offer'd to God and prove available to cross and cancel all the Debts and wipe off the many and great Guilts of a fifty or threescore Years Impiety and Iniquity And that the Pardon of all thy Sins will be comfortably sealed and thy Soul be certainly consign'd to the Joys of Paradise and Glory of Heaven by receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper immediatly before thy Departure That if thou canst but form and frame thy shortest Breath to call upon God with these five Words Lord have Mercy upon me but a little before thy last Gasp they will really [n] Dâ—ke prove as powerful and available for the happy Translation of thy Soul to Heaven as the mumbling over those five Words of Consecration Hoc est enim Corpus meum for this is my Body is by the Papists imagined to be effectual for the Transubstantiation of their Host Is this consistent with the use of Reason and Consideration to venture all upon a Death-bed Repentance to take a wilful Course to bring thy self into such a Condition in which thou shalt be utterly unable with all the help that can be afforded thee to find out one Promise or to meet with one Example in the whole Bible that will full reach or plainly and properly speak to thy particular case and afford thee sufficient support relief and Comfort in that dark and dismal Day and Hour Obj. No Promise may some object and say Why what do you make of those Words At what time soever a Sinner doth repent him of his Sins from the bottom of his Heart I will put all his Wickedness out of my Remembrance saith the Lord. Answ For answer give me leave to tell you what others make of these Words and those very great Divines too There are no such Words in the whole Bible saies the very Learned [l] Serm. of the Invalid of a Death bed Rep. part 2. Bp. Taylor nor any nearer to the sense of them than those Words of the Prophet Ezekiel chap. 18.21 But if the Wicked will turn from all his Sins that he hath committed and keep all my Statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die Or those chap. 33.14 15. in which you shall find Repentance more fully described When I say unto the Wicked Thou shalt surely die If he turn from his Sin and do that which is lawful and right if the Wicked restore the Pledg give again that he had robbed walk in the Statutes of Life without committing Iniquity he shall surely live he shall not die Here only is the condition of Pardon to leave all your Sins to keep all God's Statutes to walk in them to abide to proceed and make progress in them and this without the interruption by a deadly Sin without committing Iniquity to make restitution Satisfaction for all Injury to our Neighbour's Fame all wrongs done to his Soul When this is done according to thy utmost Power then thou hast repented truly then thou hast a title to the Promise Thou shalt surely live thou shalt not die for thy old Sins thou hast formerly committed This Place of Ezekiel is it which is so often mistaken for that common Saying At what time soever c. Repentance as stated by the Prophet cannot be done at what time soever not upon a Man's Death-bed Let that Saying therefore no more deceive you or be made a colour to countenance a persevering Sinner or a Death-bed Penitent And it is observable what a free reflection the judicious Chillingworth in a [m] P. 337. Sermon preached before King Charles the First was bold to make upon that Passage which then stood in the entrance to our Common-Prayer-Book I would to God saies he the Composers of our Liturgy out of a care of avoiding mistakes and to take away Occasion of cavilling our Liturgy and out of Fear of encouraging Carnal Men to security in sinning had been so provident as to set down in Terms the first Sentence taken out of the 18th of Ezekiel and not have put in the place of it an ambiguous and though not in it self yet accidentally by reason of the mistake to which it is subject I fear very often a pernicious Paraphrase for whereas thus they make it At what time soever saith the Lord the plain truth if you will hear it is the Lord doth not say so these are not the very Words of God but the Paraphrase of Men The Words of God are * Ezek. 18.21 where I hope you easily observe that there is no such Word as At what time soever a Sinner doth repent c. and that there is a wide difference between this as the Word repent usually sounds in the Ears of the People and turning from all Sins and keeping all God's Statutes That indeed having no more in it but Sorrow and good Purposes may be done easily and certainly at the last Gasp and it is very strange that any Christian who dies in his right Senses and knows the difference between Heaven and Hell should fail of the performing it but this Work of turning keeping and doing is ordinarily a Work of Time a long and laborious Work but yet Heaven is very well worth it and if you mean to go through with it you had need go about it presently And I find the Reverend and Learned Mr. Robert Bolton expressing himself to the same purpose [n] Mr. Bolton's Instruct for a right coms Affl. Conse pag. 254 255. I marvel saies he that any should be so blindfolded and baffled by the Devil as to embolden himself