Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A60132
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An exhortation to youth to prepare for judgment A sermon occasion'd by the late repentance and funeral of a young man. Deceased September 29. 1681.
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Shower, John, 1657-1715.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing S3664; ESTC R214018
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26,182
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49
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encourage them yea to make them rejoyce Do they sometimes Mourn with a godly sorrow yet may they still rejoyce since to consider the end and effect of that sorrow will give it a mixture of Joy And even their penetential tears do but clear their eyes to look up to Heaven with delight and comfort and enable them the better to read a pardon And here it were easy to shew how their Faith and hope and love how their humility meekness and patience their contentedness with God's allotment their resignation to his Will their satisfaction in his Choyce their well pleasedness with his Order their preparedness for every Condition their diligence in their callings their moderation in the use of lawful things and their innocency and harmlesness in their carriage and behaviour towards others do all contribute to a chearful and a joyful life Therefore well might the Psalmist tell us that the Righteous shall be glad in the Lord Psal 64.10 and all the upright in Heart shall Glory And well might our Lord advise his Disciples not to be lifted up with the gift of Miracles but rejoyce rather that their names were written in Heaven Luke 10.20 And well might the Apostle command Christians to rejoyce not by an Ironie as Solomon here speaks to the Young Man but in the most real and proper sense Rejoyce in the Lord always yea and again I say rejoyce Thus much for the first General 2. Let us consider in that the Wise-man directs his discourse to the Young Man in perticular we have thence a plain intimation that of all others young persons are most apt to neglect the fear of God and be unmindful of their Maker through the temptation of sensual pleasures and youthful lusts Tho' God demand his right as soon as we are capable of understanding it and to serve the Lord from our youth is but just and reasonable considering that so great a part of our life is already cut off by our Infancy and Childhood tho' the longer we delay the greater difficulty shall we meet with when ever we set about it tho' our whole life at longest as soon as we are capable and as long as we did live should be devoted to God and 't is all little enough if we consider its relation to our Eternal State tho' the sooner we begin the more welcome we shall be and the more acceptable our Obedience yea tho' an Early piety be the only hopeful method to prevent the hazard of a sudden death and the terrible reflections of old age and the intolerable pangs a death bed remorse yet such is the power of Original Sin in young persons such and so many are the snares of youth and those so agreeable to their vicious inclinations such the force of prejudice Such the artifices of the Devil and so prevalent the perswasions of evil Company they are usually so proud ignorant and unexperienced so rash hasty and unadvised and so easily infected with Sadducism and the principles of Infidelity so loth to assent to any such premises whose conâ—lâ—sion will infer the nessessity of changing their present course that they of all others do most need a serious admonition to remember their latter end and final Judgment least through the temptations of Sensual mirth and pleasure they put the evil day far from them For alas how seldome do we consider in Youth what we are and why we were made or what is our business in the World and what will be the end of our present course Whereas one thought of God and our last Judgment methinks should be enough to drown all other thoughts as the noise of a Canon doth that of a Whisper Sense is so prevalent and Reason so weak we are so much inclined to the one and so unwilling to be led by the other that roys and trifles sports and recreations and the vanities of fools and Children possess our hearts and employ our time not looking behind us to what we have either done or been nor before us whither we are going and what in all likelyhood will be the period of our present mirth and the sad Catastrophe of our Youthful lusts Young persons will hardly be convinced but that Now is their season to be brisk and Jovial having time as they count to command and the World before them that it is time enough to think of Death when they are arrested by sickness or wither'd by old Age let them be concerned about another World who are leaving this their bloed now is warm and their Spirits nimble their senses are quick and their passions strong they will walk in the way of their own hearts and in the sight of their eyes and ordinarily split upon that Rock of Evil company where so many thousand Vessells at their first launching out have dasht in pieces Besides their Age is most inviting to the Devil to bend his chiefest forces against them rather than against Children or Aged persons the former not being capable of making a choice and the latter being fix'd and resolv'd in their way his principal endeavours therefore are levell'd against Youth to draw off their hearts from God and Holy things and to divert their thoughts from the consideration of Death and Judgment which would otherwise restrain and check them in pursuit of their lusts And this brings me to the Third General to consider 3. That for all these things God will bring us to Judgment And therein what Arguments the thoughts of a future Judgment may rationally suggest to damp the carnal mirth of young persons and persuade them to remember their Creatour in the days of their youth And to inforce this Argument I might here mind you of the mischief you will do to others by an ill example and of the aggravation of your sin by employing the best of your time in the service of the Devil which must needs make judgment more terrible in that your final doom the consequences of it will be more severe I might tell you the sooner you repent the more hopeful is your case in reference to a pardon I might largely describe the happy influence of an early Piety with respect to the future part of our lives to direct our choice and govern our actions and prevent a great deal of Sin and shame sorrow and repentance I might mention the comfortable reflections in Old Age upon a well-spent life our capacity of greater Service to God now and our assurance of a weightier crown of Glory hereafter with all the other considerable benefits that have respect either to a safe and happy life a comfortable Old Age and a peacable Death or a joyful Resurrection and a blessed Eternity all which will come under the Argument in the Text and what I shall say of it may be compriz'd under the following particulars 1. Let young persons consider that notwithstanding their present mirth and jollity yet the Judgement of God is infallibly certain It is an
