wants have the Lord Jesus in thine Eyes regard not so much the poor Man's Nature because he is of the same Flesh with thee nor so much his Relation because he is of Kin to thee nor so much his Country because he is of the same Town that thou art of nor so much his Religion because he professes the same Faith with thee nor so much his Person because he is a Gentleman nor so much his readiness to extol thy bounty as the Love and Charity of the Holy Jesus to thy Soul and Body Have that in thine Eye chiefly when thou openest thy Hand let him be in thy Mind when thou distributest thy bounty this makes thy Charity amiable and acceptable and fit to be proclaimed and commended in this Day And indeed How dost thou know Christian but that thy Saviour may sometimes disguise himself and appear to thee in the shape of a poor Man and wilt not thou give freely wilt not thou give cheerfully wilt not thou give readily since thou knowest not but thou mayest give it to thy Saviour himself And how glorious an Encomium will it be in the last Day to hear him say before the World I was naked and this good Man cloathed me I was in Prison and he visited me The three Angels of Old disguised themselves in the shape of Travellers to try Abraham's hospitality and from hence possibly came the heathenish Fables that their Jupiter came in the Habit of a poor Man to Philemon who entertaining him Jupiter made his House a Temple and the Owner the Priest of it and that Apollo coming as a Traveller to Mydas and being kindly entertain'd by him rewarded his Bounty with vast Wealth and Riches though we have no warrant from Scripture to believe that Christ doth actually disguise himself to us in such shapes and appears to us to try our Charity yet it is no impossible thing and we may piously believe it thereby to encourage our selves to cheerful Contributions lest finding us hard-hearted and ill-natured covetous and incompassionate he deal with us as Jupiter among the Heathens is said to have dealt with Lycaon whom when he came to visit as a guest and found cruel instead of being hospitable he turned him into a Wolf Christ hath threatned the hard-hearted a worse and stranger Metamorphosis for they that will not be like him in doing good shall be doomed to be like Devils to mourn and lament as they and to Eternal Ages too for this is the Sentence Go into Everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels for I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat c. Mat. 25.41 42. 12. Let nothing discourage you from admiring those men who have always lived in the Thoughts and Contemplation of this future Judgment we admire men for their Parts Abilities and Accomplishments we admire Aristotle for his Learning Archimedes for his Mathematicks Socrates for his Gravity Absolum for his Beauty Achitophel for his Policy Saul for his Tallness Arion for his Musick Asahel for his Nimbleness the Men of Benjamin for their Skill in Slinging Darius for his Gratitude Cicero for speaking Virgil for Poetry Vrbino for Painting c. but these are poor things for our Reason to admire Men that live Day and Night in a sense of this future Judgment live continually in expectation of the Archangel's Trumpet or the Summons of Almighty God these are the Men whose Praise we ought to shew forth in the Gates Let others admire Demosthenes for his Rhetorick I will admire St. Paul who so look'd at the things not seen even at this Judgment as to rejoice in Tribulation and though troubled on every side yet was not distressed though perplex'd yet was not in despair though persecuted yet was not forsaken though cast down yet was not destroy'd appeared to the World as sorrowful yet was always rejoicing as poor yet made many rich as having nothing and yet possessed all things 2 Cor. 4.7 8 18. 2 Cor. 6.10 Let others admire Arcesilaus for his Prudence Scipio for his Fortitude Aristoclides for his humanity Pythagoras for his Philosophy I will admire the Primitive Believers who stood in such awe of this Great Day that their constant Thoughts and Contrivances were how to resist their Adversary the Devil and upon this account stood fast in Faith quitted themselves like Men were strong and always abounding in the work of the Lord. The thoughts of this Day made them vigilant sober heavenly minded despisers of the World charitable kind tender-hearted fruitful in all good works and why should we delude our selves or fancy we need not do so or that they did more then they ought to have done The Best of Men the Wisest Men the Holiest Men that ever lived have been frighted over-awed supported preserved in goodness by the contemplations of this Day and therefore if we are not it 's no sign that we are wiser then they but that we are more stupid we are all ambitious of participating of their glory and why should we be afraid of taking the way that led them to it These are the men who choose the better part These are the men who though laugh'd at by the World are a Crown of Glory and a Royal Diadem in the Hand of their God and for their Shame they shall have Double and for their confusion they shall rejoice in their portion Their light shall come the Glory of the Lord shall rise upon them They shall break forth on the right Hand and on the left and in Righteousness shall they be established They shall