coÌ„meth and knocketh you may open immediatly blessed is the seruant whom his Master when hée coÌ„meth finds so doing of a truth I say vnto you he will make him ruler euer all hée hath Take ye heed watch and pray for ye know not when the time is For the sonne of man is as a man taking a far iourney who left his house and gaue authority to â—â—s seruants and to euery man his worke â—â—mmanding them to waith Watch ye therefore for ye know not when the Master commeth at euen at mid-night or at the cock crowing lest comming suddenly he finde you sleeping and so cast you into prison there to remaine world without end From which the Lord Iesus kéepe vs all and that for his mercy sake alone To whom he rendred all honour glory praise and thankesgiuing now and for euer Amen FINIS
CHRIST In the Clouds OR GODS comming to Iudgement A short Treatise very necessary in these euill and dangerous times for all those which desire that the day of the Lord may be their day of ioy MAR. 13. Verses 35.36 Watch for yee know not when the Master of the house will come whether at Euening or at mid-night or at the Cock-crowing or at the dawning lest he come suddenly and finde you sleeping LONDON Printed for F. Coles at the vpper end of the Old-Baily neere Newgate 1635. Christ in the Clouds or Gods comming to Iudgement EPicurisme and Atheisme are two sins most hainous and deadly the Atheist beléeues there is no God him Dauid confutes Doubtles there is a God which iudgeth the earth The Epicure beléeues there is no Iudgement after Death him Salomon doth séeme to instruct Remember that for all these things thou must come to Iudgment There is no Christian I think Mat. 24.3 but beléeues that there shall be a day of Iudgment But when this day shal come none knows for of that day and houre no man knoweth neither the Angels of heauen but my father only But although no mans reach is able to determine when that day and houre shall be yet it may plainly be demonstrated and shown both from the Prophets and Apostles that this iudgement day is néere at hand will most suddenly come vpon vs. It is the mercy of the holy Ghost to man in holy Writ to insert these caueats and to put man in mind of the Iudgement day and thrée speciall causes 1 That we may be terrified from sin 2 That we might be admonished to the true and sincere worship of God 3 That wee might be strengthened in our faith lest that great and terrible Day should come vpon vs vnawares and so find vs vnprouided Since the foundation of the world wée know the time when the dissolution of the world shal be we are altogether ignorant yet we may iustly Prophesie and presage thus much since sinne and impiety is now come to that height that it can by no succéeding ages be aggrauated that vertue and godlinesse are so despised and vilified among impious men that they can neuer hereafter be lesse estéemed Who cannot then perceiue or is so dull sighted that is not able to apprehend and fore-sée the dissolution to bée at hand Now is that Prophesie of Hosea verified There is no truth nor mercy Hosea 4. nor knowledge of God in the Land which appeareth by the cursing lying murthers thefts and adulteries which now aboundeth Mich. 7. So that now as the Prophet Micah hath it The godly man is perisht from the earth there is no iust man among the sons of men Thus Hosea Micah nay all the Prophets do agrée in one whereupon saith Saint Ambrose When righteous men perish from off the face of the earth the earth must needs perish also because the godly are the pith marrow of earth For as a trée without pith moisture soone drieth vp so the present world must néeds decay when the righteous that should vphold it are not to be found in it for this cause as the Prophet Esay hath it In the City is left desolation and destruction is in the gates thereof because of their manifold iniquities Christ Iesus himselfe said As in the dayes before the Flood Mat. 24. they were eating and drinking marrying and giuing in marriage vntill the day of the flood came and tooke them away So also shall the comming of the Sonne of man be by reason of prophanesse and too much security Suppose that this Prophecy shall be fulfilled vpon our present times and that God will say to vs as he did to Noah I will destroy you with the world O vnhappy and miserable shall that man bee then that hath not God for his guide But to the end wee may the better discerne that we are they vpon whom the ends of the world must come there is no better a signe among those which Christ himselfe gaue before than this Namely That the Gospell of the Kingdome shall be preached in all the World for a witnesse to all nations and