Egyptian darkness for evermore On the heel of the former this second Proposition taketh hold 2. SALVATION will most undoubledly be the Fruit of a Believer's Looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ The great God who once said unto upright man Obey and live now saith unto lapsed man Believe be saved and truly an Exceeding great multitude whom no man can number have bin happy witnesses to the Fulfilment of it It is that which our Lord has ordered to be proclaimed unto every creature I mean as the Hebrews do by that Phrase unto every man in the world Marc. 16. 16. He that believeth shall be saved And when a convinced Jayler was solicitous about his everlasting Weal the Messengers of heaven gave him this Testimony which surely the convinced Prisoner that I have before me may very reasonably look upon himself as concerned in Act. 16. 31. Believe on the Lord. Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved Thus also it is represented as the Property the Priviledge of true Believers in Heb 10. 39. We are of them that believe unto the saving of the soul Verily a man does no sooner look unto Jesus Christ in away of Beleeving than a Sentence of Salvation is passed upon him and all the Promises yea and all the Attributes of the Eternal Jehovah are engaged for the execution of it ¶ Shall we descend unto some Particulars Every part of that Salvation which Jesus Christ is the Author of ever follows upon Looking Believing for it As those three comprehensible and inexhaustible Treasures of life in 2. Cor. 13. 14. even the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Communion of the Holy Spirit are to be got by Booking So particularly the voice the sweet soul-melâ—â—ng voâ—ce of the Lord Jesus Christ unto Sinners is LOOK unto Me and you shall be Justified Hence not to speak of the large Discourses on this point in the Epistle to the Romans concerning whom the spirit of Prophecy fore-saw that they would apostatize from their Orthodox Perswasion and Professions herein It is said in Joh. 3. 18. He that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ is not condemned No he is in Christ and there shall not one Condemnation fall upon him as the Appostle else-where has it tho' he may have deserved a Thousand Million He is saved from the horrendous Wrath Curse of God. The Free Grace of God forgives all his transgressions and accepts him as righteous imputing the Righteousness of Jesus Christ unto him the just holy God that was once angry with him every day now sayes unto him Fury is not in me Fury is not in me And he rejoices with such a white stone put into his hand as that Paralitick had unto whom it was said Son be of good theer thy sins â—re forgiven thee Yet again The voice of the Lord Jesus unto sinners is Look unto Me and you shall be Adopted Hence is it averr'd in Gal. â— 10. Yâ— are the children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus Thus these blessed believing Lookers shall be saved from the doleful Family of the Devil they shall be taken into the number they shall have a Title to the Felicity and Dignity of them that are the sons of God the Angels now call them Brethren and the Almighty Magnificent Governor of the world saies unto them Ye are my sons my daughters Besides all this the Voice of the Lord Jesus unto sinners moreover is Look unto Me and you shall be Sanctified in regard of this it is that He has said in Joh. 3 36. He that believeth hath everlafling life the Seed the Spring of it is in Him. Truly such a man shall be saved from his slavery to the Enemies of his soul He shall be renewed in his whole man after the Image of God and be enabled more more unto a dying to sin and a living in Grace his spirit his soul his body his All is now under an enobling Dedication unto the Service of shewing forth the praises of God a curious Needle-work made by the fingers of the eternal Spirit covers him adorns him makes him more excellent than his neighbour And Oh what peace even the peace of God that passeth all understanding O what Joh even Joy unspeakable full of glory Oh what Assurance Oh what Perseverance in this life will flow from these unto the saved Believer Finally the Voice of the Lord Jesus unto sinners likewise is Look unto Me and you shall be Glorified On this score has the beloved Disciple said in 1. Joh. 5. 