dwell on high their place of defence shall be the Munition of Rocks Bread shall be given them their Water shall be sure Their Eyes shall see the king of Glory in his Beauty they shall behold the Land that is very far off even the Land where Rivers of Pleasure flow where no Tears are to be seen no Sorrow to be found no anguish to be heard of These are the Men which at last shall sit down in the Throne of God and having suffered Hunger and Thirst with the Holy Jesus here shall Eat and Drink at his Table in his Kingdom These Men will at last be look'd upon with greater fear and reverence then now they are and when the bruitish World shall see them advanced to the highest Seats of Bliss and behold that these which once were the most contemptible Creatures shall judge the World with the Son of God they will change their Voices and with the Maltheses be ready to call them Gods whom but a little before they condemned as Varlets and Villains I conclude this discourse with St. Peter's exhortation 2 Pet. 3 9 15. The Lord is not slack concerning his Promise as some men count slackness but is long suffering to us ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance But the Day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the Night in the which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of Persons ought ye to be in all Holy Conversation and Godliness looking for and hastening unto the coming of the Day of God wherein the Heavens being on Fire shall be dissolved and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat Nevertheless we according to his Promise look for New Heavens and a New Earth wherein dwells Righteousness wherefore Beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that you may be found of him in Peace without Spot and Blameless FINIS ERRATA PAge 38. line 13. read Farms p. 4.5 l. 1. r. To let the World see the Bands p. 55. l. 12. r. persons are who are employ'd p. 210. p. 10. r. imitation BOOKS Printed for and sold by Mark Pardoe at the Sign of the Black Raven over against Bedford House in the Strand Doctor Horneck's best Exercise 8 o. Dr. Hooper's Sermon before the King on the Fifth of November His Sermon before the Lord Mayor Sir William Petty's Essay in Political Arithmetick 8 o. His Observations on Dublin Bills of Mortality 8 o. Novels of Elizabeth Queen of England containing the History of Queen Ann of Bullen in Two Parts 12 o. Observations on Feavers 12 o. Plain Man's way to Worship 12 o. Becteri Minera Arienaria 4 o. mdash De nova Temporis 4 o. Holder's Elements of Speech 8 o. Charras Experiments on Vipers in 8 o. Socrat. Eccl. Hist. l. 1. c. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 24.25 Plat. in Phaed. Ps. 8.6 1 Sam. 15.23 Es. 1.3 Lam. 1.12.13.14 Chrysost. Homil 2. in 2 Thessalon Rev. 22.15 Zephan 1.14 15 16 17 18. Prov. 5.11 12. Happy Asectick p. 425 Seqq. Philip. 4.4 Eccl. 2.4 8 10 11. Gen. 4 21. Council Eliber c. 79. Council Constantinop 6. c. 50. Es. 3.18 19 20 21. 1 Tim. 2.9 10. 1 Pet. 3.3 4. De Serm. in monte lib. 2. 1 Tim. 2.9 1 Pet. 3.3 Vid Cyprian de Habit. virg Ed Oxon. p. 95. Esth. 14.16 Cyprian de Habit Virgin 1 John 2.15 16. Rev. 17.4 Tertull. de cult Faemin lib. 2 c. 13. Vid. Celada commentar in Judith c. 10 Plutarch in Apophthegm Aelian var. Hist. l. 8. Rom. 8.9 Rom. 8.5 Platin. in Paul 2. Euseb. lib. 5. c. 15. Gregor Naz. in laudem Gorgon De Habit. virg p. 100. Homil. 31. in Matth. Vid. P. Martyr loc com class 2. c. 11. P. Mart. loc cit Summ. Part. 2. tit 6. c. 6. § 3. De Bell. Belg. l. 1. Hom. 49. in Matth. De vanit scient c. 18. Ps. 119 47. Exod. 23.13 Vid. Gerh. Joh. Voss. de Idol l. 2. c. 8. Matth. 5.13 Ephes. 5.4 Mar. 8.38 Salvian degubern Dei lib. 6. Tertul. de spect c. 15. c. 15. c. 15. c. 16. c. 17. c. 23. c. 23. c. 25. c. 25. c. 26. c. 26. c. 27. c. 29. 2 Cor. 6.4 5. Pro. 7.14 Vid. Dreâ—â—l Tribun Christi l. 1. c. 8. § 5. In Epitaph Paulae Rom. Rev. 21.2 21. Psal. 37.6 1 Pet. 2.23 Matt. 11.22 Luke 6.38
of the Arch-angel Arise ye dead and come to Judgement saith St. Hierome These thoughts made him eat drink with great moderation These brought a Holy fear upon him in all his actions These kept him from going beyond the bounds God had set him These struck seriousness into him in all places These made him as circumspect in the Market-place as if he had been at Church and as devout in the Street as if he had stood at the high Altar And therefore I do not wonder at that Hermit that he became so serious a Man as Antiquity reports him who carried a little Book about him consisting only of four Leaves in which he was always seen reading and after reading meditating in the first leaf was express'd Christ's passion and what that darling of Manking suffered for poor Mortals during his abode in the World in the second was represented the process of the future Judgment with the Terrours and Constureations that guilty men will be in at that time in the third were described the Glories of Paradise and of that third Heaven which all Holy Souls shall enter into there to possess the Inheritance of the Saints in light in the Fourth was drawn to the life the Picture of Hell and of the Miseries which shall await the stubborn and impenitent in the next life these four Leaves were soon read over but they afforded infinite matter for thoughts and meditations