Tears shall be able to deliver the guilty and polluted Soul from the impendent danger when it shall be said to the humble Friend sit up higher and to the proud Fool Give place to him that is more honourable than thou art when the Book of Conscience shall be opened and the Dead judged by the Contents of that Book when the Sinner will not know where to flee and his Spirits will fail him for fear of him that sitteth upon the Throne O God! Fix these Considerations in my Soul strengthen my Faith that I may believe these things unseen without wavering How apt is the World to get between this tremendous Day and my sight Quicken thou mine Eyes that I may see through all impediments into that Process and reflect what manner of Person I ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness Lord Jesu great Judge of the World let the Lines of that Judgment be written so legibly in my mind that my Soul may delight to read them that nothing may divert me from studying and considering them let this be my chief study and let me feel the fame effect that those men did who were converted at thy Apostles Sermon let me be prickt at the Heart and cry out What must I do to be saved Let the thoughts of this Day make a Reformation in my outward and inward Man that it may appear that thou hast touch'd me with a Coal from the Altar O God to whom Vengeance belongs shew thy self and disperse my foolish Desires Let my Soul feel the Transactions of that Day as well as believe them Clear my Understanding and enlighten my Mind that I may have a livelier Prospect of it I will not let thee go except thou bless me Look down from the Habitation of thy Holiness and visit my Soul Expel the Prejudices I have against Severity of Life and with the Thoughts of this Day destroy them utterly Let the consideration of this Day so work upon me that my Ambition Covetousness Pride and Anger may tremble at this sight and leave their habitation and may be ever afraid of returning Oh tell me that this Day will certainly come and that the Day of my Death will be the Emblem of it Oh assure me of the Terror of that Day that shall burn like an Oven wherein all that do wickedly shall be Stubble and the Fire shall burn them up that it shall leave them neither Root nor Branch let me not take example by the careless World that put this evil Day far from them Let it be always before me Let my Mind be never free from the Contemplations of it Let it mingle with my Business with my Meals with my Converse with my Sleep and with all my Undertakings In every Sin I am tempted to let it frighten me in my going out and in my coming in let it continually beat upon my Mind Oh my Lord let me muse upon this Day of Retribution this Day of Recompence this Day of Trouble this Day of Terror this Day of Joy this Day of Comfort this Day wherein thy Promises and Threatnings will be fulfilled this Day which must decide the controversie of my Life and Death this Day which will bring to light all hidden things this Day which will revive the good and confound the bad this Day of Consolation this Day of Consternation let me ruminate upon it till thoughts of this Judgment prevail with me to become a new Creature thy Grace must melt my stubborn Heart without thee I can do nothing O relieve me O come in with the Light of thy Countenance Stir up my Soul and rouze it from its carelesness Call to me as thou didst to thy People of old let that voice sound in my ears The great Day of the Lord is near it is near and hasteth greatly even the Voyce of the Day of the Lord the mighty Man shall cry bitterly that Day is a Day of Wrath a Day of Trouble and Distress a Day of Wastness and Desolation a Day of Darkness and Gloominess a Day of Clouds and thick Darkness a Day of the Trumpet and Alarm against the fenced Cities and against the high Towers and I will bring Distress upon men that they shall walk like blind Men be cause they have sinned against the Lord and their Blood shall be poured out as Dust and their Flesh as the Dung neither their Silver nor their Gold shall be able to deliver them in the Day of the Lord 's Wrath. O let me not lose the sense of this Day Oh let me consider how much better it is to be humble and contemptible and to hunger and thirst and to suffer here and afterwards to enter into my great Masters Joy than to be a Slave to my Lusts and Pleasures here and to be bound at last with everlasting Chains of Darkness Chains which never wear out Chains which always bind are always grievous always painful Oh let me consider how much better it is to mourn here and to water my Couch with my Tears and to afflict my Soul and after this to triumph with the Spirits of Men made perfect than to feed upon Pleasures which at the best are but like the crackling of Thorns under a Pot and then to be sent away to howl with Devils Help Lord help that my Soul may be concern'd at her danger and despise the World and prepare against that Day and encounter with Powers and Principalities and Spiritual Wickednesses in high Places if by any means I might attain unto the Resurrection of the Dead Such Prayers offered from a Heart that hath no Reserves from a Heart resolved to do any thing rather than miss of Salvation such Prayers I say if they express the very desires of our Souls will certainly put Death and Paleness into our sensual Pleasures and oblige us to entertain other Thoughts of the gauds and gaieties of the world than now we have and make us sensible that this casting such a damp on the foolish fatisfactions of the flesh with the Prospect of that Day is not only a Task fit for Hermits and Melancholick Scholars and contemplative Men but a Duty incumbent on all that carry immortal Souls in their Breasts which calls me to the Fourth Point 4. Whether every Man is bound to embitter his carnal Delights with this Prospect To this I must answer in the Affirmative For though the young Man be particularly mentioned here yet since the expression in the Text reaches all men who are fit for action all such must necessarily fall under the obligation of this Duty and all that are capable of such Delights are bound to make use of the aforesaid consideration in order to this self-denial if the young Man is obliged to this seriousness much more older Men if God will not allow of these Delights in Youth they must necessarily be intolerable in Years of greater Maturity and if the tender Age be concerned to embitter them with this Prospect