13. You that believe on the Name of the Son of God may know that ye have eternal life Oh how firmly is Eternal Life ensured unto Believers Certainly those Christ-prizing Ones shall be saved from the second Death they shall awake in the upper world in the future world they shall behold the Face of God and Christ in Righteousness and be satisfied with His likeness The Lamh shall feed them and lead them to Fountains of Living water they shall enter into the Joy of their LORD they shall drink of the Rivers of pleasure at the right hand of GOD for ever more they shall so partly at their Dissolution they shall so fully at their Resurrection they shall so in the Heaven of Heavens until the very Heavens be no more Such is a little of the Be ye saved which all Believers hear from their heavenly Friend from their Undertaker on high So great Salvation will a Believing LOOK procure But that this Gospel may have a fit and fult dwelling in your hearts there is one Proposition more to be laid into your Understandings 3. The Lord Jesus Christ in His Gospel does graciously earnestly INVITE all men thus to Look unto Him and be saved That ever-glorious One whom God has exalted to be a Prince and Saviour to give Repentance unto His Elect with Remission of sins He hath with a matchless degree of Favour and Fervour too adâ—isâ—â— Man-kind about this matter He hath reviv'd a dying world with such sweet words of his mouth as these O ye perishing Out-casts I am a Saviour infinitely able ready to relieve the Distresses which you are plung'd into I require you and entreat you therefore that you don't keep at a distance from me And for this cause it is that in Isa 65. 1. he makes according to the Apostolical Interpretation in Rom. 10. this proffer even to the very Heathen O let the blackest blindest Negroe at the further end of this Assembly count himself bound to answer such a Call Behold me behold me q. d. O that you would LOOK at me for my SALVATION We have indeed a most precious Bible in our hands that Book of Life I see in those hands too that must dye pinion'd before many dayes have roll'd away man do you first look downward upon that and so look upward unto Him from whom it comes it is a Bible iudited by the Spirit of
Speakest thou not unto me knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee have power to release thee But it is more fitly spoken by Jesus Christ unto you Knowest thou not that I have power to destroy thee soul body in hell forevermore knowest thou not that if thou passest a day or two more without a due regard unto me thou canst not be saved therefrom tho' the life of all the Angels in heaven should be proffered for thy ransom and speakest thoâ— not unto Me O thou deplorable soul speak and seek and look unto Him as for Life eternal May last Request unto you is O give get all the Honour you can unto that Jesus from whom you look for your Salvation While you are secking to look well unto Him O see that you speak well of Him and do well for Him until you shall speak and do be among the living on the earth no more Surely you have by presumptious things enough reproached him already The sharp Ax of Civil Justice will speedily cut you down O for a little good fruit before the blow Manifest your penitence for your Iniquities by a due care to excel in tempers quite contrary to those ill Habits and customs whereby you have heretofore blasphemed the worthy Name of Christ Christianity Especially employ the last minutes of your Life in giving a zealous Warning unto others to take need of those things which have bin destructive unto you Tell them what wild Gourds of death they are by which you have got your Bane point out before them those pathes of the destroyer which have led you down so near unto the Congregation â—f the dead When the numerous croud of spectators are 3 or 4 days hence thronged about the place where you shall then breathe your last before them all then do you with the heart-piercing groans of a deadly wounded man 〈◊〉 of your follow-sinners that they would turn new every one from the evil of his way Beseech of them to keep clear of ill Haunts ill Houses with as much dread of them as they could have of lying down in a nest of poisonful Snakes Beseech of them to abhor all Vncleanness as they would the deep ditch which the abhorred of the Lord do fall into Beseech of them to avoid all Excess in Drinking as they would not rott themselves with more bitter Liquors than the Waters of Jealousie Beseech of them to moderate and mortifie all inordinate Passions as they would not surrender themselves into the hands of Devils that will hurry them down into deeper Deeps than they are aware Beseech of them to Shun idle Swearing as a Prophanity that the GOD to whom Vengeance belongeth will not permit to go unpunished Beseech of them to avoid Curses on themselves or others lest while they like Mad-men so throw about fire-brands arrows death they bring upon their own heads as you have done the things which they are apt rashly to be wishing of Beseech of them to beware of Lying as they would not be put to need crave be denied a drop of water to cool their tongues in the place of Torment Beseech of them to be as averse to all Stealing as they would be to carry coals of fire into