and by these his Soul was so warmed that he cared not what became of him here so he might but enjoy the promis'd Glory that Life Immortality Christ had brought to light by the Gospel So true is that saying of St. Chrysostom There is no Man that thinks much of Hell that will ever fall into it as indeed there is no Man who makes light of it that will ever escape it For as it is among men they that are afraid of the Penalties of the Law seldom or never feel them for their fear makes them shun those actions which deserve them This keeps them from Theft and Rapine from Murder and Adultery from Burglary and Wrong from Violence and Oppression and consequently from the punishments the Law inflicts in such cases The Plagues and the Stripes they fear make them cautious and whatever their inclination may be the Rods and Axes they fear restrain them whereas those that are regardless of the Mulct bring it upon themselves so it is here the frequent thinking of it is the best Antidote against the Terrours of that future Judgment if the Ninivites had not feared their overthrown they had certainly been overthrown and how could they have feared it if they had not thought of it If the men that lived before the Flood had thought of it and been afraid they would not have been drown'd nor would the People of Sodom have been consum'd by Fire if they had taken this course It 's a great misfortune not to think of the fulfilling of Gods threatnings for he that thinks nor of it of all men will be the first that shall have woful experience of it It is reported of Agatho that in his last sickness falling into a Trance for three Days together he lay with his Eyes fix'd upon Heaven and all that time look'd very ghastly recovering out of the extasy and being ask'd by his Friends where he had been and what his thoughts had been during those three Days and what made him look so strangely O my friends said he do you ask me Where I have been alas I have been these three Days standing before the great Tribunal and seen how the most just Judge sentenced divers Souls to Eternal darkness and who would not stand amazed at the dreadful spectacle It was therefore a very good Prayer of St. Ambrose I do most vehemently desire O Lord that thou wouldst be pleased to imprint and very deeply imprint the Landskip of the future World the Miseries of the Disobedient the Groans of the Stubborn the Agonies of the Impenitent the Shrieks of the Profane the Vexations of Hypocrites the Fears of the Careless the Destruction of the Covetous the Perdition of Worldlings the Flames of the Revengeful the Terrour of Damnation and Eternal Torments and the future Felicity of thy Kingdom upon my Mind for it is impossible that he that thinks much of these things should not become thy Child and Servant and one of those whom thou hast predestinated to Eternal Life Do'st thou laugh said the Old Man in Ruffinus to a youngster whose behaviour was very light when you and I are to be judged before Heaven and Earth and indeed that Person that surveys what the Divine Jesus hath said of this future Judgment thinks how in that Day the Powers of Heaven will be shaken the Sun turned into Darkness the Moon into Blood and the Stars forbear to give their Light how the World and all the Elements will be on Fire the Universe melt like Wax the Earth be burnt up the Seas dried and the Rivers consumed and with what Glory and Bravery the once afflicted Son of God will then appear with an Army of Angels about him displaying their Banners and carrying the Sign of the Son of Man before him how before him all Nations will be assembled and all that are in their Graves upon hearing the Voice of God loud as Thunder and more dreadful too will be summon'd to appear before his Bar the Judge shining in his Meridian Glory brighter than Moses clearer than the Sun and how the Consciences of Guilty men will quake at this sight their Hearts misgiving them that their Portion will be in outward Darkness how formidable all the transactions will be how immutable the Sentence after it is once passed not to be altered or deprecated by Saints or Angels how all evasions and subterfuges will be out of doors there and all possibility of transferring our Errours upon others who have been partners with us in our sins will vanish how those that make themselves fools for Christ's sake in this life were reproached reviled derided and laughed at for their severities would not lose their Souls for a trifle nor sell their Birth-right to Eternal Bliss for a Morsel of Meat would held fast their Integrity though solicited by innumerable losses and crosses and by their nearest Relations to curse God and die how these who were here made the off-scourings of all things will then be absolved and quitted and have Seats appointed them in the Mansions of Glory there to reign and sing the goodness of God to all Eternity I say he that seriously surveys these things if he be a Person who hath not debauch'd or lost his reason cannot but be affected by passages of this Nature and think it time to curb himself in his sensual delights and satisfactions But 2. Bare thinking is not enough but the particulars of this future Judgment must be actually applied to our selves general things and what is done to others though they may
