Heaven and Glory and of the Beatifical Vision for withouâ— holiness we shall never see God Let us therefore leave off sorrowing for petty Losses and Crosses and turn the whole Torrent of our Sorrow into this Channel even against our sins 4. Nay the mischief of Sin ends not here it also exposeth us to the wrath of God and makes him our Enemy that otherwise would be our closest surest and fastest Friend and did we â—now what it is to have God for our Enemy it â—ould send us trembling to our Grave for when â—is Fury is kindled it sets on fire the foundation of â—he mountains Deut. 32.22 'T is better have all â—he World to grapple with than with God if â—e frown upon us no Creature dare smile If â—e be for us who can be against us Rom. 8.31 â—f God have a Controversie with us who dare â—ake our part or move a Hand or Tongue in our Defence We cannot grapple with him he is â—oo strong for us we cannot flye from him as â—onah thought to do he will over-take us neiâ—her can we hide our selves from him Psal 136 â— c. We cannot struggle out of his hand â—or he is the Almighty and we but despicable Worms if he tread upon us he leaves us dead â—ehind him Before him the Holy Angels cover â—heir faces and all the Infernal Spirits tremble â—n his hand is the soul of every living thing and the â—reath of all mankind Job 12.10 If he with-hold â—ur breath we return to our Dust for we have â—o more than what he puts into us how then â—hall we contend with our Maker Can Chaff â—nd Stubble grapple with a devouring Flame One blast of his Displeasure can blow us into Hell yea Heaven and Hell and All into nothing â—nd how are we like to make our Party good â—gainst him when we cannot move a Finger â—wag a Tongue or fetch a Breath without his â—ssistance Well but let us well consider whether our Cause be good What cause hath God given us to take up Arms against him Hath he â—een a hard Master to us Or with-held our Wages Jonah thought he did well to be angry but was soon convinc'd Job had a mind to quarrel him and seems of any other to have the best Cause but when the Contest began hâ— soon threw down the Cudgels and lays his hand upon his Mouth Hath not God been our greateâ—â— Benefactor and done more for us than all the World ever did or can do Is not he our beâ—â— Friend and shall we become his profest Enemies Many good works have I done among you saith Christ for which of those do you stone me John 10.32 God gave us our Being when we had none and shall we hate him for it We were tâ—â— Clay and he was the Potter and might have dash'd us into pieces with his foot He gave us Reason when he might have made us bruit Beasts as Dogs or Swine or more contemptible Creatures He hath given us Limbs and Senses when otherâ— want them Peace and Plenty yea Life and Liberty and hath made our Lives comfortable to us when we deserve not the Ground we tread upon or the Air we breath in and shall we flye at the Face of God and thus requite the Lord our Maker Nay hath not Christ suffered more for us than any other hath or can do We had sold our selves Bond-slaves to Satan and neither Man nor Angel could have redeemed us out of our Slavery or have paid a Ransom sufficient for us but Christ laid down his Life to free us from the guilt of sin from the filth of sin from the Punishment due for sin from the Curse of the Law the Wrath of God the Slavery of Satan and from Everlasting Damnation And hath he for all this deserved our Malice and Hatred He hath bestowed more upon us than the World hath to bestow 't is he that sends us so many Ambassages for Peace and rains Heavenly Manna so plentifully about our Tents he gives us Promises such as the greatest Kings upon Earth cannot make and make good to their greatest Favourites as of his Spirit his Graces his Son and his Glory And is all this nothing Shall we foster sin in our Bosom that hinders us in the Enjoyment of those promised Blessings and expose us to the wrath of God and the everlasting Destruction of Soul and Body and expose us also to all Miserie 's Temporal Spiritual and Eternal God forbid Well we cannot make our Peace with God till we break our League with Sin and if God be our Enemy and our Enemy he will be if we are at Peace with Sin then we may expect he will treat us as Enemies Well may we fear that every bit of Bread we eat will choak us and every drop of Drink we drink may be our bane and that every Creature may wait for a Commission to end our days that the Floods may drown us as they did the Old World or the Fire consume us as Sodom or the Earth swallow us up as Korah and his Complices or the greatest Judgments that ever we read fell upon Mortal Man may be our Portion Oh what need had we then to leave sorrowing for other things and turn all our Tears into the right Channel that it may drown our sins that expose us to these Miseries and Mischiefs 5. Nay but this is not all for Eternal Death as well as Spiritual and Temporal is the Reward of Sin the everlasting separation of Soul and Body from God which is called The second Death and this is far greater than all the Miseries before mentioned for if the sinner be not reconciled to God which cannot be before sin be mortified he shall be cast into the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone Rev. 21.8 This is the Natural Fruit and Effect of every beloved sin even the everlasting Damnation of Body and Soul a thousand thousand rentings of the Soul from the Body is not comparable to one renting of the Soul from Christ Sin doth that for us that all the Men on Earth and Devils in Hell could never do even pull us out of the Arms of God This threw Angels out of Heaven Adam out of Paradice and Millions of Souls into Hell This brought Death into the World and is the very Sting of Death and if this Sting be not taken out it will sting the Soul to Eternity This imbitters our Lives as you have heard while we are in the World and opens the Door to let us out of the World and will open Hell it self to let us in and is the only bar to keep us from coming out But if Sin were mortified we might with Old Simeon depart in Peace and with Ambrose say I am not ashamed to live nor afraid to dye And with Paul I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Death without his Sting is like Samson without his Hair or like the Drone-Bee without a Sting not