he had indulged to youthful Lusts delighted in wicked company liv'd in the prophanation of the Sabbath and made a mock of every thing almost that was Serious And this notwithstanding the counsels of his Friends and some checks of his own Conscience sadly bemoaning his forlorn state as having little or no hope to find mercy at the hand of God and penitently confessing his own willfulness and folly that procur'd it to himself and thereupon cry'd out in the bitterness of his Soul Oh! had I believ'd and known what now I do I would have been more concerned to Secure my Everlasting Intrest I would have taken more care to avoid Temptation I would have imploy'd my Time to better purposes and attended the ministry of the Word in another manner c. But I fear 't is now too late And then with the greatest importunity did beg of God to pardon and forgive him for the sake of Christ then tossing from place to place wringing his hands and lifting up his eyes to Heaven with the affecting vehemence of a despairing Soul did beseech the assistance of those about him to seek to God on his behalf Oh pray for me pray for me for Christ's sake pray for me That if yet Mercy may be had the Lord would take pitty on a miserable Sinner O my Sins are a burden too heavy for me to bear I have Sin'd tho' God stood by and saw me I have Sin'd tho' my Conscience did rebuke me for it again I have Sin'd tho' I resolv'd to Sin no more I know not what to do or which way to turn c. for with such words as these did he bewail himself and signifie the horrors of an accusing Conscience Nevertheless for the support of his Relations and the encouragement of all returning Sinners I am willing to add That a little before his change which was suddain and unexpected when his Friends began to entertain some hopes of his recovery his Spirit was more compos'd and calm his distracting Terrors much abated and the overwhelming fears of Death and Judgment very much subdu'd and overcome In his confessions of sin he own'd and aggravated his crimes with the greatest freedom with a deep remorse of Spirit and an hearty serious sense and feeling of what he spake He did not go about to palliate or excuse his former wickedness to lessen or diminish it by shifting the blame on the subtilty of the Devil the bias and inclination of a bodily Temper the Corrupution of humane nature or the persuasions of Evil Company c. altho' this last he did very much lament as the greatest snare to his Soul and a principal occasion of his youthful sins and apprehended Ruine Among other sins which an accusing Conscience told him of one that did more particularly affect his heart and burden his soul was the sin of Lying I mention this with an unfeigned desire that all young Persons Apprentices especially would remember this Example and resolve against it There is one thing more which I named first and would here take notice of I mean his Scoffing Humour and this he acknowledged with a great deal of remorse and shame that when first he was an hearer in this place he came with a design to droll upon the Sermon and deride the Preacher But not meeting with any thing on which to break a Jest or occasion mirth and laughter nothing but what was serious becoming the reverence and awfulness of holy things and suited to the solemn work and service of a Sabbath he resolv'd to come again and accordingly for some time did so I cannot say how long with other thoughts of my Brethren and me and of the serious plainness of this our way of worship than his former Ignorance and prejudices would suffer him to admit and thanks be to God he is not the only Instance of this kind Therefore I cannot but subjoyn that as Religion is not the less excellent because some Fools despise it nor sin the less destructive because there be some Atheistical Scoffers who make a mock of sin neither is plain and serious Preaching with the purity and simplicity of Gospel-worshiop any whit the more Contemptible because some that sit in the chair of Scorners deride and run it down since these kind of Scoffers are usually such as cast off all thoughts of God and an after-reckoning and are no way influenc'd by the consideration of a future Life to whom Heaven and Hell are words of sport and the Sacred Scripture matter of derision For none methinks who are serious in the practice of Religion and make a conscience of their words and actions should dare to make a mock of the worship of God or those that joyn therein whether Ministers or people only upon the account of some little difference from that method and way of worship which they like best when the substance and design of both is apparently the same and believ'd to be so Did men but understand what they profess by owning Christianity did they but believe what they understand and practice what they pretend to believe a meer Reverence and Just regard to holy Things would most certainly give a check to this Scoffing Humour in reference to those who cannot in all respects conform to their measures 6. Lastly Consider the dreadfulness and the Terror of this final Judgment in its self and its certain and immediate Consequences to every unprepared sinner whether young or old When the blessed Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels to take the Throne by his Father's order and Judge the World in righteousness when he that stoop'd from Heaven to Earth to be a sacrifice for sin that watcht and pray'd and sweat drops of blood for you and me that endured the Contradiction of sinners against himself in the days of his flesh suffer'd the Cruelty of men and the Wrath of his Father and the Cursed Death of the Cross upon our account shall come again as the Judge of quick and dead we shall then have other thoughts of him and of our selves than now we entertain Sirs he now offers you a pardon as the purchase of his Death on easy honourable and advantageous terms But it will be then too late and in vain to beg it He now warns you of your danger and tells you that the end of youthful lusts is Death and Judgment and eternal Wrath. And then you shall know that he spake in earnest and his words were true Now as a merciful Redeemer he entreats you to be reconcil'd he shall then be clothed with vengeance and appear to your confusion as a Terrible Judge At first he came in the form of a Servant to make our Peace with God and was thereupon despised and rejected of men But he shall shortly come again to render vengeance to those that would not know him as a Prince and a Prophet receive his message and yeild obedience to his Holy Gospel Now he offers