power of his might resisting temptations growing in grace labouring after a greater hatred of sin a greater fortaste of Heaven a greater conformity to the will of God a greater sense of the love of God c. and he that in good earnest minds these things will have no great desire to busie himself about such pittiful trivial and impertinent things these will be trash and dirt to him and his soul will soar above them and scorn them as the Divels lime-twigs whereby he lies in wait to deceive And though I will not deny but that a man in case of danger and when his life is in jeopardy or when he would pass through a party of his enemies may lawfully disguise himself and by art change and alter his countenance that he may not be known and though a man who hath lately had the small Pox or hath been Sun-burnt or whose face hath been parch'd with Wind may lawfully take care by ordinary helps to reduce his face to his former or native colour and complexion and though we do not judge it against the law of God to hide some great blemish or defect in the Face whereby spectators may be offended and particularly Women that are with Child frighted and though it is not inconsistent with the rule of the Gospel to wash the Face when dirty yet all those paints and additional washes and artificial black spots whereby Men and Women endeavour either to set off their complexion the better to give themselves a more pleasing colour or to mend their meen or to make themselves look more beautiful or to attract the eyes and admiration and sometimes the unlawful Amours of those they converse withal are things which a Christian must be a stranger too When I say men it is not without reason for we read of such a beast as Paul the Second Pope of Rome who whenever he went abroad painted himself that the beauty of his Face might in some measure be answerable to the comeliness of his stature which was procere and tall and it 's to be feared that this effeminacy dwells in too many persons of the masculine Sex at this day However as Women are usually more faulty this way then Men so they give us but small hopes to believe that they are heirs of Heaven while they are so industrious to please men and others here on Earth St. Paul would not please Men no not in the Ceremonies of the Law which were things formerly commanded by God thinking it unworthy of a Christian that had been freed from that Yoke by the Son of God and how unworthy must it be then to please Men in things which God hath never commanded nay by many hints and places discover'd his dislike of How justly may God look upon 't as presumption to alter that Face which he thought fit to create in that shape it is of and what is it but contending with our Maker and expostulating with the Potter Why hast thou made me thus and controuling his art and wisdom while not content with the countenance he hath given we seek to appear in a better As we are Christians sincerity must be our character not only in heart but in the outward behaviour and what sincerity can there be in cheating Men with our Faces and to make them believe that to be natural which we know is counterfeit and artificial We that are naturally prone to pride and levity and lightness of deportment had not need encourage it by such incentives and put Oyl to that fire which without great help is apt to burn into Hell We shall meet with impediments enough from the World and the Devil in our spiritual race it 's madness therefore to encrease those obstacles by new inventions of our own and we that know how apt every thing is to damp our holy fervours had not need add such vanities to extinguish them In the whole Scripture we read of no Women that ever painted themselves but one that was cursed to a Proverb even Jezabel 2 Kings 9. 33. and Eusebius makes mention of a great instrument of the Devil whereby he sowed heresies in the Church that used this trade viz. Maximilla Even among the Heathen those that did so were none of the best fame and credit in the World such as Poppaea Nero's Wife and others and in Holy writ for the most part this delight is described as meretricious and a quality of Strumpets and Harlots as we see Ezech. 23.40 And certainly neither these examples nor descriptions can be any great inticement to a Christian to imitate such infamous patterns who is to remember those who have spoken to him in the name of the Lord and to follow their faith considering the end of their conversation Heb. 13.7 It was an excellent Character St. Gregory Nazianzene gave of the pious Gorgonia No Gold saith he adorned her Temples no flaxen hair no borrowed locks no artificial curles flew about her sacred Head no flowing Mantles no transparent Vails no looser garb hat wanton'd in the Air no costly stones vying with the brightness of the Stars no Painters arts help'd to grace her noble frame no operator assisted her to countermine the work of God in her and by deceitful colours to hide the curious fabrick of her Face or to prostitute the Divine shape that was in her to wanton and impurer eyes or to vitiate her natural image which was reserved for God and another World by an adulterous fictitious beauty But even then when she was acquainted with all the tricks and modes of ornaments she would acknowledge and own none but whather piety and the harmony of her soul did give her No