to drive off until the last by that Place before Confession At what time soever c. Especially if he look upon the Text from whence it is taken which me-thinks being rightly understood and the Conditions well considered is most punctual and precise to fright any from that desperate Folly The Words run thus Ezek. 18.21 22 c. Hence it appears that if any Man expect upon good ground any portion in this pretious Promise of Mercy and Grace he must leave all his Sins and keep all God's Statutes Now what space is left to come to Comfort by keeping all God's Statutes when thou art presently to pass to that highest and dreadful Tribunal to give an exact and strict Account for the continual Breach of all God's Laws all thy Life long But I must desire the Objector to remember that when some Alterations were made by Authority in our Liturgy the Paraphrase was removed and the proper Words of Scripture put in the room of it and now the self-deceiving Procrastinator will not well know what to do for want of a What time soever c. which is nowhere now to be found or met with in all his Bible or Common-Prayer-Book Obj. But a Friend to Delaies may further object and say Though I confess I was out in alledging the Promise yet certainly there is an Example that affords sufficient ground of
and delightful Communion with God to exercise thy Graces in this holy Duty and to feel thy Heart warm'd and inflam'd and thy Soul refresh'd and repair'd before thou departest out of God's Presence To [e] Oratio clavis diei sera nâ—ctis begin and end with God every Day to be with the Lord first and last to call upon God Morning and Evening In the Morning to praise him for the Mercies of the Night past to ask Wisdome of God to order our Conversation aright to beg his Favour Presence Guidance Spirit Grace and Strength his Protection of us his * Psal 90 17. Beauty on glorious Blessing upon us and his establishing and [f] 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pythag Aur. Cam. prospering the Works both of our Heads and Hands the whole Day following And in the Evening to bless and praise God for the Mercies and Favours of the Day past to confess our Faults and Failings in it and so to lie down with no heavy Guilt of any unrepented Sin lying upon us To pray for the hPardon and Healing of the Miscarriages of that Day and to commit our selves and ours to the Divine Keeping the Night following beseeching God to prevent any sinful Dreams which might proceed from the Corruption of our Natures and Constitutions Hearts and Imaginations Conversations and Actions and to spiritualize and sanctify our Thoughts and Cogitations in the vacant Spaces and broken Hours of our Sleep To keep and maintain the set Times of personal secret Closet-Prayer and the stated Times of Oeconomical Houshold Family-Prayer this is a well-spending so much of our Time as is employed in that Duty and this is the right and ready way to redeem and improve every Day to the Honour and Glory of God and to our own and others Profit and Benefit Satisfaction and Comfort This is a likely hopeful good way to prevent or remove Miscarriages in our selves and Disorders in our Families to keep every Member of our Family in their Station and Duty to season them all with a religious Fear and high Respect to God and his Waies and to train and bring up Children and Servants to a competent Ability to express their Desires in Prayer to God for themselves and others to teach our Servants with * Gen. 24.12 Eliezar Abraham's good oand faithful Servant to follow their earthly Master's Business with hearty Prayers to their heavenly Master for a Blessing upon it Be careful and diligent wise and prudent to redeem Time for Prayer that you may redeem Time by Prayer Find Time sufficient to work this Work of God and so to workout your own Salvation as well as to follow the Works and Businesses of your particular Callings to attend and wait upon God in Prayer as well as to wait upon your Customers and to attend your secular Occasions and Concerns Let not worldly Cares and civil or domestick Affairs hinder and divert thee from due Performance of Prayer in thy Family and in thy private Closet Though David had the Care of the Kingly Government upon him yet his usual Course and Practice was to pray to God †Psal 55.17 Evening and Morning and at Noon yea ‖ 119.154 seven times a day did he praise God as he himselfe professes If he did not exactly and punctually observe so many Hours but a certain Number is put here for an uncertain yet the meaning must be that he did it very often Love sweetned the Duty to him and caused him to praise God * Ps 71.14 more and more to be nover weary of praising him here as knowing that it would be his sole Employment to praise him hereafter for evermore Though Daniel was deeply engag'd in Publick Business and State Affairs yet he took not any Occasion from these to neglect his daily Duty and wonted Service to his God He kept his former Course and Order for every day and constantly †Dan. 6.10 three Times a Day he kneeled upon his Knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God though he knew he hazarded his high Preferment and endanger'd his very