the Gall which is part of it must be tasted too God will not be always mocked and they that durst in despight of his Will and Prohibitions feed upon that luscious Fruit shall feel the smart of the Prickles too In this Judgment their Postures Gestures and Behaviour and Deportment appear in another Figure and they that before laught at the Thunders of the Law made light of the Threatnings of the Gospel and let the Warnings of the Ministers of the Gospel go in at one Ear and out at another now call themselves Fools and Sots for doing so and they that before thought of no after-reckoning now fall a wishing but in vain O that I had been wise O that I had bethought my self O that I had looked beyond this World O that I had believed O that I had retired and considered what these Satisfactions would end in Fool that I was to think that God would prove a Liar Where was my Reason to think that all that the wisest and holiest Men have said were but Dreams and idle Tales I that might have been a terror to Devils how am I become their Scorn I that might have been a Favourite of God how am I become his Enemy I that might have triumphed with other Saints how am I fallen from their Bliss O what would not I give to be rid of the torment I feel Help help ye Souls that have any pity in you I sink under the weight of my former pleasures they are loathsom to me they appear Monsters Furies hideous things to me Cursed be that Lust I cherished Cursed be that Bed on which my wickedness was wrought O that my Tongue had dropt out of my Head when I pleased my self with lascivious discourses O that I had been deaf when I was tickled with hearing a smutty jest O that I had been struck blind when with joy and satisfaction I beheld that charming Beauty O that my Feet had failed me when I was going into that jovial Company O that I had locked my self up that I might not have seen those Temptations which enticed me O that I had spent those Hours I threw away in Carding and Dicing and Drinking and Revelling O that I had spent them in holy Contemplations of the Vanity of these sublunary Objects Now I would do it and it is too late now I would repent and it profits me not now I would be serious and it signifies nothing my Time is lost the Day of Grace is gone the Opportunities are past O that I could tear out this Heart O that I could pull out these Eyes O that I could dispatch my self O that I had a Sword that I might put a period to this miserable condition I see nothing but Ruine before me nothing but Darkness nothing but Confusion nothing but Horrors and no Creature will help me to annihilate my self I am not able to endure this Torture for a moment how shall I be able to endure it to infinite Millions of Ages I see no end of it the farther I look the more of my Misery I see Where-ever I cast my Eyes I see nothing but Terror Devils and miserable Souls in the same condition with my self all howling about my Ears A thing so far from affording Comfort that it fills me with greater Horror Whither shall I â—lee for remedy Heaven is shut up there is a vast Gulph betwixt me and that there is no passing from hence thither nor from thence to this doleful place I swim in a Sea of Sorrow I swim and see no shoare I labour and not a Plank appears on which I may save my Life here are no Hills no Mountains no Rocks I can cry to and if there were they are all deaf God hath forsaken me and good reason for I left him for a Lust and undervalued him for Trifles I pleaded I could not withstand the Charms the World offered to me Mad man I could withstand them now why could not I have withstood them then I might have considered of this Place and of this State and of these Vexations and checked my self O that I were but to live again in the World O that God would but try me again How would I scorn the very thoughts of Mirth and Raillery How would I run away from the very mention of these Impostures Break my Heart break If God will not kill thee call upon the infernal Spirits and see what they will do But Oh they delight in these groans Themselves lie under the same Condemnation banish'd from the gracious Presence of God They would die as well as I if they were able O what a Torment is iâ— I see the everlasting Joys before me and cannot reach them they are over my Head and I cannot come near them Paradise I see but cannot enter into it I knock my Head I smite my Breast I stamp with my Feet but am never the better That Jesus on whose Blood I trampled I see rejoycing with his Followers at the Right Hand of God and not a drop of Comfort drops from his Lips on mine I feel Flames within which no Waters can quench a drop of Water would be some refreshment and give me some hopes of ease but here is none All the Rivers of Consolation are dried up to me I walk in Darkness I see no Light O God tear the Heavens and come down Canst thou hear these shrieks and be unconcerned Canst thou see this poor Creature lie in torments and give no relief Hast thou no Mercy left O then my State is desperate I shall not be able to refrain from Blasphemy for I see none can help but thou and thou wilt not I rave I am distracted with fear I tremble I quake Stand off Devils I have Furies enough within Ye damned Pleasures whither have you brought me Ye have made me lose the Favour of him who alone is able to give me ease I might have been happy if it had not been for you I might have escaped these Regions of Anguish if you had not tempted me But why do I accuse you This brutish Heart of mine was in the fault my Devilish Lust hurried me into Ruine I had Reason and would not use it Means of Grace and would not apply them Offers of Mercy and would not accept of them O all ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me where with the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger from above he hath sent a Fire into my Bones and it prevails against them he hath spread a Net for my feet he hath turned me back he hath made me desolate and faint all the day the Yoak of my Transgressions is bound by his hand they are wreathed and come up upon my Neck he hath made my strength to fall the Lord hath deliver'd me into their hands from whom I am not able to rise up All this certainly appears in the Prospect