other Red pleased her but what her modest blushes caused no white but what fasting and abstinence brought into her cheeks and as for Painting and modish looks and borrow'd Beauty she left those impertinencies and vanities to actors and Ministers of the Stage persons who have forgot to blush and are ashamed of nothing so much as of sobriety and gravity This is an example for all Christian Women to write Copies by and though the age we live in hath long ago learned to despise this self-denial as a starcht formality and precise niceness yet that doth not make it of less value before Almighty God who sees with other eyes and is resolved to rectifie these willful mistakes if other means here on Earth will not do it with Eâ—eâ—â—al Vengeance To this purpose St. Cyprian Art not thou afraid vain Woman who makest use of Paint and Washes and such other curious fooleries about thy Face art not thou afraid that thy Creator when thou comest before him will not know thee but exclude thee rather from the promised Inheritance May not he reasonably use the language of a Censor and a Judge and say This is not my Creature here I see nothing of my Image Thou hast polluted thy skin with false applications the hair I gave thee is changed
duty to discourage such Vulgar Errours it cannot be a Crime in us to follow their Faith knowing the end of their Conversation THE SUMMARY Of the whole DISCOURSE THe Explication of the Text Pag. 1 6. The Proposition That the Prospect of a future Judgment is enough to imbitter all the Sensual and Carnal delights of Men particularly of young Men and to bring a damp upon the most Youthful and most Jovial Temper imaginable p. 6 7. The illustration of this Proposition p. 7 12 The Heads of the Discourse I. What Reason we have to believe that there is a Day of Judgment The Reasons drawn 1. From the Universal consent of the wiser sort of Mankind 2. From the Being and Justice of God II. What there is in that future Judgment that 's able to cast a damp on the Mirth and Jollities of Men especially the younger sort 1. In the Prospect of this Judgment there appears a very serious Judge the mighty Jesus the Son of God p. 22. 2. A very strict Examination of what we have done in the Flesh p. 34. 3. A very wonderful Scene The Person that is the Judge is the Law-giver too the Party offended the Witness and his own Advocate p. 51. 4. The unspeakable anguish and misery of those who have been most jolly and merry in this life p. 71. III. How the Prospect of that future Judgment must be managed that it may actually damp and put a stop to these Carnal delights 1. By thinking reflecting and ruminating upon that future Judgment p. 83. 2. By applying the particulars of this future Judgment to our selves p. 94. 3. By seconding all this with earnest Prayer p. 103. IV. Whether every Man is bound to imbitter his Carnal delights with this Prospect Aff. 1. Because if not imbitter'd they will infallibly lead the Soul into innumerable dangers p. 112. 2. Because to imbitter such delights to our selves is a thing of the greatest concernment p. 116. 3. This imbittering our sensual delights with such a Prospect is that which men will certainly wish they had done when they appear at the Great Tribunal p. 120. V. Whether a Christian that would be saved is upon this account obliged to forbear and abandon all Sensual and Worldly delights and recreations whatsoever The Answer to this Query laid down in several Articles 1. Spiritual delight is and must be the chief delight of a Christian p. 127. 2. Worldly delights as are neither sinful in themselves nor apparent occasions of evil are allowable p. 129. 3. Delight in Gardens Rivers Orchards c. considered p. 131. 4. Of delight in Musick either Vocal or Instrumental p. 133. 5. Of delight in Books p. 135. 6. Of delight in Drinking and Tipling p. 138. 7. Of delight in Cards Dice p. 141. 8. Of delight in Feasting and going to Feasts p. 147. 9. Of delight in fashionable Cloaths and Habits p. 154. 10. Of delight in Painting and Patching and artificial Meliorations of the Face and Skin p. 176. 11. Of delight in Dancing p. 192. 12. Of delight in Seeing and going to Stage-plays p. 205. Inferences drawn from the Premises 1. How far sorrow is better then laughter explained p. 127. 2. How differently Spiritual things affect men as they either attentively or inattentively think upon them p. 290. 3. How much the greatest part of the World is to be pittied that can delight in nothing but what they can grasp and feel p. 300. 4. How unreasonable it is to harbour any hard Thoughts of Religion because it debars us of dangerous sensual delights p. 313. 5. How necessary it is to prepare for the Great Day of Account DIRECTIONS 1. To pitty those inconsiderate Men that live as if there were no future Judgment p. 329. 2. To spend some time every Day in reflecting upon this Day p. 330. 3. To walk circumspectly every Day and to use that conscientiousness we would use were we sure we should be summon'd to Judgment at Night p. 337. 4. To reflect and think on this Day when ever we see or hear of the judicial Process of a Malefactor p. 339. 5. To reflect on this Day whenever we converse with sick and dying men or are present when their Breath leaves their Bodies p. 343. 6. To refleâ—t on this Day whenever we go to a Funeral p. 346. 