the Nests that they so feather by their dishonesty Beseech of them to prize the means of Grace to sleep At or keep from Sermons no more to love the Habitation of God's house and the place where His Honour dwels lest God do soon send their froward barren souls to dwell in silence where there never shall be a Gospel-Sermon heard never never as long as the Almighty sits upon His Chrystal Throne And when you have given these Warnings upon the Ladder from whence you shall not come off without taking an irrecoverable step into eternity O remember still you give unto Jesus Christ the honour of LOOKING to Him for His Salvation Remember that if you would do a work highly for the honour of Him This is The work of God that you Believe on Him. Even after your eyes are so covered as to take their leave of all sights below still continue LOOKING unto Him whom you have heard saying Look unto Me. And now let the Everlasting Saviour LOOK down in much mercy on you O that He would give this Murderer and extraordinary Sinner a place among the Wonders of free Grace O that this wretched man might be made meet for the Inheritance with the Saints in Light being kept from such an unrepenting and deluded heart as unquenchable fire will find Fuel in And be thou pleased O Holy Lord God Almighty to sanctifie this Example so that the Sinners in this Zion may be afraid that Fearfulness may surprise the Hypocrites thereof and they may all hear and fear and do wickedly no more Amen Amen AN EXHORTATION To A CONDEMNED MALEFACTOR Delivered March the 7th 1686. By JOSHVA MOODY Preacher of the Gospel at Boston in New-England Ezek. 33. 9. If thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it if he do not turn from his way he shall dy in his iniquity but thou shalt deliver thy soul Josh 7. 19. Give glory to the God of Israel and make Confession to Him and tell me what thou hast done Isai 55. 7. Seek the Lord while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near Let the wicked forsake his Way and the unrighteous man his Thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon Printed at BOSTON by R. P. Anno 1687. To the Reader IT was the Motion of many and the Importunity of some that drew from me my consent to make this almost extemporary discourse thus public The Prisoner sent to me on the After-noon before the Sabbath a writing under his hand wherein he own'd the Justice of God in bringing him to this untimely End and the Righteousness of the Sentence of Man upon him together with a Confession of those sins that he had lived in all his dayes of which there is something spoken in the Sequel adding 2 Requests viz. that I would take some Notice of him in my Sermon and that I would give warning to those of his Follow-Siners that had been guilty of the like evils lest they also become like monuments of divine Justice Such reasonable requests especially from a dying man I could not deny My Subject that day was Isa 12. 1. and my Business at that time to discourse of the necessity means marks of the turning away of God's Anger which I judged not unsutable for a person in his condition accordingly did as there was occasion apply my self particularly to him in my Sermon which is not so proper to insert here What was directly spoken to himself or to others at his desire so far at least as my memory would serve me is committed to the Press and added as an
LOTâ—RTZACH i. e. Thou shalt not Murder It was a â—ain Opinion of the Manachees whom Austin That the Life of no Creature might be taken away because the Commandment of God saith Thou shalt not kill God has given express leave to all the Sons of Noah i. e. to Mankind that they should take away the Lives of other creatures as they should see cause only Man being a more Divine Creature his Life is to be Sacred it may not be medled with except in cases where the Great Soveraign God who has an absolute power of Life and Death hath appointed 2. Capital Murder is wilful There is a difference between Murder and casual Homicide or accidental Manslaughter If a man shoots an Arrow or throws a stone or the like not thinking that any one will be hurt thereby in case it should happen to kill a man it is not Murder If he did it ignorantly unawares and no way sought the harm of the slain man he is not to be punished as a Murderer This we see in the Context ver 15. to 26. The City of Refuge was for such an one Deut. 19. 4. 