upon Heaven and all that time look'd very ghastly recovering out of the Extasie and being asked 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 wouldest be pleased to imprint and very deeply imprint the Land skip of the future World the Miseries of the Disobedient the Groans of the Stubborn the Agonies of the Impenitent the Shrieks of the Prophane the Vexations of Hypocrites the Fears of the Careless the Destruction of the Covetous the Perdition of Worldlings the Flames of the Revengeful the Terror 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 host predestinated to Eternal Life Dost 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 summoned 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 Subterfuges will be out of doors there and all possibility of transferring our Errors 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 Birthright to Eternal Bliss for a Morsel of Meat would hold 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 touch the Heart yet do not subdue it till particular applications give them force and power A Fire that is a Mile off from me though it causes in me some sense of the Calamity yet if it threatens the House I live in my Faculties soon bestir themselves and I fall to work and secure my self in good earnest so here when I behold the tremendous Process of this Judgment I must reflect that as God deals with others so he will certainly deal with me that I have no greater privilege than others but must stand and fall by the same Law that they stand and fall by that to fancy any more favourable proceedings towards me than God intends to others is but a Dream and contrary to the impartiality of the Judge that as I have a Soul to be saved as well as my Neighbour so God will expect I should live here as he bids my Neighbour live that neither my Estate nor Dignity neither my Offices nor Friends neither my Riches nor my Greatness will excuse my living more carelesly than my poorer Friends nay that my outward Advantages make my Account greater and as I have had greater Talents bestowed upon me so more will be required of me than of them who have not had those opportunities of being good and holy which I have had that as God hath advanced me in the World placed me in a higher station given me a considerable figure here on Earth made his Candle to shine upon me caused my Root to spread by the Waters and the Dew of Heaven to lie all night upon my Branch and afforded me Credit and Respect among men so he looks for greater Fruitfulness in good Works and more than ordinary exemplariness to advance his Glory and to spread the Power of Religion among my Inferiors and Dependants and therefore upon a view of this future Process I must needs rouze my Soul by such Questions as these If God be resolved to judge the Secrets of mens hearts according to his Gospel what will become of me Should God call thee to Judgment O my Soul this Night or this Hour art thou in a condition to appeat before so great so dreadful a God Is this Foolery thou pleasest thy self with this wanton Dress this jolly Life these merry Hours this Gaming this Carousing this extravagant Laughter this Fondness of the Humor of the Age this immodest and frothy Talk this foolish Garb this phantastick Fashion this mispending thy Time this keeping of vain Company this unprofitable way of Living this thy being intent altogether upon the Profits and Pleasures of the World this Indifferency in Religion these faint Resistances of Temptations this Neglect of known Duties this unfaithful Discharge of the Duties of thy Relations this unwillingness to mind any thing that 's serious this Aversion from Spiritual Discourses and Actions this want of Gravity c. Are these fit Wedding-Garments to come before the King of Heaven in Thou maist be summon'd to come to his Bar within this day or two think what an infinite Majesty thou must be presented to Should God speak the word within a few Minutes Come away come away and give an Account of thy Behaviour how unprepared art thou
we see wrought in our selves and others in the Providences of God and in Contemplation of his various dealings with the several States Orders and Degrees of Men in Psalms and Hymns and Praises of the Divine Majesty in the thoughts and expectations of a better Life in the Treasures God hath laid up for them that fear him in another World and in the various Priviledges Prerogatives and Advantages of Holy Men c. It is certain I say that delighting and rejoycing in such Spiritual Objects is the chief the principal and sovereign delight which a Christian is with greatest application of Mind to labour after and in comparison of this is obliged to count all these outward Comforts Dross and Dung and Dogs meat this is the delight which must engross his Desires Affections and Inclinations this must rule in his Soul this must be Mistress and Queen Regent in his Mind to this all must stoop and then things cannot but go well if this be secured and established Without worldly Pleasure Thousands of Saints have arrived to everlasting Bliss but without this none Sensual Delights are no part of a Christians Comfort but this Spiritual Delight is the one thing necessary and till a prospect of a future Judgment causes this Delight to rise in our Souls whatever sudden impression it may make sometime the Plant is not of our Heavenly Fathers planting Such must be the temper of our Souls in the aforesaid Objects our Souls must delight more than in all Riches and this delight being once setled in us such worldly delights as are subservient to this and do neither diminish nor darken nor hinder nor quench it may justly be said to be lawful 2. This being premised we do not deny but such worldly delights as are neither sinful in themselves nor apparent Occasions of Evil are allowable And of this nature are all those Masculine Exercises whereby the Body is preserved in health and rendred more capable of serving the Soul in her Religious Severities as Walking or Riding abroad to take the Air Planting Gar dening Raising curious Plants and Flowers Running Wrestling Fowling Hawking Hunting Fishing Leaping Vaulting Casting of the Bar Tossing the Pike Riding the great Horse Running at the Ring and such Divertisements which stir the Blood make us active and vigorous fit us for greater and more useful Enterprizes and promote Chearfulness and Liveliness such cannot be supposed to be forbid by the Gospel provided that they be used 1. Seasonably not on those days and hours which are appointed either for Devotion or more weighty Business and therefore these cannot be proper Exercises of the Lords Day or Days of Fasting and Abstinence or Days of Mourning 2. With Moderation so that much time be not spent upon them and our love to them may keep within its due bounds and limits 3. For a good End which must be to render our selves fitter for the discharge of our Duty to God and Man 4. With purposes of Self denial so that we can leave or quit them for a greater Good when either a work of Piety or an act of Charity is to be performed or Scandal to be prevented where these Limitations are not observed the Honey turns into Gall and that which deserv'd only our Civility and transient Respect becomes our Idol and our Souls receive considerable hurt which had these Divertisements been used with circumspection might have been beholding to them in some measure for their welfare and edification 3. From this Rule we may rationally infer that delight