nations are as the drop of a bucket and are accounted as the small dust of the balance that taketh up the Isles as a very little thing And all nations are before him as nothing and are accounted to him less than nothing and vanity Isa 40.12.15.17 Fear ye not me saith the Lord do ye not tremble at my presence which have placed the sâ—nd for â—he bound of the sea by a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it and though the waves toss themselves yet can they not prevail though they roar yet can they not pass over it Jeâ— 5.22 He setteth bounds to the sea and saith Hitherto shalt thou go and no further and here shall thy proud waves be stayed Job 38.11 He numbreth the stars and calleth them by their names Psal 147.4 He removeth the mountains and they know not he overthroweth them in his anger He shaketh the earth out of her place and maketh the pillars thereof tremble He commandeth the Sun and it ariseth not and sealeth up the Stars He alone spreadeth forth the heavens and treadeth upon the waves of the sea Which maketh Arcturus Orion and Pleiades and the chambers of the south Which doth great things past finding out and wonders without number Job 9.5 c. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters and the clouds are his chariot he walketh upon the wings of the wind He maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flaming fire That layeth the foundations of the earth that they shall not be removed for ever Psal 104.3 c. Is it not he that made the World of nothing and can as easily reduce it into nothing He hangs the Earth upon nothing and that in the midst of the open Air and gave a Being to all his Creatures when they were nothing and nothing comes to pass without his Providence Nay is it not he that keeps the Keys of Life and Death at his Girdle I kill saith he and I make alive I wound and I heal neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand I lift up my hand and say I live for ever Deut. 32.39 He brings to the gates of death and back again and doth what pleaseth him in heaven and in earth and none can resist him neither dare any say What dost thou And is this he that hath done you this wrong and with him is it that you contend But consider Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousie are we stronger than he 1 Cor. 10.22 Shall we provoke him to a Duel as sometime Caligula did their Heathenish Jupiter Was there ever any that hardened himself against God and prospered Job 9.4 Who ever could boast of the last word or glory in the last blow The Walls of Aphek did Execution on the Blasphemous Syrians and the Angel of God upon the Assyrians If we harden our heart against God he will harden his hand against us for he will lay us upon our back ere he leave But haply though we do acknowledge God doth excel us in Power yet we imagine we have the better Cause and therefore with Jonab we think we do well to be Angry or at least with Job we would dispute the Point with him Job 13.3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty and I desire to reason with God Why what hath God done Why he hath taken away your Daughter in the midst of her days Well but hath he no Interest in her Is it not he whose we are and whom we serve Was it not he that gave her her Being and breathed into her the breath of Life and she became a living Soul Did he not give her her Being 'T is not long since there was nothing heard of her and did he not continue her in her Being till her death Was it not he that fed and cloathed her at his own Cost and Charges And was she not engaged to him for every bit of Bread she did eat and every drop of Drink she drank and for the Cloathes she did wear Was it not his wool and his flax that cloathed her his corn and his wine that fed her his silver and his gold that enriched her Hos 2.8 Let us take heed then of paying our Rent to a wrong Landlord her Limbs and Senses her Peace and Plenty her Wit and Reason yea her Life and Breath were given or rather lent her by God It was he that covered her in your Womb and through him she was born Psal 139.13 It was he that put bowels of Compassion into your Heart to make Provision for her when she could make none for her self and to him she was indebted for every breath she breathed and for every Mercy that rendred her Life more comfortable to her and doth it become Christians thus to quarrel with our great Benefactor Or is it meet that we should require of him an Account of his doings Or expect that he should bring his Will to ours Whose is the Pot but the Pot-makers and may not he if he please dash it in pieces with his foot And who can say why dost thou thus Now if this great God this Omnipotent Being this God that hath such an Interest in us and such Authority over us yea greater than any Man upon Earth hath over any thing he doth enjoy hath taken away one of his own Creatures and glorified himself with her that he had made for his own Glory shall we take Offence at it That it was his Hand I doubt not but you acknowledge for nothing comes to pass without his Providence Affliction springs not out of the dust neither doth trouble arise out of the ground yet man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward Job 5.6 These things come not to pass by Fate or blind Fortune as the Heathens imaginee or by Chance as the Philistines supposed 1 Sam. 6.9 but the hand of God is in all this and therefore the lamenting Church concludes That she will bear the indignation of the Lord because she had sinned against him Why should a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins Lam. 3.39 Is there evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it Amos. 3.6 That is the Evil of Punishment for the Evil of Sin He is not guilty of sin He is of purer eye than to behold iniquity with approbation Shall not the judge of all the earth do right Who is he that saith and it cometh to pass if the Lord commandeth it not Lam. 3.37 I form the light and I create darkness I make peace and create evil I the Lord do these things Isa 45.7 Yea we may find that the Evil that came upon Jerusalem came from God Micah 1.12 For God sits at the Stern and guides the great Affairs of the World and when we sin what can we expect from a Righteous Judge but Sufferings Where sin goes before sorrow follows as the shadow follows the substance But now you have found out the Person and the Fact