then shall the end come Which is as much as to say according to S. Chrysostome To accuse and reproue those that would not beleeue the Gospell The same it is of Hillarie The Apostles being dispersed throughout all the world and the Gospell preached then shall the fall of Ierusalem and the end be Neuerthelesse there are both learned vnlearned of this opinion that since the world so long after these prophesies hath continued as before that the end is not néere and that the world should continue still immutable but let them perseuere in their opinions For since S. Ambrose Cyprian Chrysostome and Saint Gregory were of opinion that since the Gospell in their time was preached to all Nations long after their time the world could not endure surely then it is most probable that this is the age in which the end must come Now that we may haue some proofe that the world cannot endure long because the Gospell is said to bée preached to all Nations heare Saint Ierome who was of opinion that there was in his time no Nation that was ignorant of the Gospell of Christ for he saith Although they haue no Preacher yet they cannot but heare the opinion of the Faith of their neighbour Nations This Prosper confirmes No part of the world is without the Gospel of Christ some of all sorts and of all Nations haue knowledge of Christ I could induce a Cloud of opinions but let Ambrose serue for them all The Gospell is preached that the world may be destroied To conclude this point since probably by this great motiue we are induced to beléeue that the end is at hand and that the day and houre thereof is vncertaine it should stirre vs vp to a more holy course of life lest that our desolation and confusion ouertake vs vnawares But to the end that wée may the better vnderstand and beléeue what hath béene before shewed the word of God is a most firme argument to informe vs of the truth of Christs sudden comming and that this present Age is the last Age of the world for the Spirit expresly saith 1 Timoth 4. That in the latter end some shall depart from the Faith giuing heed to seducing spirits and Doctrines of Deuills speaking lyes in Hypocrisie and hauing their consciencce feared with an hot iron c. And againe know this also That in the last dayes perillous times shall come for men will bee louers of their owne selues couetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to Parents vnthankefull vnholy without naturall affection truce-breakers false accusers incontinent despisers of those that are good high-minded louers of pleasure more than of God hauing the forme of godlinesse but denying the power thereof Thus farre the Apostle which words S. Cyprian handling saith All things that were foretold are
fulfilled and the end of the world drawing neere The Prophesies are come to passe both in respect of the men and the mindes for now if euer is the perfection or rather imperfection of all the sinnes the Apostle names to bée the fore runners of the end Why doubt wée then that the end is not at hand or why feare we not rather that a sudden end will preuent our procastinated Repentance As bodies are sicke before death and as infirmity and sickenesse are the true fore-runners of a separation betwéene the Body and the Soule Euen so fareth it with the world it now langnisheth and is corrupt it now lies sicke and therefore it must needes come to confusion and to an end For deadly sicknesse is a fore-runner of death all things now suffer their defect and let no man wonder at it for man now is borne in such defect in respect of the birth of man in former times but what is wanting in the present condition of mans body is supplied in the faculties of his minde and what is defectiue in the strength of his members is compleat in the ripenesse of his vnderstanding which is for the most part implyed not in liberall but in diuellish arts not in the study of learning but of pleasure Onely wit and maturity is resident in man the onely Idea and representment of the Image of God in man What can we otherwise but thinke that the time is at hand wherein mortality shall put on immortality wherin the burthen of the flesh being laid aside the glorious body of the Church shall bée coupled to her glorious head the communication of Saints shal be consummate and Christ shall inioy his Spouse in continuall loue and vnion In the meane time with Paul Vnhappy men that we are Rom. 4. â—4 who shall deliuer vs from this body of death that wee may passe secure to the body of life Then let euery good Christian in these wicked times wherein destruction hangs ouer our heads with good Hezekiah pray Lord I am oppressed doe thou vndertake