in Orchards Gardens Rivers Ponds either Natural or Artificial and in the Comforts of Wife Children Friends in our Trades and Relations Houses Buildings and Possessions the bountiful hand of Heaven hath bestowed upon us is consistent with a serious prospect of a future Judgment not but that excesses may be committed in this delight as the best and most harmless things may be abused yet where we delight in them as they are the Gifts of God more than as they are Satisfactions to the Flesh and build not upon them rest not in them but still look upon them as things volatile and transitory and are ready to part with them whenever Providence shall think fit to remove them without grumbling or murmuring and do let the World see that in these delights we forget not the Rules of Gravity Modesty Decency and Charity they may lawfully be called inoffensive and as a Snake whose Teeth are pulled out handled without danger And though Solomon calls these Delights Vanity yet that which made them so was the immoderateness of his love toward them and his setting his heart and doating upon them and placing felicity in them making them his mark which should have been only a passage to nobler enjoyments and fixing there where he should have lodged only as in an Inn and so marched on to the City which hath Foundations whose Builder and Maker is God Delight in things of this nature may soon run beyond its bounds if either too much cost be spent upon them whereby the poor are robbed of their due or Men forget to employ their Thoughts upon sublimer Objects 4. The same may be said of delight in Musick whether Vocal or Instrumental a delight harmless enough if used as Salt not as Meat as Sauce not as Food as a Bit on the By not as a standing Diet and though the Men the Prophet speaks of Isa. 5. 12. are severely checked for the Harp and the Viol the Tabret and Pipe in their Feasts yet it was because they made their Musick an Appendix to their Drunkenness and as it is said in the same Verse regarded not the work of the Lord neither considered the operation of his hands David's playing upon the Harp was no sin while it was not to encourage wantonness but with an intent either to praise God or to divert Saul's Melancholy nor can I discommend the Pythagoreans who before they went to sleep composed their Minds with Musick We read in Gellius Aelian and others how men have been cured not only of irregular Passions but of very strange Distempers of the Body by Musick and what is signally conducing to the Good and Benefit of Mankind we must suppose is allowed by that God who himself consults the health and welfare of his Creatures and this made Jubal's Profession lawful who was the Inventer of Musical Instruments and therefore called the Father of all such as handle the Harp and Organ The end for which such Delights are used makes them either tolerable or impertinent and as he that designs them to refresh either his own or other mens weary Spirits and to glorifie God by them deserves commendation so he that makes them instrumental to feed mens Lusts or to promote Lasciviousness and Lightness in Conversation renders himself unworthy of the Name of a Christian and therefore those Fidlers and Musicians who shew themselves at merry Meetings or promiscuous Dancings which serve only to pamper the
be more ready to affront him that is the same yesterday to day and foâ—ever Nor will it follow becausâ— Books that treat of Heathen God may be read that therefore those Deities may be Acted and mentioned oâ— the Stage for there is a great difference between reading a thing anâ— seeing it acted with all the vanitâ— and boldness that usually attends iâ— In reading a mans serious thought are not dispersed or scattered buâ— keep within the compass of modesty and weigh things in the ballance oâ— reason whereas being Acted to thâ— life they naturally strike vanity intâ— the mind affect the sensual part drivâ— away seriousness and leave an unhappy tincture behind them And if it be against the Divine Law familiarly to mention or talk of theâ— fictitious Deities it cannot be very agreeable to the sense of it for Christâ—ans to go and hear that idle talk foâ— as in other concerns the receiver is aâ— bad as the thief so he that with delighâ— hears that which another is forbid tâ— speak makes himself accessory to hâ— sin and draws needless guilt upon his Soul Flatter not your self Sir with a fancy that these Plays are no where forbid in the Bible and that therefore it may be lawful to see them for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Revelling I mentioned before and to which the Apostle threatens exclusion from the Kingdom of Heaven Gal. 5. 21. and from which the word Comedy in all probability is derived though I know others fetch it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a village because in ancient times they did sing Songs about Country Towns I say this word includes all such vain lascivious Ludicrous and Jocular representations not only Dancing and luxurious Feasting but wanton light and amorous Interludes and all that belongs to the pampering and satisfying of the Flesh such as amorous Songs Complementing of Mistresses Love-tricks and immodest parts and speeches which make the vainer sort of the company merry for the word is very comprehensive and being so one would think should fright every serious person from coming within the guilt of that which hath so severe a threatning annex'd to it And is it worth losing Heaven and eternal happiness for the sight of such jocular Shews Are the pleasures arising from hence of that consequence that they will counter-ballance so great a loss Had you rather forfeit Gods favour than these ludicrous transactions Are these momentary satisfactions of that value that you would run the hazard of being for ever deprived of the beatifick vision for them That usual exception that God will not be so cruel as to condemn Men for such harmless sports is of no weight at all for God hath no where declared that he will govern himself by Mens fancies but his eternal wisdom is the rule he 'll go by if men will have their pleasures he hath thought fit to forbid they must thank themselves if they go without his favour and since they were warned of this danger they can have no excuse but are as the Apostle speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 condemn'd of themselves Tit. 3. 