terrible he may hum but not hurt strike but not sting kill a Believer yet not hurt him the worst is to send him to his Father's House the sooner But what is this to those in whom sin not only lives but raigns It will bring sad tidings to such 't is indeed the cause of all the Crosses and cross Providences they meet with here in this World but brings forth far bitterer Fruit which will not be ripe in this World which Reprobate Wretches must feed upon to Eternity Whatever we suffer here we may thank Sin for it haply we have laid some Creature-Comforts too near our hearts Well the Achan must be removed or God will not be pacified But if we dye while â—in is alive our present Suffering though to the â—oss of our Relations Wealth Honours Pleaâ—ures yea and Life it self is but a Flea-biting â—o our future Torments Then sin how pleaâ—ant soever it look now will be found our greatest Enemy All Men in the World and the Devil â—o help them can but kill the Body 't is Sin onâ—y that kills the Soul and God casts both Soul â—nd Body into Hell for sin the loss of which is more than the loss of the World Matth. 16.26 The loss of it is incomparable and irreparable â—he Rich Glutton could not with all his Wealth Purchase one drop of Water to cool his tongue Luke â—6 24 c. The Soul it self is a Precious Piece next the Angels the most precious that ever God made being made in his own Image and the greatest and richest Purchase that ever was made â—nd cost the greatest Price the Precious Blood of the Son of God 'T is that which is most like â—nto God himself and fitted for Communion with him and of Enjoying him for ever 'T is â—ndued with excellent Faculties the Understandâ—ng Will Affections Conscience Memory and many more which make a Man differ from a Beast and resemble an Angel And for duraâ—ion it runs parallel with the days of Heaven with the longest times of Eternity neither is â—here any thing in the World to be compared to 〈◊〉 and there is nothing but sin can hurt or wound it and this alone makes it subject to Eternal Torments and rents it out of the hands of God and the arms of Christ when nothing else can do it Sin makes Men in a worse condition than the Beasts that perish which were in the Creation little lower than the Angels the one is thrown into the Ditch and so ends their Misery the other into Hell with the Devil and his Angels where they are ever dying and never able to dye ever suffering those insufferable Pains out of which is no hope of Redemption for when they have been there as many thousands of Years as there are Grass-piles upon the Earth Stars in Heaven Sands upon the Sea-shore and Hairs upon their Heads they are never the nearer going forth than they were the first day they were cast into it for a thousand thousand Millions substracted from Eternity doth not lessen the Account Oh the horrible Nature of Sin which plucks the Soul from the Eternal Embraces of her dear Redeemer and from those Rivers of pleasures at God's right hand for evermore and lodges it among the Devils and the Damned in those Eternal Flames to all Eternity in those Rivers of Brimstone kindled by the Wrath of God Isa 30.33 Here we may behold the deadly Fruits of Sin and shall we bewail the Death of Relations which indeed is the Fruit of Sin and shall we not bewail and prevent its more deadly and dangerous Effects when without Repentance our Souls as well as our Bodies are like Eternally to perish Lesson 2. From this Lecture of Mortality before us is this It may plainly shew us how little good the World will do us when we have most need and by this we may take a true estimate of its Worth or rather of its Vanity We use to say that is good that will do us good and 't is a Friend that will help in time of need I am sure the World will not cannot do it 't is true if we look upon it through the Devil's Spectacles it will look fair and so will an Old Hag in her Paint and Plaister but this is the way to be egregiously deceived but that there is really little worth in it observe with me these following Considerations 1. Consid Riches Honours Pleasures or whatever else the World can brag of cannot prevent Death though sometimes it doth hasten it The truth of this is evidently seen in this Providence for had it been a vast Estate sumptuous Buildings costly Apparel Men or Means Food or Physick that could have preserved her Life doubtless she had not dyed but this could neither prevent the Disease remove it or take away the Malignity of it For when Death comes and come it will it will neither be bribed nor baffled Diseases are God's Servants when he bids them go they go and when he bids them come they come and what he bids them do they do it like the Centurion's Servant Mat. 8.9 Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis If God strike the Creature cannot heal God hath the Keys of Life and Death at his Girdle and our way is to go to him and neither trust to Physicians as Asa or to Witches as Saul 'T is he that kills and makes alive and brings to the gates of death and back again Deut. 32.39 'T is he that passed that Decree more firm than the Laws of the Medes and Persians That all men should once dye and after death come to Judgment Heb. 9.27 By force of this your Daughter dyed and so will you ere long All that the Rich Man had Luke 12.19 20. could not bribe Death one Night neither can any Man Ransom his Brother from Death The Rich Cardinal Beuford found it true to his sorrow Though Money be the greatest Commander in the World it will be out of Commission in the World to come Death is a perfect Leveller it will Lodge the Poor and the Rich the Fair and the Foul the Young and the Old the King and the Beggar in the same Bed without Respect of Persons let the World say what it will to the contrary and Happy be those that are prepared or otherwise it will prove but a Trap-door to Hell Death regards not any however dignified or distinguished the King then must leave his Robes and the Beggar his Rags behind him the Scull of the one retains no impression of a Crown nor of the other of his Slavery Now great Men are like Capital Letters they take up more room and be more gorgeously adorned and clad commonly go before others but signifie the same thing So the greatest signifies no more than a Man and the meanest signifies no less Or like unto Counters some in the Account signifie Pounds some Shillings some Pence and some less but when they are in the Box they