for me and since the day of destruction is so néere vs wee intreat thée since it is expedient for vs that thou wouldest teach vs so to number our dayes that we may apply our hearts to wisedome Psal 39. And since thou hast pronounced that seruant happy whoÌ„ his Master when the came found vigilant and watchfull Grant Lord we beseech thée Luk. 12.37 that since it is manifest that long it cannot bée before thou come that wée may bée fitted and prepared for thy comming and bée found with oyle in our Lampes and so in happinesse enter thy Bride-chamber with ioy and let vs good Lord thinke the Day most neere lest while the day of death or iudgement bée thought to be farre off it preuent the improuident and while long life is expected it quickly forsake the wicked and guilty persons Our mindes are very desirous if we could to know the day of death and dissolution But if wee could attaine to the knowledge thereof what would it profit vs suppose the consummation of this world to be after ten twenty or forty or a hundred yeeres what is this materiall is not the terme of life the consummation of each man Why then are thou so troubled about the last day of iudgement since â—s thy end leaues thée Iudgement shall â—ind thée and how suddenly death shal find â—hee thou art altogether ignorant For as â—n other things not regarding things perâ—aining to our soules wee altogether are â—usied in things common saying This man is an Adulterer this man a Theefe â—his man a false-hearted fellow that man proud but no man hath a care or feeling of his owne sins far worse So doth euery man neglecting his own â—nd he would faine learne when the generall day of dissolution shall be which Day whether it be néere or farre off it doth noâ—hing concerne vs so each man regard his â—euerall end For since thou art borne 't is most certaine thou must dye and it is cerâ—ain after death commeth that Iudgment may be far off yet thy last day is at hand Therefore prepare thee for this day for if â—his day find thée vnprouided the day of â—udgment shall find thée so likewise when â—hou shalt rue for it Psalm 50. Consider this all yee â—hat forget God lest he teare you in péeâ—es and there bee none to helpe For our God shall goe and shal not kéepe silence A fire shall come before him and it shall be â—ery tempestuous round about him for God himselfe is Iudge And the Day of Iudgement will quickly be at hand preuent the speede thereof It will spéedilâ— come preuent it I say bée thou spéedilâ— conuerted And as the Prophet Dauiâ— aduiseth vs let vs runne before the facâ— of the Iudge with confession of our faultâ— and true contrition for the same And thâ— reason why thou knowest not his comming is that thou mayest alwayes be prepared for it for it is in thine owne poweâ— how thou mayest expect his comming hâ—â— therefore defers his comming that wheâ—â— he comes he may not daunt thee Behold hée is not yet come he is in Heauen thou art on earth he deferres his comming doâ— not thou deferre this time of repentance lest it for euer though too late repent thâ— of his comming For in that day it wilâ— be too late to repent therefore pray noâ— that his Kingdome come which thou fearest comming but rather correct thy selfe that thou pray not against thy selfe Today hee cals vpon thee that hée may not in that day condemne thee He that shall then be thy Iudge is now thine aduocate and hée now cals vpon thee that thoâ— wouldest leade a godly life Let vs therefore set the day of Iudgement before ouâ— eyes which way soeuer wée goe let vâ— carry the memory of it with vs and iâ— will bring this profit with it that we shall not onely meditate on the horrour and deâ—truction of that day but also wish for the â—ccomplishing of the same which makes â—he wicked to tremble when they heare it approacheth Thus Chrysostome saith Let vs from â—mong our selues repeat these things and with others there shall be a resurrection 〈◊〉 day of Iudgement and a time of examination for all our workes whether good or bad and this will cause that the minds â—oth of good and bad be not conuersant in â—he vanities and pleasures of this world and bee not tempted to any wickednesse â—ut rather to vndergoe any thing to be imposed vpon them here than to incurre the â—ore-séene punishment of euerlasting fire â—ereafter This made Dauid cry out Establish my flesh in thy feare for I haue been afraid to â—eare thy iudgements To conclude this â—oint since wée all must appeare before â—he Iudgement-seat of Christ that euery â—ne may receiue the thing done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad and knowing the terror and Iustice of the Iudge