11. Let 's but consider the Nature scope and drift of our Religion it commands us decency modesty sobriety vigilancy or watchfulness over our thoughts and words and actions simplicity in the inward and outward man redeeming the time employing the hours God hath lent us in profitable discourses and things useful and tending to edification It bids us abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul it condemns all Rioting chambering wantonness and making provision for the Flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof It commands us to walk after the Spirit to be heavenly minded to have the same mind and temper in us which was also in Christ Jesus to grow in grace to advance in goodness to grow strong in the Lord and in the power of his might it bids us stand up for the glory of our God and to be concern'd when his Name or Religion or things Sacred are abubused it bids us avoid Scandal and take heed we do not by our example either draw people into errors oâ— confirm them in their sins it bids us take heed of discouraging our neighbours from goodness and of laying aâ— stumbling-block in the way of weaker Christians it bids us exhort one another daily and beware lest any of us be hardned through the deceitfulness of sin these are some of its principal rules and I need not add what our great Master hath told us ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you Joh. 15. 14. how these rules can be observed by persons that delight in these shews I cannot apprehend is it modesty to be a hearer of that ribaldry and filthy communication which some Plays are stuffed with Or to be a spectator of so many undecent and wanton gestures postures and actions which in some Comedies make up the greatest part of the shew Is this sobriety to stand by and hear men curse and swear and talk of things which should not be so much as named among Christians Is this decency to afford your presence in a place where the most debauched persons assemble themselves for ill ends and purposes Is this your fear of God to go and hear the most solemn ordinances of God railled and undervalued such as marriage and living up to the strict rules of reason and conscience Is this your watchfulness over your thoughts and words and actions to go and expose your selves to temptations to run into the Devils arms and give him an opportunity to incline your heart to sinful delights and being pleased with things which God abhors Is this that Godly simplicity the Gospel presses to pay for your being affected with the vain shews of this sinful World and to take liberty to hear and see what men of little or no Religion shall think fit to represent to you Is this redeeming of your time to throw away so many hours upon fooling and seeing mens ridiculous postures gestures and behaviours Is not this making war against youâ— soul Is not this fighting against youâ— happiness Is this the way to groâ— in grace and to advance in goodness and to abound more and more in the love of God which your Christianity obliges you to Is not this to cloâ— your soul Is not this to throw impediments in her way to felicity Is not this the way to make her inamour'd with the World from which a Christian is to run away as much as he can By your Saviours rule though you are in the World yet you are not to be of the World These shews alienate other mens affections from the best of objects and what security have you that they will not alienate yours Or have you a peculiar exemption from that danger If you have shew us your warrant let 's see your patent if you take the same way that profane persons take to dull their religious desires how can it be otherwise but it will
enough except you add your Neighbours offences to make his wrath the heavier All those persons of your acquaintance that go to a Play because you do are all Scandalized by your example and is not this putting a stumbling-block in your Neighbours way especially if people believe that you have some goodness in you or have a name that you are Religious how bold doth this make other persons to venture on these vanities And how dreadful must this make your account Either you do not think much of another World or if you do you cannot but conclude that these things will lie very heavy upon your conscience one day What if you do not think it to be sin will your thinking so excuse you Willful ignorance is as bad as a known sin and how easily might you know such doings to be sinful But being unwilling to be better informed judge you whether it will not agravate your Condemnation how could the Primitive Christians know these things to be sinful And is it not possible for you to know it They had the Bible so have you They had the same precepts that you have only they did not read the Scripture so superficially as perhaps you do and that was the reason why they came to the knowledge of this sin while you halt betwixt two opinions Their affections did not lean and bend so much to the the World as perhaps yours do and therefore they might easily perceive Christ's and the Apostles meaning while you who dote too much upon these outward things have a cloud or mist before your eyes that you cannot discern the sense of the Holy Ghost Your present divertisements may hide the guilt from your sight but when the Summons of a terrible God to appear at his bar shall rouze your Conscience one day you 'll be of anothermind How Did Christ come down from Heaven and die and spill his blood for you that you might securely indulge your carnal Genius Did he sacrifice himself for you that you might please your self with such fooleries Hath he appeased the Almighties wrath for you that you might spend your time in a Theatre Is this a proper end of the mighty purchase he hath made Did such phantastick actions deserve so great a condescension Is it likely that he would have astonish'd all the Angels of Heaven with his descent into this valley of tears if this security in carnal satisfactions had been his design One would rather think that so deep a humiliation called for the greatest severities and was shewn on purpose to engage poor mortals to the profoundest acknowledgments of his favour One would think that such miracles of charity challenged a most serious behaviour and that after this men should not dare to think of trivial and impertinent things This is more likely to be the end of his Incarnation and Suffering than the other To delight in such vanities is a disparagement to his love a blemish to his charity a disgrace to his condescension and an undervaluing of so great a mercy And do you thus reward him Do you thus requite his kindness Is this the return you make him for his sweat and agonies for his sighs and groans for his pains and all his labours Did he bleed that you might grow strong in sin Did he die that you might cherish the lusts of the Flesh Did he make himself of no reputation that you might please your self with divertisements invented only to affront him and to render his endeavours to convert our souls ineffectual Have