Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A45351
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A sermon preach'd at the Castle of York to the condemned prisoners on Monday the 30th of March 1691 being the day before their execution : with an appendix which gives some account of them all, but more particularly of Mr. Edmund Robinson Clerk who was condemned and executed for high treason in counterfeiting the King's coyn / by George Halley.
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Halley, George, 1655 or 6-1708.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing H455; ESTC R26651
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21,825
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37
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consider our latter end that we may apply our Hearts unto Wisdom i. e. to the important business of Religion thus shall we lay up in store for our selves a good foundation against the time to come thus shall we lay hold on Eternal Life And this if we do it will be a demonstrative argument of our Wisdom and Understanding And that you may be perswaded to incline your Ear unto Wisdom and apply your Hearts to Vnderstanding I shall set before you the happiness of a Religious and the folly of a vicious and an Immoral Conversation and this I cannot better do than by referring you to the third Chapter of the Proverbs You will see there how the Wise Man sets off Religion in the most beautiful and glorious Dress enumerates there its peculiar excellencies and particular advantages ver 16. He represents her as a great and generous Princess distributing Gifts to her Subjects length of Days is in her right hand and in her left hand Riches and Honour and ver 17. Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace i. e. They procure a blessed Tranquility in a Mans Mind and Conscience Prosperity in all his enterprizes and Eternal Rest with God in Glory The Religious Man hath Peace and an Heaven in his Bosom the greatest transports of Joy possess and surround his Breast and his last end is sweet and comfortable he dies the Death of the Righteous his Conscience then as a Glass represents to his sight the Beatific Vision and the Joys of Eternity And this it is to consider our latter end this is the blessed effect of a righteous Life whosoever then thus considers his latter end it is certainly an Argument of his Wisdom and Understanding But Secondly Consider we the folly of a Vicious Life and an Immoral Conversation Alas what is Vice and Immorality but a sort of practice that debaseth and disparageth a Man Such a sad course of Life generally plunges a Man into the most grievous and intolerable Evils as a distemper both of Body and Soul the greatest distress of Fortune Poverty and Disgrace a low and contemptible condition reproach and the loss of Reputation Affliction and Discomposure of Mind the torments of a troubled Conscience for there is no Peace saith my God to the Wicked the danger of a Death-bed Repentance and frequently brings him to a violent and an unnatural Death Add to this Misery the loss of Gods favour and loving kindness such treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath Oh the perplexity and consternation such are in when they come to dye when their Conscience presents to their sight the dreadful Scenes of a Judgment to come their evil Conscience then flashes in their Face casts abroad its Thunder and strikes them with the greatest Terrour and Affrightment All these are the lamentable effects of a vicious Life and an immoral Conversation which sufficiently demonstrates the folly of such as prefer Wickedness above Religion such do truly wander out of the way of Vnderstanding But this is not all the Man that wandereth out of the way of Vnderstanding shall remain in the Congregation of the Dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the version of the LXX Prov. 21.16 i. e. The Man that leaves the beautiful Paths of Vertue which directly lead to Happiness and takes the By-Paths the rough and unpleasant Road of Iniquity which conducts him to Eternal Death such a Man doth not only dethrone his Reason is not only void of Understanding but he shall remain in the Company of the Giants of whom we read Gen. 6.4 They were Men of a monstrous Stature and whose wickedness too was proportionable to their large Size these Men as they were singularly eminent for their height and bigness so were they horribly infamous for Acts of Injustice for Wrong and Robbery for Tyranny and Oppression these were the Men for whom it repented the Lord that he had made Man on the Earth these were the Men whose Sins opened the Cataracts the Windows of Heaven and brought down a deluge of Wrath and Indignation and the Man who works Wickedness is not only without Vnderstanding but shall be incorporated into the wretched Society and Converse of those Giants and Rebels against God shall be condemned to keep them company shall be sentenced to that accursed place which they had assign'd them when the Flood came and destroyed them all a Place where the Worm dieth not and the Fire is not quenched Thus I have shewn you I. What it is to consider II. The benefit of Consideration III. What is meant by the latter end the object of Consideration IV. The great advantage of considering the latter end V. That to consider our latter end is an argument of our Wisdom and Understanding I come now in the Sixth and last place to make an Application and then I a'done And here suffer a Word of Exhortation you who worthily deserve to be punished you who for your Evil Deeds are condemned to die let me beseech you and prevail with you to consider your Latter End it behoves you consider it Eternal Bliss and Happiness sure is a thing of the greatest and most weighty Consideration a thing of such vast moment that for you to put off the Thoughts of it and neglect the Provision for it is certainly the most unaccountable Indiscretion the greatest Folly and Madness You have but this and part of the Day following to make your Peace with an Offended God to make Provision for your Future Happiness To day then hear the Voice of God who calleth upon you to consider your latter End I do not doubt your Consideration of it in one Sense i. e. That you have terrible Apprehensions of your Temporal Punishment of the violent and unnatural End you have brought your selves unto but this ought to be the least of your Consideration nothing ought to disturb you now but the apprehension of your having offended God And if you now do truly fear God as you have all imaginable reason to fear him who is able to cast both Body and Soul into Hell that will raise you above all other Depressions that will exalt you above all base and dispiriting Fears You are to consider that after your departure hence there will be a Judgment and to make ready and prepare your selves for a comfortable appearance at that tremendous Tribunal you have received Sentence of Death from an Earthly Judge which Death is only Temporal and Transitory and it was pass'd upon you with all possible Regret and Reluctancy with the greatest unwillingness but if you repent not of the Evils you have done a more terrible Sentence will be pronounced upon you by the Righteous Judge of the World Go you Cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Will you not then consider your latter end so as to prepare for it by true and faithful Repentance Surely if you be wise you will so