5. And this is the case of the slayer which shall flee thither that he may live whosoever killeth his neighbour ignorantly whom he hated not in time past as when a man goes into the Wood with his neighbour to hew wood and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the Ax to cut down the tree and the head slippeth from the helve lights upon his neighbour that he die he shall flee unto one of those cities and live Not but that a man may be guilty of Murdering his Neighbour tho he did not intend to kill him namely If he did smite him in Anger or intend to harm him as the expression is in the 23. ver of this Chapter And it is here expresly declared not only that he who shall lye in wait or watch for an opportunity to destroy his Neighbour or that did formerly hate him shall be judged a Murderer but if he smite him in emnity that he dy v. 21. i. e. in an hostile way tho he had no quarrel with him before if he fall out with him and in his passion smite him a mortal Blow he hath murdered his Neighbour and is guilty of death This is presumptous Murder the heart was in it nor can it be said to be done ignorantly There is another clear Scripture which proves that if persons fall out and in the strife one shall strike the other a deadly blow life shall go for life Ex. 21. 14 21 22 But then 3dly In Murder the Life of a man is taken away unjustly In some cases it is lawful to take away the Life of another Yea Matters may be so circumstanced as it would be a great sin not to do it There are Three cases wherein the Life of a man may be taken away and yet no Sin no Murder committed 1. In case of a Just War. There is a great difference between blood shed in war and in a time of Peace Joab was guilty of Murder because he shed the blood of War in peace 1. King 2. 5 had he killed Abner Amasa in the war-time before David had made peace with him he had not bin guilty of Murder but because he shed blood after a peace was concluded he was a Murderer Somtimes in War they that take away lives do an acceptable service to God. Abigal told David that God would certainly bless him because he fought the Battles of the Lord. 1. Sam. 25. 28. And we know that Abraham was blessed after he returned from the Slaughter of the Kings with whom he had a just war. Heb. 7. 2. In these cases the not shedding of blood may possibly expose to a Curse Jer. 48. 10 Cursed be he that does the work of the Lord deceitfully and cursed be he that keeps back his sword from blood 2. They that are in Civil Authority may and ought to take away the Lives of men that shall commit Crimes by the Law of God worthy of Death The Apostle therefore saith concerning the Magistrate He is the minister of God to thee for good but if thou do that which is evil be afraid for he â—eareth not the sword in vain for he is the minister of God a Revenger to execute wrath upon him that does Evil. Rom. 13 4. Private Reveng is evil but publick Revenge on those that violate the Laws of God is good The Magistrate is God's Vice-gerent As none can give life but God so none may take it away but God or such as He has appointed It is their work to see that the Lives of men be taken from them when God has said that they shall surely be put to death Hence David speaks as in Psal 101. 8. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land that I may cut off all the wicked Doers from the City of the Lord. God had put the Sword into his hand for that end that so he might clear the Land of Malefactors who were worthy of Death and he was resolved to see Justice done But private Persons are not to arrogate to themselves that which is the Magistrate's proper work Men must have lawful Authority for what they do else in taing away Life they become guilty of Murder Suppose a person to have committed never such Capital Crimes if a private person or one that has no Legal Authority shall take away his Life he is guilty of Murder Except 3. In case of a man 's own just Defence So a private person may take away the life of another The light of Nature teaches men Self-Preservation If a Murderer assault him he may kill rather than be killed We cannot say that Abner was guilty of Murder when he slew Asahal in his own defence (b) Alsted Theol. Cas Cap. 15. p. 350. If a man be coutrary to Justice invaded or set upon by another in an hostile manner and there he no other way for him to preserve his own life but by killing the Assailant the Law of Nature and of all Nations acquit him from the guilt of Murder But he that has shed blood causless or that has avenged himself is a Murderer 1. Sam. 25. 31. Propos 2. Murder is an exceeding great Sin. It 's an expression in the Scriptures he is as if he slew a man Isa 66. 3. Implying that to slay a man is a thing most horrid hateful it is indeed the greatest Sin against the 2nd Table of the Moral Law and is therefore set in the first place amongst negative Precepts therein God forbids the greatest sin in the first place It is a Crying Sin The Lord said to Cain The voice of thy brothers blood cryeth to me from the ground Gen. 4. 10. In the Original the word is in the Plural Number the voice of thy brothers bloods Every drop of Abel's blood had as it were a voice a tongue in it crying for vengeance