not you observed it Have not you taken notice how men and women who have had some zeal for Religion and very pious inclinations how that zeal hath decreas'd upon their frequenting these Houses how their goodness hath decay'd how flat they are grown in Devotion how weak in their Holy Performances how dull in the work of Meditation how slovenly and superficial in Gods service may be they have kept up some outward shews some external formality some earnestness for the fringes of Religion or for the ceremonial part of Christianity But have not you seen how they are become strangers to that life which must adorn it to that contemplation of good things they formerly delighted in to that strictness they once professed Have not you seen how they have remitted in their warmth and how the holy fire that once burn'd in their breasts is gone out And is your Christianity so fierce and violent that it needs a bridle Is it so hot that it must have an extinguisher Is it so flaming that it wants this stolen water to quench it With what face dare you approach the Table of your Lord who have been a spectator of such shews but a little before With what eyes can you appear in the presence of that King of Kings who have but a little before prostituted your Soul to the Devil With what conscience can you promise the Lord Jesus to follow him when you intend to expose your self again to these temptations Do not you blush to think how you serve both God and Mammon Christ and the World contrary to your Redeemers protestation that you cannot serve two Masters If you come to the Lords Table one day and run to a Play-house another do not you destroy all that you built the day before If you come to the Supper of the Lord there to profess your sorrow for loving the World are you in good earnest sorry for it or are you not If not why do you play the hypocrite or do you think to put a cheat upon the Almighty as if he did not see your heart or would be taken with shew and pomp If you are how can you run into the same temptation again or go to a place where you will infallibly be tempted to the love of the World Is not this to shut the gates of mercy against you Is not this to make your self odious to that God whose favour you expect in the last day Is not this to live in contradictions In this Sacrament you profess to imitate your Lord in despising the World and is this imitation to go one day into the house of God and the next into a den of Thieves for so the Stage may justly be called where men are robb'd of their rellish of spiritual objects Whence hath come that Atheism that looseness that indifferency in things Divine that low esteem of the tremendous mysteries of Christianity which of late like a Land-flood hath over run us Have they not deriv'd their boldness from these places Have not the vices represented there in jest been practised by the forward youth at home in good earnest And can a Christian have a good opinion of these houses where so many have lost their vertue Can any man of reason think that after all this mischief they may be safely hugg'd and applauded Those many notorious Fornications and Adulteries we have heard and know of those bare-faced cheats mens boastings of their sins and
weep melt his Heart and force him into humble Thoughts and lively Admirations of God's Condescension there sits another and either sleeps all the while or continues in as even a Temper as he came What 's the Reason One weighs the Importance of this Truth considers the vast distance betwixt God and sinful Man thinks if these things be true how marvellous God's Love must be and that touches him to the Quick The other's Thoughts are unstable as Water uncertain and inconstant he satisfies himself with this that he hath heard a Sermon performed his Complement to God and consequently finds no Alteration in his inward Man How have I seen sometimes a pious Soul transported with a lively Description of the unseen everlasting Glory while the greatest part of the Congregation have been no more concerned at it than if the Orator had spoke of common Trees and Herbs and the Hysop on the Wall the Reason is plain The one thinks of it as a Believer the other as an Infidel The one reflects Lord what am I and what is my Father's house that thou intendest to advance me to this Dignity lift up a poor Worm from a Dunghil to a Throne and place him with Princes even with the Princes of thy People the innumerable Company of Angels The other pleases himself only with the Sound mingles the Thoughts of the World with his Devotion suffers not the glorious Object to lye long in his Mind and so it passes as it came without any Impression Here one rejoyces at the precious Promises of the Gospel his very Heart leaps at the joyful News and they come like Oyl into his Bones warm his very Soul and pierce even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit there another sits like a Stock and wonders what ails his Neighbour to keep such a stir about a few empty Words But why should'st thou wonder at the Change thou see'st in thy Friend He thinks of the Veracity of God and how these Promises will most certainly be fulfilled he thinks how the Riches God promises exceed all the Treasures of this present World and what Satisfaction they afford to a hungry Soul how far they do transcend these earthly Glories and how to have a share in them is a far greater Priviledge than to be related to the greatest Monarchs and that raises his Soul into that secret Joy Thou thinkest no more than a Lyon or Elephant thinkest more of thy Profit and Gain than of these intellectual Treasures thy Thoughts are not busie about these Enjoyments thou thinkest it time lost to spend any serious Thoughts upon them and how should thy duller Soul be affected with them Here the Example of a valiant Saint that fought with his Lusts overcame his Desires stood stedfast in the hour of Temptation conquer'd the Devil vanquish'd all Oppositions kept the Faith finish'd his Course with joy draws an attentive Soul into Imitation of his Virtues There another that hears or reads the same Description feeds still on his Husks follows his careless Neighbour delights in vain Company continues in his Aversion from the stricter Lives of holy Men. The Reason is evident for the one thinks of the noble Attempts such Souls have made how they are applauded in Heaven how they have signaliz'd their Valour what Comforts they have prepared for and of the Reward they now enjoy the other looks upon them as melancholick Men thinks of his present Pleasure more than of a future Recompence dives not into the nature of these Conquests reflects not how agreeable they are to Reason or how necessary in order to a Crown but thinks he