and many Men have enough to sink them that have not half to satisfie them Content is one main Ingredient of Happiness but till we have God we cannot have it Croesus's Wealth Alexander's Crowns Heliogabalus his Pleasures fall short of Happiness or Satisfaction yet many are filling bottomless-tubs and rolling Sysiphus his Stone and have Tityus his Vulture gnawing in their Breast those that have much of the World have usually much trouble with it and sometimes God spoils all the Sport by throwing some handfuls of hell-Hell-fire into the Conscience Reader wast thou ever upon thy sick Bed and received the Sentence of Death within thee What warming Comforts did the World then afford thee Nay hath not sometimes a pinching Pang of the Cholick Gout Strangury or the raging pain of an aking Tooth put thee by all the Comforts the World can afford And why then shall we so much doat upon it that can do us so little good when we have most need Till we can fill our Barns with Grace and our Bags with Glory and extract Heaven out of the Earth and God out of the Creature we must never expect Satisfaction in any Earthly Enjoyment I know Riches of themselves are the good Gifts of God but become Snares when they are over-loved and trusted in 't is not the having them but the over-loving them is dangerous they often prove the occasion of Pride Luxury Tyranny Oppression c. The World must have the Head and the Hand but God must have the Heart Set the World in its own place and there is no danger send it before us to Heaven and it will be made up into a Crown for us Cornelius's Prayers and Alms came up for a Memorial before God Acts 10.4 This is the way to make Friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness and at the last day Sentence will pass upon us accordingly Yet are there too many Professors that doat upon the World as much as ever Jonah did upon his Gourd or the Athenians on Diana's Temple But these things are nec vera nec vestra they are worth little and if they were they have another Master But there are Riches of another Nature which nec prodi nec perdi nec surrepi possunt none can deprive us of them Bags that wax not old a Treasure in the Heavens that fadeth not away A Beggar is an unsuitable Match for a Prince much more a bruit Beast but 't is a far more unsuitable Match for an Immortal Soul to be espoused to a Wedge of Gold When the Moon is at the Full 't is farthest from the Sun and nearest to an Eclipse If the Heart be full of the World there is no room for Christ every Good is not suitable for every Nature 't is not Natural to a Man to live under Water nor for a Fish to live on the dry Ground Kingdoms may promise Content to carnal Hearts but a Gracious Man cannot take up with such poor things One Dram of Grace will prove a better Portion than the World affords 3. As these Earthly things are unsatisfying so they are uncertain and this is a certain demonstration of their Vanity For had we never so much of them what avails it when we know not whether we shall enjoy them one day to an end A Kingdom would give us little content did we certainly know we should lose it at the Month's end and our Lives with it yea Heaven it self would yield us little content did we know we should enjoy it only a Thousand Years and then be cast into Eternal Torments the thoughts of leaving it would take away all Pleasure of Enjoying it and would be a Hell in the midst of Heaven Now all these Earthly Enjoyments will be stript from us at Death haply sooner and our Death cannot be far off and why should we doat so much upon them Many Thousands in our Age have been Rich o're Night and Poor ere Morning Witness France Ireland Germany Savoy and many others Thus it was with Job one day for ought we know saw him the greatest Man in all the East and Poor even to a Proverb The uncertainty of these Earthly Enjoyments is one of the greatest Vanities that is writ upon them how then can they be a suitable Portion for the Soul which runs parallel with the longest line of Eternity What will become of the Immortal Soul when the Portion is spent Why do Men make so much hast to climb the Ladder of Promotion seeing so many break their Necks ere they get to the top Haman may witness this for King's Favourites stand but in slippery places one day he glories in his Enjoyments and the next day is hanging on the Gallows he made for another Esther 5.11 c. and 7.10 Ahithophel one day his words were esteemed as Oracles and presently after falling into Disgrace he hanged himself This Age may produce many Examples to this purpose Sometimes the great Ones of the World hardly obtain a decent Funeral and what a condition is the Soul in that took the World for a Portion when the Body is neglected judge you Angels cannot help them nor the Saints in Heaven if they were willing and then sure nothing upon the Earth can do it The thoughts of fore-past Pleasures Honours or Treasures will give little ease to present Dolours and the Wrath of God It was small comfort that Abraham gave to the Rich Glutton Son remember in thy life-time thou hadst pleasure and Lazarus pain now he is comforted and thou art tormented When pale-fac'd Death like Belshazzar's Hand-writing shall enter our Lodging to Arrest us to appear before God in Judgment before we have evened our Accounts it will make our Joints to tremble and our Knees smite one against another What will the World do for us then at Judgment They will prove miserable Comforters when the Earth and all the works therein shall be burnt up where then is your confidence Now many love Gold more than God and Money is preferred before Mercy Now Paul calls this Idolatry Col. 3.5 And James calls iâ— Adultery James 4.4 But this will prove like Achan's Wedge to cleave the Soul asunder or like his Babylonish Garment serve for a Winding-sheet Riches at the best are deceitful like Winter-brooks dry in Summer or like Job's Friends miserable Comforters I have read of Fish in the River Araris which change colour with the Moon when 't is at the Full they are white when in the Wane black Thus the World doth by us when we want not it smiles upon us but when need is it looks of another colour There is no more proportion between this imaginary Felicity that the World doats upâ—n and true Happiness than between painted Fire on the Wall and true Fire or between a King upon the Stage and a King upon the Throne or between a liveless Carkass and a living Man In the midst of all our Enjoyments one hour's tormenting pain spoils all the Sport At Death Riches