Life by it So Cornelius a Centurion taken up with many Martial Occasions yet suffer'd not himself to be taken off from his Devotion thereby but ‖ Acts 10.2 prayed to God alway He did not do it only by fits but daily and constantly observ'd his usual Seasons It is reported of the famous [g] In the Serm. preached at his Fun. at the end of his Sermons p. 21. Bp. Andrews that though he had many weighty Employments as Bishop of Winchester and Privy Counsellor yet his Life was a Life of Prayer and a great part of five Hours every day did he spend in Prayer and Devotion to God The holy and excellent [h] His Life written by Dr. Bernard p. 58. Bp. Vsher had Prayer in his Family four times a day In the Morning at six in the Evening at eight and before Dinner and Supper in the Chappel at each of which he was alwaies present [i] His Life written by Mr. Clark Mr. William Whately Minister of Banbury had much Work lying upon him continually catechising and preaching twice every Lord's-day and a weekly Lecture besides well studying and usually penning his Sermons at large and yet his constant Practice was besides Family-Prayer twice a day and sometimes catechizing to pray also with his Wife and alone both Morning and Evening And with what shew of Reason can any of you excuse your selves Have you Time to eat and drink and sleep and not only to labour and works but to play and sport Leisure to recreate your selves and visit your Friends and take your pleasure a Spare-Hour to spend in discourse and it may be to waste in empty and idle talk with another Have you Time to do nothing Time to do Evil and have you no Time to serve and worship God in your Families no Time for religious Retirements and hidden Repairs to God in your privy Chambers and secret Closets Have you so many Sins and Wants Corruptions and Temptations and can no Time be spared and set apart to seek God for the Pardon of your Sins and the Supply of all your spiritual Wants and to pray to him for Strength and Power to mortify the Corruptious with which you are infested and to resist the Temptations with which you are assaulted 2. We should moreover betake our selves to solemn continued Prayer when we have Place and Space for such a Duty upon the Emergency of any weighty important Business or on any special extraordinary occurrent and urgent Occasion to beg of God the prudent Conduct of our Affairs Success in and a Blessing upon our lawful and honest Undertakings Strength to go through Trials Afflictions and Temptations Freedom and Deliverance from Evils and Sufferings felt or feared or to return God thanks for the receit of his Mercies in any such particulars and to engage our selves to walk answerably and to
render its ordinary Motions ineffectual and the common Grace of God unsuccessful Thy continued Delaies are likely to render thee more unteachable and untractable more incurable and unchangeable more full of false Opinions of God and his Waies and strong Prejudices and Heart-risings against Religious Practices more setled in sinful Waies and Courses Thy chosen Delaies will insensibly draw on sinful Habits and evil Customs which will prove and become a second Nature and be hardly left and difficultly laid down These poisonous Roots will not be easily pluckt up These * Jer. 13.23 [a] Naturalists say that Spots are so deep in the Leopard that if you take off the Skin they will appear in the very Flesh Leopard's Spots will not be quickly fetcht out Thou wilt be as unable to do it thy self as an Ethiopian is to change his Skin and it is a †2 Tim. 2.25 peradventure whether God will cure a customary habitual procrastinating Sinner Upon thy wilful long Delaies God may deny thee the seasonable Aids and soveraign Auxiliaries of his Grace suspend the Influences withdraw the Assistances cease the Motions and discontinue the Strivings of his Spirit and so all outward Means enjoyed may prove ineffectual for your Good God may withhold his special Grace in Judgment for your Non-improvement of common Grace Yea thy obstinate Delaies may provoke God to ‖ Luk. 19.42 hide the things of thy Peace from thy Eyes to deliver thee over into Satan's Power to leave thee to thy self to (*) Ps 81.12 give thee up to thy own Heart's Lusts to judicial Blindness of Mind to dreadful carnal Security and horrible [b] Illud est cor durum quod non trepidat ad nomen cordis duri Bern. Hardness of Heart to a * Rom. 1.28 reprobate Mind and a †1 Tim. 4 2. seared cauterized Conscience By way of Punishment of thy Delaies God may suffer thee to sin on till thou comst to be ‖ Eph. 4.19 past feeling and not help thee to recover any spiritual Sence in a dying Hour but at last (*) Rom. 1.28 give the Spirit of Slumber or let thee fall into the lamentable Condition of downright Desperation Of each of which a learned [c] Gr. Exempl part 3. §. 