take heed of those sins as they love their Lives or Souls I know not but that it may be for Edisieation and tend to God's Glory if I should read in this great Assembly what I received in Writing from this dying distressed Creature It s this which followeth I James Morgan being Condemned to dye must needs own to the glory of God that He is righteous and that I have by my sins provoked Him to destroy me before my time I have bin a great sinner guilty of Sabbath-breaking of Lying and of Uncleanness but there are especially two Sins whereby I have offended the great God one is that Sin of Drunkenness which has caused me to commit many other Sins for when in Drink I have been often guilty of Cursing and Swearing and quarrelling and striking others But the Sin which lies most heavy upon my Conscience is that I have despised the Word of God and many a time refused to hear it preached For these things I beleeve God has left me to that which has brought me to a shameful miserable death I do therefore beseech warn all persons young men especially to take heed of these Sins lest they provoke the Lord to do to them as He has justly done by me And for the further peace of my own Conscience I think my self obliged to add this unto my foregoing Confession That I own the Sentence which the Honoured Court has pass'd upon me to be exceeding just in as much as tho I had no former Grudge and Malice against the man whom I have killed yet my Passion at the time of the Fact was so out-ragious as that it hurrâ—â—d me on to the doing of that which makes me justly now proceeded against as a Murderer Thus does this miserable man confess But how many are there in the Congregation that this may strike terror trembling into their souls O Lord how many are there in this great Assembly who have lived and do live in those very sins for which this Man confesseth that God has been provoked to destroy him Let sinners hear take warning this day This man now that the Terrors of God have awakned his soul bitterly complains of two Sins especially one is that of Drunkenness And indeed Drunkenness has bin a bloody sin it has bin the cause of many a Murder The man here who is now flying to the Pit confesseth that in his Drink he was wont to Curse Swear and to quarrel and strike those near him and he acknowledged to me that he had made himself grievously drunk the day before he was left of God to commit the Murder which he now must dye for yea and that he had that very night bin drinking to excess and that he was not clear of drink at the time when he did the bloody Fact. And does not the Scripture say Who has wo who has sorrow who has contentions who has babling who has wounds without cause They that tarry long at the Wine c. Prov. 23. 29 30. Wicked men when they are in drink will fall to Quarrelling words will bring on blows and those blows will cause wounds and those wounds may perhaps prove mortal and then what Woe Sorrow followes O how many have by means of this sin been guilty of Interpretative Murder â— They have caused others to dye by making them drunk There has been an horrible thing done in this place some wicked persons who they are God knows have given or sold strong Liquors to the Indians and made them drunk also and several of them have dyed in that condition Let such know that the Lord will judg them yea He will judg 'em as Men that have shed blood shall be judged they must answer for the blood of Souls and Bodyes too Most wicked and miserable Creatures they are that to gain a few pence will bring upon themselvs the guilt of the blood of Souls of Bodies too And this bloody sin of Drunkenness has bin the cause of many a Self-Murder how many have made themselvs the woful Martyrs of Bacchus thereby By Drunkenness Intemperance they have brought their Bodies to the Grave and their Souls to Hell before their time It is an unhappy thing that of later years a kind of Strong †Reverend Mr Wilson once said in a Sermon there is a sort of drink come into the country which is called Kill Devil but it should be call'd Kill men for the Devil Drink kath been common amongst us which the poorer sort of people both in Town Country can make themselves drunk with â—â— cheap easy rates They that are poor and wicked too Ah most miserable Creatures can for a peny or two pence make themselvs drunk I wish to the Lord some remedy might be thought of for the prevention of this evil It 's a very sad thing that so many Bodyes Souls should be eternally ruin'd and no help for it How few are there that if once they be addicted to â—his vice do ever truly repent of it or turn from it There was a Man who hearing that his Son took evil courses and that he followed such a vice well said he I hope he 'll leave that and that he was given to