may have the Diadem spoken of with less Trouble and therefore he sits still upon his Dunghil Vain Sons of Men How long will ye turn your Glory into Shame Hath God bestowed upon you a Faculty which Beasts are Strangers to and for which Devils envy you even Reason and Understanding the true Image of your Maker and will you let it lie dormant in the Ashes and Rubbish of your sensual Inclinations When God hath distinguish'd you from the ignobler Brutes will you be like the Horse and Mule whose Mouths must be held with Bitt and Bridle Behold the Almighty hath prepared a Supper for you and when the Morning and Noon of your Life is spent designs a Feast for you at Night immediately after Death a Feast where the Lamb that was slain sits Master and intends to bid you welcome a Feast where the Meat will be Angels Food the Wine Hallelujahs and the Entertainment Perfection of Bliss and Glory the Company the Apostles of the Lamb and the Spirits of Men made perfect a Feast where no Good will be absent and no Evil present where Plenty and Affluence will last for ever where Joys will abound and the beatifick Presence of God will charm and ravish Souls to all Eternity To this Feast he calls you to this Banquet he invites you to this Table he sends for you to these Dainties you are bid to these Delicates you are entreated to come of these Varieties you shall be made Partakers and is it not worth considering what this mighty Offer means What if you see it not with mortal Eyes your Thoughts may see it your Understanding may behold it your Reason may take a view of it Your Thoughts will tell you that God who cannot lye hath promised it the Son of God who is Truth it self hath revealed it the Apostles who came attended with the Power of Miracles have publish'd it These will tell you that there can be no doubt of it and that it is as certain as if you were actually Sharers of it Give but your Understanding leave to search into this Mystery and you will be charmed with it give but your Reason leave to ascend and descend upon the Ladder of the Word of God and you will feel a Hunger and Thirst after it your Souls will long for it your Affections will breath after it and your inward and outward Man will labour after it and strive to enter in at the strait Gate and shall all these Riches be lost upon you for want of Thinking and Contemplation Could you by thinking make those Joys visible to you and will ye refuse it Could you by meditating make that Glory present to you and will you neglect the Opportunity Could you by musing and pondering bring Heaven into your Chambers and Closets and will ye debarr your selves of that glorious Sight See what you lose by your Inconsiderateness See what Consolations what Satisfactions what Cordials you deprive your immortal Souls of Can you see other Men run away with all the Comforts of the Gospel and remain senseless Can you see others get into the Pool of Bethesda before you and recover and are you fond of continuing lame and blind and poor and miserable Can you see others carry away the Crown and feel no Ambition in you Can you see others take away the Blessing of your Father
with celestial Milk that you may be strong in the Lord and able to put on the whole Armour of God and grow up into a perfect Man in Christ what if it will not suffer you to please your Flesh beyond what is necessary for it's Subsistence must it therefore be your Enemy Will you count it a Foe because it denies you the Sword which would kill you How lovely should this very thing make it in your Eyes How dear should this make its holy Precepts to you How should you rejoyce that you have such a Monitor to prevent your Ruine What Praises do you owe to God that witholds you from that which would precipitate your Souls into the gulf of Perdition I conclude the Inference with this Story Two Brethren were travelling one a very prudent Man the other rude and silly coming to a place where two Ways met they dispute which of the two they should take one look'd as if great Art had been bestow'd upon it Flowers grew on both sides and it seemed to be most frequented the other look'd rough and uneven liker a Foot-path than a High-way the weaker Brother charmed with the out-side was clearly for making choice of the former but the wiser though he saw that the pleasant way invited the Eye yet I fear saith he it will not bring us to a commodious Lodging the rather because I have heard that the less beaten Path leads to an Inn where we may have excellent Accomodation The foolish Fellow was peremptory in it that the most pleasant way must be the right way and prevails with the Brother to bear him Company and being advanced considerably in it they light upon a Company of Robbers who immediately clap Shackles on their hands and feet and hale them both to their Captain and Governour Here one Brother accuses the other the wiser charges the other with Stubbornness the weaker blamed the other's Facility and alledged That since his Brother pretended to greater Wisdom than he he should not have been perswaded In fine both are found guilty and both laid up in Prison These two Brethren are your Souls and Bodies your Soul is the wise your Body the foolish Brother Let not your Body by its Importunity prevail with the Soul to consent to its Desires and Fondnesses of the dangerous Delights of the World O! hearken not to the Perswasions of a sensual Appetite that chooses a present Satisfaction but considers not there are Robbers at the end of the way which will certainly throw both into outward Darkness 5. The great Day is at Hand let 's prepare for it So Christ told his Disciples and so the Apostles taught the Christian World nor must we wonder that the Blessed Jesus should fright his Followers with the Approaches of that day when he knew it would not come in sixteen hundred Years and more which are past since his appearing in the World I omit here the Calculations of curious Men who have been bold to determine the Year in which the day of Judgment will happen some that follow the Tradition of Elias have allow'd two thousand Years to the Oeconomy before the Law two thousand to that under the Law and two thousand to that under the Gospel and after this have placed the Succession of that tremendous day But I doubt that this is rather a Jewish Criticism than a real Prophecy for God having created the World in six days and a Thousand Years being as one Day with the Lord it 's like Men have concluded from this Notion That as the World was created in six days so after six days i. e. six thousand years it would be destroyed Some when they have seen any extraordinary Judgments of Hail or Rain or Thunder or Locusts or great Confusions happen in the World have