than our Idle Gallants that fare deliciously every day and are cloathed in Purple and fine Linnen in whom the Effects of Drinking and Drabbing do daily appear and if such like Debaucheries set an end to their Happiness and to their Lives also what wonder now if the World can do so little for the Body then much less can it do for the Soul for few bad Men are made good by it and few good Men better Men are never the better for Riches or Honour in God's Esteem many times the worse if they abuse their Talents Indeed the Papists Doctrine of Purgatory Pardons and Indulgences if true which they can never prove give the Rich a very great advantage over the Poor for though they dance with the Devil all Day yet for a little Money they may sup with Christ at Night or do the Devil's Work and receive Christ's Wages but a wonder then that so many Woes are denounced against the Rich and so many Blessings to the Poor And sure the Rich Glutton did not understand this Doctrine nay not in Hell for then he would have sent Lazarus to have told his Brethren which way to have prevented Hell and Purgatory also by Pardons Indulgences Masses c. But this Doctrine was brewed and broached long after this or else Christ would not have let his Apostles want Money to bring them out of Purgatory for doubtless they had some Venial Sins as well as others Besides this Men want many things to make them happy which are not sold in the World's Shop Gold tryed in the fire white Rayment spiritual Eye-salve Rev. 3.18 The World deals not in such Merchandize they must be bought of Christ for whoever thinks they are to be had elsewhere will find his mistake The Image of God we have lost in the Fall the World cannot restore it we are by Nature Enemies to God the World cannot reconcile us 't is not thousands of Rams nor ten thousand rivers of Oyl will do it Micah 6.7 The World is too thin a Garment to keep off the showers of Divine Vengeance we have sins to Pardon and none can forgive sins but God let the Pope say what he will to the contrary The Question at last will not be What Gold we have but what Grace we have 'T is not a Purple Robe but the Robes of Christ's Righteousness 't is not every Spot but the Spot of God's People not a spotted Face but Christ's Sheep-mark will procure us a station on the right hand of Christ We have many Spiritual Maladies and Christ alone must be our Physician and his Blood the only Potion none but he can bind up the broken Heart and speak Peace to the troubled Conscience We are by Nature Slaves to Satan and the World were it sold to the worth of it cannot Redeem one Soul out of his Bondage the World indeed are the Fetters that fasten us to him but cannot loose us and these are the Toys he allures us with as Children are with Rattles to be content in our Slavery We are by Nature strangers to God and 't is by the Blood of Christ not the World's Wealth we are brought home Ephes 2.13 We want Comfort and 't is the Spirit that is the Comforter In our Spiritual wants we can have no supply in our Distempers of Soul no help at our Death no comfort from the World it never did us much good but at Death and Judgment can do us none as many have too sadly experienced When we are lanching forth into the infinite Ocean of Eternity and look back upon the World which we have loved and trusted in for help we shall find our selves miserably cheated the thoughts then of former Enjoyments will bring us little Delight especially if we think of the after-reckoning and that our eaten Bread is not forgotten and our Silks and Sattins unpaid for When the Bridegroom comes the World cannot supply us with Oyl 't is not to be Sold in this Market neither with a Wedding-garment It must be the Oyl of Grace and the Robes of Christ's Righteousness and the Jewels of his Graces must do our work and this is our Misery all our Riches then will not pay the Debts it hath contracted nor undo the Bonds it hath tyed The World always shews most love where there is least need and yields us no help at the greatest necessity This may suppress our over-eager desire after it for if we would moil and toil let it be in a more Fruitful Soil Do not the Poor pass through this Life as comfortably as the Rich and sometimes with more content And think with Galeacius All the Wealth in the World is not worth one day's Communion with God and that may be had in the Cottage as well as in the Court Many Treasure up Riches and it proves like Snow-drifts the Sun shines upon it and it melts away and reaches not to Eternity But there are durable Riches other Riches before the cold Grave have their Bodies hot Tophet hath their Souls and their Wealth cannot save them and those that could never have enough have there Fire enough 'T is a sad mistake to think Riches Honours and Carnal Delights are the only Happiness for then Christ and his Apostles and followers had been most unhappy for Silver and Gold they had none no not to pay Tribute The Scripture measures not a Man's Happiness by the multitude of his Riches for such may be destitute of Grace and so is still Poor in the midst of Plenty Who is it that would have a filthy Itch upon him for the pleasure he takes in scratching Such is an immoderate desire after the World Yet consider 't is not the having an Estate but the over-greedy desire of it and the over-loving it makes it dangerous for a Man may make friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness for his own advantage if he improve it well and lay it not too near his Heart 'T is bad putting the Poor's part into a Child's Portion 't is better leave a Child a Bag to beg with than ill-gotten Goods to make up his Portion 5. As the Benefit the World affords here or hereafter is not great so the Danger it exposeth us to here and hereafter is not small which did our greedy Misers well consider they would not so greedily grasp after it For Riches are like Thorns the faster they are hug'd the deeper they wound yea many times pierce to the very Heart Of these Worldly things the Devil makes his choicest Baits when he fishes for Souls and most Men will be nibling at them He is like a cunning Fowler he stands behind the Bush when he exposeth his Baits to our view but 't is hard sometimes to see the Hand that holds it he suits his Baits to the inclination of every Person he hath a Companion for the Drunkard a Delilah for Samson a wedge of Gold for Achan Honour for Haman the World for Demas and Money for Judas yea so