another vice I hope said he he 'll leave that too but it was told him that his Son was given to Drunkenness also Nay then said he I have no hope of him I will not say as he did There is no hope that ever a Drunkard should repent but I say there have been but few such Instances in the world How rarely have any of you known a man that has been addicted to this Body-destroying and Soul-murdering Iniquity that has truly repented of it or turned from it again O then Let Men that have any love for their Lives or Souls beware of this bloody Sin. But the other Evil which this undone Man does especially cry out of and which now that he seeth his Soul going into Eternity he saith lies most heavy upon his Conscience is his Despising the Word of God. I do not wonder to hear him speak so for I have known several Condemned persons who have made the same out-cry O nothing terrifies our Consciences like the thought of This that we have neglected the Means of grace And what think you of Sinners in Hell who are wayling for this with tears of blood for ever ever whose doleful and bitter cry is O the Sermons which we once heard or might have heard but would not Ten Thousand worlds would we give for an opportunity to hear one of those Sermons again with any hope of finding Mercy with God. O you that have lived under the Gospel but despised it think of this Verily I say unto you all the sins in the world will not damn like this Suppose a man to have bin guilty of Adultry or Murder or the most horrid Transgressions against the Law of God these will not damn his Soul
like that of Despising the Word of God. For this is the Condemnation that Light is come into the world and men love Darkness rather than Light. And How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation They that shall be found guilty of neglecting the great Salvation offered in the Gospel cannot escape the wrath of God to the utmost of it And this is true not only concerning such as have lived under the constant Preaching of the Gospel and yet remain and live dye in a natural unconverted estate but of them also that might hear the Word of God but will not concerning Such Christ saith It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah at the day of Judgment than for them Mat. 10. 15. This dying man now that his Conscience is awaken d saith It is a terrour to him to think I might have heard the Word of God preached many a time but refused it He neglected to hear Sermons not only on Lecture dayes but on Lords-Dayes too when he was a Servant he was wont as himself saith on Sabbath-Days to go out into the Fields and there to profane the Lords Dayes at the very time when he might and ought to have bin hearing the Word of God and since he had a Family his custom was to keep at home when others were attending the publick Worship of God. And he told me that he did foolishly please himself in thinking that he had sufficient reason to stay at home because he had not clothes good enough to appear publickly in whenas the mony that he mis-spent in drink would have procur'd him Cloatheing Let others then by his Example be warned against this evil lest they provoke God and feel sorrow for it as he has done I doubt there are very many in this great Town guilty of his sin in this particular perhaps some that are professors of Religion which is dreadful to think on I hear some say that there are many Hundreds nay some Thousands in this place that seldom hear a Sermon preached from one end of the year to the other if that be so it is very lamentable What is like to become of the souls of such profane persons If they that are in place of power be they Superior or Inferior Officers can possibly redress this evil they will certainly do a Service acceptable to GOD and to our Lord JESUS CHRIST But I proceed to the Second Exhortation If Murder be such a Crime as has bin declared then Let whoever has been guilty of this Sin be humbled for it and repent of it As for Interpretative Murder many are guilty of that O how many have by Debauchery Intemperance shortened the lives of themselvs or others let such repent and turn from their sins unto God. But I hope there is none in this vast Assembly that has bin guilty of that Murder which is by the Law of God and of the Land a Capital Crime excepting one man and one such person there is here present unto whom I shall now particularly apply my self Do you then hear that your soul may live This is the Last Sermon that ever you shall hear Time was when you might have heard Sermons but would not and now you shall not hear them tho' you would For as God said to him This night thy soul shall be required of thee so I say to you in His Name This night thy soul shall be taken from thee This night your soul shall be in Heaven or Hell for ever You are