7. To judge our selves here on Earth in order to avoid the terrour of God's future Judgment p. 351. 8. In our actions to regard not so much how they are relished with Men as whether they will endure the Test before the Judge when our Souls shall appear before him p. 354. 9. To bear injuries patiently out of regard to this Day of Judgment when God will set all things to rights and take care that we shall lose nothing by our sufferings p. 359. 10. To consider particularly that it will be more tolerable for Heathens and Professed Infidels at this Day then for Christians p. 362. 11. To make this Day a Motive to Christian Charity and Compassion p. 368. 12. Not to suffer our selves to be discouraged from admiring those men who have always lived in the Thoughts and Contemplations of this future Judgment p. 374. Eccles. xi 9 Rejoyce O young Man in thy Youth and let thy Heart cheer thee in the days of thy Youth and walk in the ways of thy Heart and in the sight of thine Eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into Judgment THERE is no Man certainly better able to give us so true an account of the nature extent danger exit and end of sensual pleasure as Solomon he walk'd through the whole Garden tasted of all the Fruits smelt to every Flower and I believe many times sinned not so much out of fondness to the sin as for tryals sake to acquaint himself with the nature of the folly and to see whether there was really that satisfaction in it which the bruitish part of the World said there was But while he tryed experiments upon the Viper the Beast flew into his Face and Poyson'd the Empirick He went on in these slippery ways and walk'd on this sea of Glass a considerable time spread the Sails of his sensual desires and bid his carnal mind ask and crave whatever it could fancy and if either Love or Mony or Force could procure it it should have it He hug'd all the little shooting flames he met with and kissed every thing that had the name and reputation of Mirth and Jollity But see the sad Catastrophe and woful turn of that pleasant Wheel when he thought himself in Paradice he found himself in Hell and that which tickled his senses at the first proved after some time his greatest torment and vexation Providence can be silent for a time but at last the sleeping Lyon wakes and roars so that all the Beasts of the Field do tremble and Solomon on whose head the Candle of the Lord had shined so long found that light at last
call them liberal and generous the Covetous with them pass for frugal the Lascivious for Courtiers the talkative for affable the obstinate for Men of resolution and the dull and idle for persons who act with great deliberation Love to their kindred and Blood makes them extenuate faults in their relations and that which appears an inexpiable crime in strangers seems but a peccadillo or infirmity in a Child or Brother Herod hurried away with his Amours to Herodias beheads the Innocent Baptist Flaminius out of Love to his Harlot violates the Publick Faith Julius Caesar out of fondness to Cleopatra gives Sentence against her Brothers Davids's inordinate affection to a Rebel Son gives the Army charge to take care of the Young Man Absolom But the Judge we speak of is of another temper it was his Character here on Earth that he was no respecter of Persons nor could the Sons of Zebedee prevail with him to place them one at his right hand the other at his left and it was not kindred he would advance to that dignity but such for whom it was prepared by his Father Hence it was that his Mother and Brethren found no farther acceptance with him then they were obedient to his word and he deliver'd it as his Eternal rule They that do the will of my Father they are my Mother and Brethren and Sisters and with this motto he gave a reprimand to the Woman that cryed Blessed is the Womb that bare thee and the Paps which thou hast sucked Yea blessed are they said he who hear the word of God and do it and he that here on Earth could not be wrought upon by Kindred or Consanguinity nor blinded by Affection sure will not be misled by these false Fires in the great day of Judgment Judges here on Earth if passion or hatred to a Man reigns in their minds are too often tempted to pass wrong Sentences what the effects of Prognes hatred to her Husband Tereus were and how the innocent Son suffered by it how dire the hatred of Medea to Jason was and drew the death of their Children after it how Josephs Brethen condemned that guiltless Soul meerly because they hated and envied him and how the Jews dealt with our great Master the Lord Jesus upon this principle both civil and sacred Histories do sufficiently manifest But this impotent passion cannot light upon on him who is to be the Judge in the Last day He hates nothing that he hath made and is so great a lover of all Mankind that he would have all Men to be saved and come to the knowledg of the truth and would give them all Eternal life if they would but take the way he prescribes them The Devils themselves could they be penitent would be received into favour and let a Man be born of a Jew or Turk if he do but bring forth fruits meet for repentance neither his odious Name nor loathsome kindred shall exclude him from his bosom He hath no secret spleen or pique against any Person living