sadly and trust God when Deliverance is out of sight Hic labor hoc opus est To fetch Comfort from God when the World affords us none is a Work of Grace Hab. 3.17 18. A spark of Divine Love once kindled in the Breast never goes out Now saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 13.13 there remains Faith Hope and Charity but the greatest of these is Charity And why Because 't is longest lived The Wisdom of the Saints as also the Folly of the World is seen in this the one respects Eternity the other only this Transitory Life things subject to Vanity and Vexation that vanish as a curious Picture drawn upon the Ice in a Sun-shine day that soon dissolves into Water The World is like a Lottery Men come to it with their Heads full of Hope and return with their Hands full of Blanks and their Hearts full of Sorrow for there are twenty Blanks for one Prize There are many fair Promises made by the Devil and the World but few performed and our own hearts help to cheat us But he that Trades in Heavenly Riches never meets with disappointments they will find it far beyond their highest conceptions These things 't is true are hardly gotten but will prove well in the wearing and pay well for our pains Heaven is not got so easily as the World imagines when they moil and toil for the Earth they think Heaven may be had with a wet finger or into the bargain They are like Timotheus that dreamed that Towns and Castles fell into his Toyles while he slept they think a Lord have Mercy upon us will serve turn for Heaven to wast them over but they will find their mistake the Way is narrow they must walk in and the Gate strait they must enter which they cannot do with a load upon their backs We must work for Heaven as well as wish for it yea wrastle and strive to enter in at the strait gate 't is the violent that take it by force and if it be set to Sale all must go to buy this Pearl I have read of a Christian that beihg offered great Riches and Preferments to change his Religion he enquired whether it were durable Riches they offered him he would deal for no Treasures that were not Eternal nor sell his Immortal Soul for transitory Pelf that Treasure that is subject to Rust and Rapine will not do our work but that which is as durable as the days of Heaven and Eternity it self which we may draw out a Thousand Years hence without Rust or Canker These outward things may draw Tears from our Eyes but never will drive Sorrow from our Hearts if we embrace them we hug a Cloud instead of Juno 't is but to hunt Butter-flies to foul our own Fingers A Crown which is esteemed the top of Humane Felicity is scarce worth as one saith that had tryed it stooping for if it lay in the street for if we consider the Cares Fears Jealousies Dangers and Troubles that accompany it we should not envy them the Honour that bear the Burden 'T is Wisdom therefore above all things to get Grace and then we shall have Christ and Glory Men make a great dust and stir in the World and all for the Body when there is not one day's Preparation for the Immortal Soul many are ashamed to be seen in this Fashion but were the Body transparent and could we see their filthy spotted and leprous Souls through their Velvet Robes they had cause indeed to be ashamed to be seen in the streets Now they matter not the Society of the Godly but ere long they will never be troubled with it again Now they want time to Examine themselves as to their future Estate but then they will have time enough to reflect upon their fore-past Follies the means they then had the possibility nay the probability of their Conversion and how they lost Heaven for a Lust how they have been warned of this a thousand times and that now it is too late and the Door is shut the Day of Mercy is over and will never dawn again God hath long expected Fruit and finding none will lay down his Basket and take up his Ax and cut down these fruitless Trees and throw them into the Fire and open the Flood-gates of Divine Vengeance and pour in upon them All Hopes will then be taken away and nothing but Despair left in the room Now where is the World and what can it do for thee But Grace will shelter from all this those that have this Oyl shall go in the other shall be shut out Matth. 25.11 12. What will these Men have to say for themselves then Will they plead what Service they have done for God Alas this will not serve their turn Mat. 7.22 Will they desire the Mountains to fall upon them and the Hills co cover them Alas this cannot benefit them Rev. 6.16 17. What will the Worldling by this time think of his Portion Will it prove currant Coin in the other World Is not Grace now the better Portion that will lodge a Man in the Bosom of Christ and make him drink of the Rivers of pleasures at his right hand for evermore amongst those Heavenly Quiristers the Angels and glorified Saints singing Hallelujahs together when all tears shall be wiped away and sin and sorrow shall be no more Where they shall be freed from all Miseries set out of the reach of all Enemies free from all Dangers Temptations Oppressions and Troubles in the perfect Enjoyment of all Happiness and lye in the Everlasting Embraces of their dear Redeemer Now Reader what dost think of Grace Is it worth having If yet to prevent the Furnace thou fall down to the Idol thy Blood will be upon thy own Head Lesson 4. The Fourth Lesson this Providence teacheth us is this That seeing God hath taken away one in the Prime and Flower of her Age and thereby manifesteth our Mortality then it teacheth us that the Godly have not long to suffer for when Death comes their Miseries are at an end for Death will set them out of the reach of Danger this is the last Enemy they have to grapple with and this cannot hurt us for Death doth but lance the Ulcer which otherwise could never have been cured and let out the Corruption though it be an Enemy to Nature 't is a Friend to Grace that blow that kills the Body sets the Soul at liberty Of all Men in the World none are greater Sufferers than the Godly read Heb. 11.35 c. But though their Afflictions are sharp they are but short Heaviness may continue for a night but joy comes in the morning Psal 30.5 Then their Sighing will be turned into Singing and their Musing into Melody this World is their Purgatory and can they expect Pleasure Nay their Hell all the Hell they shall ever have and can they expecâ— Ease But here is their Comfort they can through it and beyond it In