from thence inferr'd the immediate coming of this Day Some have placed it in one Year some in another but all these are needless Speculations It 's enough that the Decree is sealed in Heaven that there will be such a prodigious day and it was as truly at hand in Christ's time as it is now and now as much as it was then nay as much now as it will be but a Year or a Month before it comes in good earnest for the day of our Death is at hand and we know not when or how soon whether this hour or the next the fatal Messenger will arrest us in our Journey The day of our Death is the fore-runner of that greater Day and according as our Souls are found at the day of our Death so they will be judged in that glorious day the Judgment that will be pronounced upon our Souls at our Death will be proclaimed aloud before the whole World another day and if they be so unhappy as to be condemned upon their departure hence they will all that while till the great day comes torment themselves with the thoughts of that Sentence and the Shame that will ensue upon it as holy Souls will comfort themselves with the Thoughts of their Absolution Therefore when our Souls leave this Body that day and hour is really a day of Judgment to us and that this day is at hand none but a Sot can deny and accordingly all Men of Sense have made and do make early Preparation for it and he that doth not imitate them is so far from giving Proof to the World that he is wiser than they that he proclaims his Stupidity and in a manner renounces his Portion in the Inheritance of the Saints in light But then by Preparation I do not mean those little Sprinklings of Devotion which Hypocrites and Men who pretend to love God yet will not part with their Lusts usually lay upon his Altar not the Pharisees Alms and Fasts and Prayer which were performed with sinister designs out of Vain-glory and Ostentation not Ahab's Repentance who put on Sac◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 walk'd softly but still kept an unmoâ—â—â—ed Heart not the Harlots Piety Solomon speaks of who said her Orisoâ—â— and paid her Vows and her Peace-offerings and thought to make God amends for the Crimes she lived in by these Services not Judas his Sorrow who lamented his Sin because he saw the Hell he was like to drop into not Demas his temporary Severity which soon chang'd into fondness of the World not the Angel of Sardis his Profession of Religion who had the name that he lived but was dead not the Jews Zeal for the Ceremonial Part of God's Worship while they neglected Justice Mercy Chastity Sobriety and Charity not the Zeal of Ezekiel's Hearers who loved to hear but were loath to do but if you would prepare for this day of Account so as to be commended by the Judge the Preparation must have these following ingredients 1. Pity those inconsiderate Men that live as if there were no future Judgment Say not where are they to be found There is no Country no City no Town no Village no Street but the greater part of
Rule of Sincerity Sirs matter not whether men do look upon you as devout but pray 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 bear searching such Works God himself will bear witness of 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 that 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 that day What need'st thou seek Revenge when thy Master whom thou servest is resolved to judge thy Cause in that 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 that 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 that 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 Wrongs and call the Persecuter Fool for his Pains in that day Say not At this rate there will be no living for me in the World but trust that God who hath promised to clear thy Innocence in that 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 patience will be infinitely recompens'd in that 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 loath 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 until 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 be seen in all its Glories among us so we are assured of a burning Lake of an endless Misery which attends the unconscionable and disobedient whereof the Notions of Pagans and Idolaters were but dark and consequently we have a stronger Bridle to curb the Violence of
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 may'st 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 tho' 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 live 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 Mathemathicks Socrates for his Gravity Absolom 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 Urbino 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 Arch-angel'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 rejoyce in Tribulation and though troubled on every side yet was not distressed though perplex'd yet was not in despair tho' persecuted yet was not forsaken tho' cast down yet was not destroyed appeared to the World as sorrowful yet was always rejoycing 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 the Faith quitted themselves like Men were strong and always abounding in the work of the Lord. The thoughts of that 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 than 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 that Day and therefore if we are not it 's no sign that we are wiser than 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 Pleasures 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 Thrist 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 than 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 Socrat. Eccl. Hist. l. 1. c. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 24. 25. Plat. in Phaed. Psal. 8. 6. 2 Sam. 15. 23. Isa. 1. 3. Lam. 1. 12 13 14. Chrysost. Hom 2. in 2 Thessalon Rev. 22. 15. Zeph. 1. 14 15 16 17 18. Prov. 5. 11 12. Happy Asectic p. 425. Seq Phil. 4. 4. Eccles. 2. 4 8 10 11. Gen. 4. 21. Conc. Eliber c. 79. Conc. Const. 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. Chrysost. Hom. 10. in Col. Vid. Cypr. de Habit. Virg. Ed. Oxon. p. 95. Est. 14. 16. Cyprian de Habit Virgin Rev. 17. 4. Tertul. de cult Foem l. 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. l. 5. c. 15. Greg. Naz. in laudem Gorg. 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. ss 3. De Bell. Belg. l. 1. Hom. 49. in Matth. De và nit scient c. 18. Ps. 119. 47. Exod. 23. 13. Vid. Gerh. Joh. Voss. de Idol l. 2. c. 8. Matt. 5. 13. Ephes. 5. 4. Mar. 8. 38. Salvian de gubern 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 Drexel Tribun Christi l. 1. c. 8. ss 5. In Epitaph Paulae Rom. Rev. 21. 20 21. Psal. 37. 6. 1 Pet. 2. 23. Matt. 11. 22. Luke 6. 38.