appointed to dye this day and after death commeth the Judgment As soon as your Body is dead your immortal soul must appear before the great GOD and Judg of all and a Sentence of everlasting Life or Everlasting Death shall be passed upon you Are you willing when those Chains which are about you shall be taken off that your immortal soul should be hang'd in everlasting Chains Are you willing that when your Body is removed from the Prison your Soul should go to the Spirits that are in prison You have complain'd that you have bin in a Dungeon and had little light there but are you willing to go where you shall never see light Are you willing that when your Body is delivered from this Dungeon your Soul should go into that Dungeon where is Blackness of darkness for ever If not I charge you in the Name of God to hear and obey his Word yea that Word which you have many a time despised I have spoken so often to you in private since your being Apprehended that I shall not need to say much now only a few words 1. Consider what a sinner you have bin The Sin which you are to die for is as red as Scarlet and many other sins hath your wicked life been filled with You have been a stranger to me I never saw you I never heard of you till you had committed the Murder for which you must dye this day but I hear by others that have known you how wicked you have been and you have your self confessed to the world that you have been guilty of Drunkenness guilty of Cursing Swearing guilty of Sabbath-breaking guilty of Lying guilty of secret Uncleanness as Solomon said to Shimei Thou knowest the wickedness which thine own heart is privy unto so I say to you And that which aggravates your Guiltiness not a little is That since you have been in Prison you have done wickedly you have made your self drunk several times since your Imprisonment yea and you have bin guilty of Lying since your Condemnation It was said to a dying man Dost not thou fear God seeing thou art under Condemnation Oh what a sinner have you bin for since you have bin under Condemnation you have not feared God. And how have you sinned against the Gospel What Unbelief what Impenitency have you bin guilty of Consider 2. What Misery you have brought upon your self on your Body that must dye an 〈◊〉 ed death you must hang between Heaven and Earth as it were forsaken of both and unworthy to be in either And what Misery have you brought upon your poor Children you have brought an everlasting Reproach upon them How great will their Shame be when it shall be said to them that their Father was hang'd not for his goodness as many in the world have bin but for his wickedness not as a Martyr but as a Malefactor truly so But that which is Ten Thousand Thousand times worse than all this is That you have without Repentance brought undoing Misery upon your poor yet precious Soul not only Death on your Body but a Second Death on your never-dying Soul. It is said in the Scripture That Murderers shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the Second Death Rev. 21. 8. O tremble at that I remember a Man that was condemned and Executed in this place some years ago that had been a Souldier and as stout a spirited
Jesus Christ and preserved by His Providence and the very scope of this the principal business of it is to come from the Third Heaven as a Letter with thy name mine every man 's on the Endorsment of it bespeaking the beleeving looks of every Reader unto a saving Jesus But there are likewise many special passages to this purpose sparkling and glittering like so many Jewels in the Cabinet of God. It is a Rule which our Lord Jesus has given about His Exhortations in Marc. 13. 37. What I say to one I say to All And will not the same square to His Invitations also Yes the old loving Invitations which were more immediately given to other people do likewise call upon us upon whom the ends of the world are come upon Thee and thee and thée Well we are informed in Joh. 7. 36. That when our Lord Jesus was Incarnate among the moving Dust-heaps and Potsherds of the earth here below once on the eight day of the Feast of Tabernacles when there was a vast Confluence of People going to draw water from he Pool of Siloam singing the words of the Prophet With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation Lo then He took occasion to stand that He might be seen to cry that he might be heard to say If any man thirst let him come to me drink So then all the needy dying souls of men are still are thus offered the only Appointed Anointed Redeemer of men does thus counsil them Let me hear from you whensoever whereinsoever you want Salvation But how many other such amazing lines has He also sent down from the Excellent Glory into a desolate world It is the Lord Jesus Christ who has compared the Goâ—â—â—l of Salvation unto a well-fraught Vessel sailing up a River whereahout He makes that loud loving Out cry O Never never was there an O yee's vouchsased unto the world like to This in Isai 55. 