of Peace called home Hearing Reading Praying Meditating which were of use and now our Duty can then do us no good no Petition now can be accepted the Spirit hath now done striving here the worst of Sinners call God Father and would fain adopt the Devil's Brats to be God's Children but it will then appear these profligate Wretches are none of the Off-spring of Heaven for God will own no such Children here they are not perswadable but then their Consciences will inform them and their Torments instruct them that their courses were not good now Heavens Glory though never so lively set forth doth not much affect them their Eyes are not opened to behold it but had they but a glimpse of it as the Apostles had in the Transfiguration or such a sight as Paul had in the third Heaven it would convince them 'T is storied of Nicostratus that cunning Artist That seeing an admirable Piece of Work looked at it with admiration being observed he was asked by one why he looked so intent upon it replied Oh Sir had you my Eyes you would wonder as well as I at this inimitable Piece of Work And had the men of the World their Eyes open or had they ever tasted one dram of the Rivers of Pleasure which are at the right hand of God for evermore they would be of another mind they would see the Riches Honour Carnal Delights Friends and Favourites yea whatever the World affords we can spare but God we cannot spare And to miscarrying Souls the consideration that the Time was the enjoyment of these coelestial things was possible for us as well as for others we were set upon the Stage of the World to play our part we had the same Means Ministers Ordinances Helps and Furtherances as others had the motions of the Spirit and the Checks of our own Consciences as they but the Devil blinded our Eyes and hardened our Hearts and the World bewitched us but all these Means and Helps are gone and 't is too late alas too late to repent we indulged our Flesh we satisfied our Lusts we contented our carnal Companions and we deluded one another Nay we had not only a possibility of Glory but a fair probability We had many Convictions upon our Spirits that our way was not good and that the way of Holiness was to be chosen hence we had many Resolutions to alter our Courses yea especially in our Sickness and Distress we made many Promises yea Vows and Covenants to amend yea set upon the performances of some Duties and refrained from some Sins and made some Profession of Religion and were almost Christians and yet suffered the Temptations of Satan the Alurements of the World and the Enticements of our own Corruptions and the Perswasions of our wicked Companions to stifle these hopeful Beginnings these perswaded us there was time enough for Repentance and that we had many a fair day yet to live and now Death hath taken us away in our Sins cursed be the time that ever we listened to these Syren Songs which lull'd us asleep in the Cradle of Security we were not far from the Kingdom of Heaven but for want of a little more we shall never come there and now our Sun is set and will never rise again our day is over that will never dawn and the night is come that no man can work our golden hours are over and our Opportunities are lost and that sweet Gale of Mercy that once we had will never blow upon us more Oh that we were intrusted with one Year more the World should see what Reformed persons we would be we would live as mortified a Life as ever Saint did upon the Earth and scorn with the highest Disdain the Pleasures Profit and Honours of the World how exactly would we live how painfully would we work out our Salvation how would we watch our Hearts and our Tongues and order our Actions but alas these are vain Wishes our Time is gone our Glass is run out our Opportunity lost and our Hopes are perished God hath forsaken us and become our Enemy a Crown of Glory was once offered upon easie Terms but the Market-day is over and will never come again it was under our Feet and we would not stoop for it Life and Death were set before us and we had our Choice Heaven was offered and we refused it and chose the World before it and lodged it in the best Room of our Hearts and now it hath deceived us we should have forsaken all for Christ but we forsake Christ and all for a Lust we indulged the Flesh yielded to the Temptation and made a woful Choice for a few vanishing Pleasures we parted with Heavenly Joys and in the room had endless easeless and remediless Torments it had been better for us that we had been torn in pieces with wild Horses than to have yielded to the Temptations of Sin as we have done Now we find our Minister's Words true which warned us of the bitter Fruits of Sin but alas too late our time is gone and will not be recalled cursed be the time we fell into such lewd Company How did we delude each other to Destruction now I see the Fruits the Effects and Ends of all our merry Meetings drunken Matches of our merry Songs and wanton Catches and all our effeminate Dalliance how much better might the time have been spent in Prayer Hearing and Meditation Taverns Ale-houses and Whore-houses have been our Ruine These or such-like will be the sad Complaints of miscarrying Souls for when God forsakes them all that Good is will leave them then must they bid farewel to the Saints and Angels for ever for they will be in the presence of God to Eternity and had they but enjoyed them one day in Heaven now all their Corruptions are done away they would better know their worth and their own loss but Heaven and Hell as they are out of sight so they are out of mind but those that mind them of it are like Elijah accounted the Troublers of Israel and like Paul Pestilent Fellows for they at present scorn the Society of the Godly and then the Godly will scorn them they shall then reap the Fruit of their own Folly which will be a large Harvest But among all their Losses they shall lose their Souls also which Loss is considerable the Soul being of more value than the World Mat. 16.26 and this will be an aggravation to them they sold them for nothing Yet this Loss signifies not the annihilation of the Soul or that it shall be made nothing this would be joyful News to them for upon that Condition they would be willing the Devil should tear it into a thousand pieces supposing it divisible so he would tear it into nothing But this cannot be the Soul will run parallel with the longest Line of Eternity neither can the Faculties thereof be lost the Understanding Memory Conscience will remain and be much