and though God under the Law seems to vent a particular displeasure against the seven Nations and especially against the Amalekites yet it was for their monstrous and unnatural sins that his just displeasure rose against them not any private grudge or envy he bore to them as Men above other of his Creatures Such imperfections are not incident to our Judge who detests and abhors no person but what makes himself deformed and odious to his purer Eyes and in every Nation whosoever serves him and works righteousness is accepted of him Fear very often prevails upon Governours and Men in Office here on Earth that they dare not speak their mind in passing Sentence fear of offending a Favourite or losing their places or being accounted pragmatical or missing such a Preferment distorts their Judgments and makes them take wrong measures of things This makes Laws Cobwebs for great Men and traps to catch lesser Animals this tempted Pilate to crucifie the Holy Jesus and though he was sensible of his Innocence yet the word If thou let this Man go thou art not Caesars Friend turns the Scales and makes him comply with the fury of the People But such fears cannot not fall on this Judge of the whole Earth Whom should he fear Of whom should he be afraid He is omnipotent will a Painter be afraid of his Picture or a Man of his Shadow Man is but Gods Picture and his Shadow and shall the Almighty be afraid of his own Creature whom he can crush into Atoms into nothing with a frown Who can make this Judge happier than he is already What place can any Creature promise him who doth what he pleases in all the Armies of Heaven and among all the Inhabitants of the Earth There is no carressing him with Gold for all Men and Women will appear before him poor and miserable destitute of that pomp and grandeur and finery on which here they doted and suppose they could carry their Wealth with them to the great Tribunal What can they give him who commands all the Treasures of the World whose is the Earth and the fulness thereof and who is himself the giver of those things which Mankind preposterously place their happiness in Here the greatest Emperors and Princes must appear without their Guards without their Armies without their Swords and Spears Here Popes must leave their Triple Crowns behind them Kings their Diadems Bishops their Mitres Noblemen their Lacqueys and all stand naked and unarmed before the Throne and suppose that Men were permitted to come with their former retinue and attendance into the presence of the Almighty yet this would cause no fear in our Judge who will come attended with an innumerable company of Angels one of which did once slay One hundred fourscore and five thousand Men in the Assyrian Camp Such a serious such a magnificent Judge appears in the prospect of that future Judgment even Jesus the Son of the living God He who was once despised and rejected of men will at this time sit on the Throne of Glory and all Eyes shall see him and though God himself is sometimes said to be the Judge sometimes Christ as Man sometimes the Apostles sometimes the Saints in general sometimes even Wicked men yet this implies no contradiction In God no doubt lies the Soveraign Power and no Creature can either absolve or condemn without his Will and Order and this his Power of judging in the last Day he hath committed to the Son of Man or to Christ as Man whom he hath not only made Heir of all things but for a reward of his Sufferings given a Name above every Name and delegated him to be Judge of the Quick and Dead and this glorious Commissioner calls in the Apostles in the first place and all other Saints after them to sit with him on the Bench and by their suffrage to applaud the Sentence he shall pass on the stubborn and obstinate wicked
men shall be Judges only comparatively as the means of Grace they had were less powerful than those of their Neighbours and yet went beyond them in Goodness and Holiness at least were not so bad as they and consequently shall be Witnesses against them and in a manner judge and doom them to unspeakable anguish because they trampled on the Grace which was offered to their Souls in which sense the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba shall rise in Judgment with that Generation who saw the Miracles of Christ and repented not and condemn them because a greater than Jonas a greater than Solomon was here 2. In the prospect of this Judgment there appears a very strict examination of what we have done in the Flesh not only of visible Actions but of Words spoken in secret and Thoughts Desires Intentions and Resolutions of our Hearts an Examination which will be a very great surprize to the Sinner who hath made light of things of this Nature for there is nothing cover'd that shall not be revealed neither hid that shall not be brought to light saith he that understood this Day better than any Man living Luke 12.2 Not only the bigger Crimes such as Murder Adultery Fornication Blasphemy unnatural Lust Stealing Perjury Atheism Idolatry Apostacy Cursing Swearing Drunkenness Extortion Covetousness Contempt of God and of his Word c. will here be manifested and censured aggravated and searched into but the secret lustings of the Soul the hidden things of Dishonesty the cunning craftiness of men whereby they