1. Ho every one that thirsteth let him come and partake hereof It is the Lord Jesus Christ too who concludes this miraculous Book with that remarkable Period when He would put a full Stop to inspired infallible Writings He does it by exposing His Salvation unto general Acceptation in Rev. 22. 17. Whosoever will let him take the water of life freely In a word For the suller Inculcation of such a marvellous Thing we have this immortal King laying upon us in the name of Him that is Higher than the highest in 1. Joh. 3. 23. A Commandment to believe We have Him hence also annexing the Sanctions of a Commandment hereunto laying Bonds Graplings of Iron upon the Consciences of men We have Him both upon Mount Ebal upon Mount Gerizzin giving accents to His Look unto Me. He discharges the dreandful rumbling Thunderclaps of such denunciations as that in Joh 3. 36. He that believeth not shal not see life And many more such Threats and Menaces does He roar out of Sion with wherein the smoke of the Fire and Brimstone reserved in a hot Hell for the Portion of Vnbelievers is blown under the Nostrils of men Yea and He presents no less châ—â—ming Encouragements to Beleeving than those in the Preface to the Proverbs of Salomon one Text more above all I have found which I must bring to you as Sampson did unto his Relations the Henâ—y which he had light upon it is in Mat. 11. 28. O feed upon it every word in it is a drop of Canaans Hony it is Honey from the Rock He was a renowned Person that once said mallem carere Cibo et Coelo quam hoc Verbo I had rather not have a bit of Bread to put in my mouth I had rather the Sun in the Firmament should shine no more upon me than that I should loose so dear a Word as this Thus our Lord speakes COME gr Deute a most freindly familiar Call q. d. I pray be so kind as to step hither to a Friend But unto whom shall we come Lo He saith come unto Me unto Me that have all things deliver'd unto Me by the Father unto Me that am by Him empowered and employed to pluck never-dying souls from the devouring Jaws of every Death But who shall come mark the Answer Let ALL come But what if we have horrible Burdens of Filth and Fear lying upon us It s no matter sayes our Ever-living and Ever-loving Lord come all ye that Labour and are heavy Laden But what if we do come shall we not miscarry miserably and miss of our Expectations notwithstanding all No no. The Faithful true witness saith unto us I will GIVE you REST. O let the poor fetter'd Prisoner recollect himself James thy name is not excepted in these INVITATIONS It is a Feast of Fat things full of marrow and of wines on the lees well refined which the Lord has made in this Doctrin for the ruin'd Race of sinful men It remains that we make some Vses of it VSE 1. And now Praises Millions of Praises an Eternity of High-praises be given unto our Lord Jesus Christ who speakes such things to the rebellious O the Admiration O the Adoration which the never-enough praised Grace of Jesus Christ should beget in us At the preaching of this Doctrin we have unnutterable cause to do as the Jews did at the building of the Temple in Zech. 4. 7. even to shout Grace Grace concer-cerning it until our Acclamations reach unto the very Heavens It is recorded of the poor slaves among the Brick-kilns in Egypt Exod. 4. 31. That when they heard the Lord had visited the children of Israel and had look'd on their Affliction then they bowed their heads and worshiped behold you have this morning heard that the Lord Jesus Christ hath visited the children of men and bid them in their Afflictions to Look unto Himself O where are the good words where are the kind thoughts that we ought to magnify this Redeemer and His Grace withal David once in an holy Ecstafie of soul 1. Chron. 29. 10 14. Blessed the Lord and said O who am I Verily now all of us have cause to abound with such notes as those Lord who are we that He who sits on the lofty Throne of Eternity should send away unto us that ly starving like odious Beggars among the Ditches and under the Hedges of Hell inviting us to LOOK unto Him and be SAVED The Pharisees of old aspers'd Him with this as His Disgrace but let us cry it up in Him as his Honour This man receiveth sinners The vertuous Elizabeth in Luc. 1. 43. Wondred that the Mother of her Lord should come unto her but what a thing is this that our Lord Himself should Invite us to Look yea to come unto himself That he who sits as King for ever upon the lofty Battlements of Heaven charges the very Angels with Folly should so far smile upon us a company of born-fools wandering about the earth upon