heighten'd the Understanding should better know the Vanity of Earthly Enjoyments and the Worth of Heavenly the Memory shall never forget one Sin nor any one Circumstance of it and the Conscience shall torment them for it and will prove a never-dying Worm to torment but the Soul is said to be lost when God which is the Life of the Soul is lost and when made a Bond-slave to Satan and under God's Wrath and Curse and sentenc'd to everlasting Torments when all her Hopes are extinct and nothing but Desperation is left her all their misgrounded misguided Hope will then fail and prove but like a Spider's Web and at Death all possibility will be taken away Salvation and Hopes will vanish together The foolish Virgins Hope as it was groundless so was it fruitless such Hope may light a man to Death never to the Grave In a word whatever they account good or that tends to their Happiness in this World or that to come Death will strip them of it Oh that Sinners in the fear of God would think of these things e're it be too late then would they not for a little Pleasure vain Honour or deceitful Riches run thus upon the Pikes of Danger and lose God Blessed for ever and those coelestial Enjoyments at his right hand for evermore and incur those Hellish Flames which can never be quenched Oh that men with a full Resolution would set themselves against the Temptations of Satan the Alurements of the World and the Enticements of their own Corruptions and would give up not only their Names but their Hearts to Christ then would they never feel what now they have just cause to fear 5. These are the Losses that wicked men will sustain at Death even all that good is but this will not be all their Misery but there will be added to it the Pain of Sence which is no inconsiâ—erable part of Hell for they will be cast into the Lake that burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the second Death they shall not only have the Talents which were lent them taken from them but they shall be cast into Prison for not improving them yea into endless easeless and remediless Torments Mat. 25.46 Now this place of Torment whereinto miscarrying Souls shall be cast hath various Appellations in Scripture sometimes 't is called a Prison Mat. 5.25 Agree with thine Adversary quickly c. lest thou be cast into Prison This denotes the want of Liberty and other comfortable Enjoyments Sometimes 't is called the bottomless Pit Rev. 9.1 where the Dragon the old Serpent was cast Rev. 20.3 'T is also called Everlasting Punishment where all ungodly Sinners must go Mat. 25.46 this also shews the duration 'T is called also Unquenchable Fire which must consume the Chaff which are the Wicked Luke 3.17 this shews the extremity of Torments 'T is called also a Lake of Fire and Brimstone where the Beast and the false Prophet shall be cast Rev. 19.20 'T is also called a Furnace of Fire where the Tares must be burnt Mat. 13.41 c. 'T is also called Outer Darkness where those that want their Wedding-Garment when they are bound Hand and Foot must be cast Mat. 22.13 'T is called sometimes the blackness of Darkness which is reserved for the Devil and his Angels Jude 6.13 'T is called also the Place of Torment in which the rich Glutton was when he saw Lazarus in Abraham's bosom Luk. 16.28 'T is called the Wrath to come from which Believers are delivered by Christ 1 Thess 1.10 As also the Damnation of Hell and many other Epithets Mat. 23.33 and all to express the extremity of the Torment and the duration thereof and in some measure to set forth that which the Heart of Man cannot fully conceive of nor his Tongue express By this we may see 't is a place of Torment a place of Horror and Darkness a place provided on purpose for the manifestation of God's vindictive Justice and just Judgment This is that Tophet provided of old the pile thereof is Fire and much Wood and the breath of the Lord as a River of Brimstone doth kindle it Isa 30. last When a few drops of this Wrath of God fell upon the old World it drowned it upon Sodom it burnt it upon Aegypt it destroy'd it upon Sennacherib it flew 185000 of his Army in one night But if a few drops make such a devastation what will a Torrent do What will they do in the overflowing of Jordan And what will those poor Creatures do that must be the Butt for all the Arrows of the Almighty to be levell'd at We read that Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace was heat seven times hotter than usually for Bread but Hell is seventy times hotter than that yet God will not think the heat too great or the duration too long for Wicked men to suffer for a thousand millions of Ages He will not repent of the Severity He is not as man that he should lye nor as the sons of men that he should repent Those that now at his Command will not leave one sup then shall not have one drop then will they have no Beds of Donne to lye upon no soft Couches to stretch their wearied Limbs upon nor curious Hangings nor costly Furniture to adorn their Rooms only a Lake burning with Fire and Brimstone to bath them in no rich Wines strong Drinks or cordial Waters to comfort them to quench their Thirst or cool their parched Throats no cold Water would be held a Cordial Their Society also would breed Horror the Devil and his instruments these will continually haunt them Here if one should appear at least in an ugly shape they are frighted sometimes out of their Wits but there they are their daily Companions and they will be troubled not with Sight only but with Feeling also As for the rest of their Companions they are not much better for what Comfort can it be to live among wounded sick diseased or frantick persons yelling swearing roaring ranting and blasphemous men But this falls short of the communion in Hell for amidst all their hellish Dialect they must beaâ— a part in this hellish Harmony the thought of it may send them trembling to their Graves were the Tormenters like themselves it were not so much and yet we have read of those that have been cruel enough but to be under the Lashes and Whips of Infernal Spirits and these our Blood-thirsty Enemies and set on work by an Omnipotent God as the Executioners of his Infinite Wrath and Fiery Indignation is terrible to think of Those that in their life-time were drawn into the Devil's Snares must now reap the Fruit of their Folly for whatever his Promises were eternal Destruction of Soul and Body is his Wages But he is not the only Tormenter but miscarrying Souls carry about them the never-dying Worm which like Prometheus's Vulture is alwaies gnawing And this will prove no inconsiderate part of Hell here Conscience is God's