from the Dead God hath certainly appointed a day in the which he will judge the World in righteousness by that Man whom he he hath ordain'd whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the Dead Acts 17.31 How strangely then will such Sadducees or any who are mindless of a future state be surpriz'd at the Resurrection of the Dead Oh! that we had been wise and consider'd this Oh! let us lie still in the Dust will they then cry let the Earth cover us Let the Mountains and the Rocks fall upon us Alas the Trumpet will sound and they shall be rais'd from the Dead they shall hear this terrible Voice Arise you Wretches and come to Judgment they will then find that which Solomon hath asserted to be infallibly true Eccles 11.9 Know that for all these things God will bring thee into Judgment And this leads me to the fourth Observable namely The great Advantage of considering the latter End Oh that they were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter End It is the Saying of the Wise Man Ecclus 7.36 Whatsoever thou takest in hand remember the end and thou shalt never do amiss The Latinist reads it In omnibus Operibus vel Sermonibus tuis memorare Novissima in aeternum non peccabis In all thy Works or Words remember the last things and thou wilt never commit a Sin unto Death such a Remembrance would make it morally impossible for thee to commit a presumptuous Sin a wilful and deliberate Transgression Now the Four last things to be continually remembred are Death a Judgment to come Hell and Celestial Glory And what more horrible than Death What more terrible than such a Judgment What more intolerable than Eternal Fire And what worthier Object can there be for us to exert our Faculties upon than God and the Mansions of everlasting Felicity How many Sins might we have avoided in the course of our Lives if we had had the serious remembrance and apprehension of these things And how many Sins might we yet avoid if we would but endeavour to have these things as Belshazzar's Hand-writing upon the Wall constantly in our Eye These things as the Pilot the Ship would direct and influence our whole Life and Conversation would help us to steer our Course and safely bring us to the Haven of Bliss and Happiness Such would be the great Advantage of considering our latter End If Men would but thus consider no Temptation would then take hold of them nothing would ruffle and discompose their Conscience it would be void of Offence both towards God and towards Men. But alas In this lapsed and degenerate Age in this miserable and naughty World how many are there that have languid luke-warm and feeble Opinions of Religion If Judgment may be formed according to their Vicious and immoral Conversation what a Deluge of Prophaneness and Impiety Atheism and Infidelity overflows this Sinful Land this poor Nation How many live as tho they believed that Vertue and Vice that God and the Devil were Words signifying nothing as if they were the Extract of some melancholy and pregnant Brain as if they were invented meerly for Mens Terror and Affrightment The Halter the Gibbet and the most terrible of Temporal Punishments too have as little Influence upon Mens Lives makes as small an Impression upon the Minds of Men as those which are Eternal How many have suffer'd as Murderers as Thieves as Evil-doers And yet Men will not take Warning and Example Men will not be deterr'd from committing the like abominable Vile and Enormous Offences Every Assize gives us too many fresh and sad Instances of this Truth Oh that Men would become wise and consider not only Temporal but Eternal Punishments Such a Consideration would if any thing oblige them to follow the important business of Religion To hurt no body by Word or Deed to keep their hands from picking and stealing Such a Consideration would enforce them to labour truly to get their own living and to do their Duty in that Station which Divine Providence hath allotted to them There is not certainly a more effectual way to revive the drooping Spirit of Christian Religion in the World than seriously to contemplate upon and consider our Latter End That we must shortly die and come to Judgment and there receive a Reward according to our Deeds If we were but possess'd with a warm and constant Sense of these things we should in all probability endeavour to walk circumspectly not as Foools but as wise to be holy in all manner of Conversation Such is the advantage of a Religious Consideration Alas were there but mature Thoughts would but Men be wrought upon to act as reasonable Creatures would they but judiciously and soberly weigh things in the Balance of their Understanding they would seldom or never be found wanting in their Duty and Obligation If Men would once entertain serious Thoughts of Religion they would soon set open their Ears to its sweet and charming Language if they would but fix their Eyes upon it they would soon be captivated with its incomparable Beauty it would presently attract their love and admiration and enforce them to embrace it with all profound respect and affection A consideration of our latter end a serious reflection upon Eternity this would put the Soul into such a frame and posture as would make it restless and uneasy wrack'd and impatient till it had made its Peace with an incens'd Judge by Repentance not to be repented of till it had prepar'd it self for a comfortable Appearance at his Bar for a glorious advancement into an endless state of Bliss and Immortality Such is the great advantage of considering our latter end Oh that they were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end And this leads me to the fifth and last Observable Namely That to consider our latter end is an Argument of our Wisdom and Understanding And here if we consider our latter end as we ought it we seriously meditate upon Death and a Judgment to come then we shall prepare our selves and make ready for it by purity of Life and holiness of Conversation such a Consideration will create in our Minds an abhorrency and detestation of Sin and plant in us Vertue and Goodness a perfect and sincere love of God and Religion and this I am sure is the greatest Wisdom the noblest Understanding The fear of the Lord saith the Royal Psalmist is the beginning of Wisdom a good Vnderstanding have all they that do thereafter Psalm 110.10 i. e. There is no such excellent and prudential course as the preserving in our Breasts a just and due reverence of God an awe to his Laws and a dread to his Judgments and all this is the happy effect of considering our latter end So teach us to number our Days is the fervent Prayer of Moses Psal 90.12 So teach us to