lay in wait to deceive the Mines and Pits men have privily digg'd for their Neighbours their underhand dealings their Chamber practices their sinful contrivances in the dark or in their Closets their Sailing to the Port of Vain-glory by a side-wind their speaking Truth for ill ends their misinterpretations of their Brethrens words and actions their reporting things to anothers prejudice all these will be laid open before the whole World Sinner thy unchast Embraces thy impure Wishes thy wanton Glances thy lascivious Looks thy delight in amorous Songs thy acting thy Lust over in thy Mind again thy ruminating upon thy last Nights revelling thy tempting thy self to sin and being thine own Devil and thy committing impurity with thy self will all be set in order before thee and the Judge will demand how it was possible for thee who didst profess thy self a follower of the Chast and Holy Jesus to dishonour him and his Religion with such extravagant actions and irreligious proceedings Thy slovenliness in Devotion thy Hypocrisy and seeming to be better than really thou wert thy inattentive Prayers the willful wandrings of thy Thoughts when thou wast speaking to God thy not redeeming the time thy neglecting to observe the greater and weightier matters of the Law thy mispending thy precious Hours thy idleness and laziness in Gods Vineyard thy not giving to the Poor according to thy Ability thy Pride and secret Envy and desire of Applause and sinister ends and designs in Preaching Praying Administring and receiving of the Holy Sacrament and in other good Works thy flattering and dissembling and unwillingness to do good when thou hadst a fair opportunity these will all be laid open to thy sorrow and confusion Thy not being led by good Examples thy slighting wholesom Admonitions thy laughing at excellent Counsel thy scorning Reproof and hating him that gave it thy resolvedness to do that again for which thou wast reproved the delay of thy seriousness thy suffering the convictions thou hadst to be choaked with the cares and Riches of the World Thy being at an Ale-house when thou shouldst have been in thy Closet thy being at a Play when thy Hand and Heart should have been lifted up in holy Supplications thy being in Bed when thou shouldst have been upon thy Knees and neglecting a greater Duty for a trifle or impertinence the Supper of the Lamb for Farms and Oxen and thy preferring the silliest and most ridiculous Discourses before a conference about the momentous concerns of Eternity these will all be rehears'd at large for I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment saith Christ Matth. 12.36 Not having repented of things of this Nature either through unbelief or carelesness when these points shall come to be examined and thy Soul interrogated upon these Particulars and so many too it stands to reason that it must necessarily cause very great astonishment for these things were most certainly forbid in that Gospel thou didst profess and that notwithstanding as if such things had never been spoken of thou shouldst slight them undervalue them not think them worth thy care to shun them what sad reflexions will this Examination cause In vain dost thou hope that Eagles catch no Flies and that God will never mind such small trivial and inconsiderable Errours He that minded these smaller faults as they seem to carnal men and took notice of them in this life may justly be supposed resolved to call men to an account for them in that Solemn Day of Reckoning for indeed God's proceedings here are an Emblem of his process in Judgment hereafter Eating of the forbidden Fruit in Paradise seem'd but an inconsiderable oversight yet did God curse the very Earth for that Fact made it bring forth Bryars and Thorns for the future condemned Adam to the eating of Bread in the Sweat of his Brows and threatned the Woman his Partner in the Errour to multiply her pain and sorrows It doth not appear from Moses that the Children of God or Professours of the true Religion did any more then Marry with the Daughters of the profaner Crew a small fault a bruitish Man would think yet was the insolence lash'd and the inordinate Fire quenched with a deluge of Waters Lots Wife looks back to Sodom out of curiosity perhaps a venial folly natural to Women it seems to be and no more yet for doing so is turned into a Pillar of Salt Achan as a Souldier and that sort of men we know live much upon Prey takes in a time of War a golden Wedge and Babylonian Mantle no great matter one would think yet God orders him to be stoned Vzzah out of his over-care that the Ark might not fall lays hold on 't to support it yet for doing so is struck with Death immediately the Prophet who came from Judah to Prophecy against the Altar of Bethel in suffering himself to be persuaded to eat Bread by another Prophet who pretended Visions too to ones thinking committed no great Crime yet God revenged his Disobedience with a violent Death for a Lion sent by God slew him Moses grows impatient at the Waters of Meribah who would not have done so that had to deal with so stubborn a People yet that act of mistrust and impatience cost him the loss of the Land of Canaan he had so long desired to behold the People of Israel murmured in the
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