15. p. 559. Writer gives us a very notable and remarkable Example Of the former out of [d] Biblioth Frat. Pol. Tom. 3. Petrus Damianus of one Gunizo a factious and ambitious Person to whom the Tempter gave notice of his approaching Death but when any Man preached Repentance to him out of a strange Incuriousness or the Spirit of Reprobation he seem'd like a dead and unconcerned Person in all other Discourses he was awake and apt to answer And of the latter out of Venerable [e] L. 5. c. 15. Hist Gent. Anglor Bede of a drunken Monk who upon his Death-bed seem'd to see Hell open'd and a Place assign'd him near to Caiaphas and those who crucified our dearest Lord. The Religious Persons that stood about his Bed call'd on him to repent of his Sins to implore the Mercies of God and to trust in Christ but he answered This is no time to change my Life the Sentence is past upon me and it is too late There may be no room and place for Consideration and Repentance upon thy Death-bed either through senslessness and stupidity caused by the special Disease of thy Body or the sad and direful Divine Judgment or through too quick a feeling too deep a sense of pungent corporal Pain or exquisite Torture of Mind and Conscience the Tempter busily setting in with thy own guilty awaken'd Conscience to aggravate thy Sins to thy Terrour and Amazement and to load thee heavily till thou faintest sinkest and fallest crusht and broken under the Burden But suppose thou shouldst stand at that Day in much more moderate tolerable Circumstances yet thou maiest be distracted and diverted with the Thoughts of making or altering thy Will setling thy Estate disposing and ordering the Affairs of thy Family stating and clearing the Interests of thy Relatives And when thou art about to bid thy final and last Farewel to every thing in this World that is near and dear to thee and art under a strange and strong apprehension of hastily approaching Death and Judgment 't will prove a very hard task to gain and maintain a well-composed and undisturbed Mind in the management of thy great Soul-concerns But admit thou shouldst enjoy much Freedom of Thoughts and have the greatest Advantage imaginable of a quiet sedate Frame and Temper in the Procedure of that most busy Day and Hour yet is there a very formidable Danger of thy dying and departing without rational Satisfaction about the Goodness and Safety of thy State and Condition or any comfortable Evidence of the Divine Acceptance of thy Death-bed Performance 3. To delay the Redemption of thy Time is highly unreasonable and very [c] Non est crede mihi sapientis dicere Vivam Sera nimis vita est crastina vive hodie Martial l. 1. epigr. 16. Cras vives hodie jam vivere Postume serum est Ille sapit quisquis Postume vixit heri Id. l. 5. epigr. 58. foolish to put off the building of a spiritual Temple in thy Soul as the Jews excused their Neglect of re-edifying the material Temple by saying * Hag. 1.2 The Time is not come What Folly is it to [d] Perdis hodiernum quod in manu fortunae positum est disponis quod in tua dimittis Sen. de brev vit c. 9. lose the present which God has put in thy own hand and to determine and dispose of the future Time which only and wholly rests in the Hand of God and is quite out of thine To Put all to the venture of repenting and securing thy State hereafter when so many have ruin'd and undone themselves without Remedy or Recovery by lingring and loitering Delaies What a plain and apparent Self-delusion is it to except against and wave the present Time because it is present since when that Time which now is future shall become present you must then put that off for the same reason that now you put this by What a silly Cheat dost thou put upon thy self while thou dost pretend a purpose to make but a very short Delay a Desire to enjoy thy Sin but a little longer it may be but this once more and a Resolution then to part and shake hands with it for ever when as the very next touch may deadly infect thee the very next taste poison thee one other Closure with sensual Pleasure will in all probability more deeply enamour thee one farther embrace of Sin more bewitch and fascinate inebriate and intoxicate thee one step more presently carry thee into a Snare that will entangle and hold thee fast for ever Is it likely that thou wilt leave thy Sin when thou shalt be more in love with it more enslaved to it and
Comfort to a late and Death-bed Penitent You cannot deny saies he but that the Thief was converted upon the Cross in the last Hour of his Life and notwithstanding his extream late Repentance was accepted and received by Christ to Mercy Answ It is especially from this Example abused that ignorant Dawbers and untaught Teachers take occasion to prepare and make up that [o] Bp. Andrews serm 1. of Repent and Fast p. 181. Opiate Divinity which they minister to the Souls of superficial Death-bed Penitents and so send them away into the Paradise of Fools And this is the great Rock of Presumption which many build or rather split upon They resolve to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin during the Season of their Health and Strength and intend and hope to repent of their Sins and turn to God to accept of Christ and make sure of Heaven upon the Cross of their last Sickness and with the beatified Thief to slip immediatly into Paradise But I shall labour to convince you that the Instance of the Thief upon the Cross will [p] Vid. Chillingworth's serm 6th on Luke 16.9 p. 397. not suit your Condition nor serve your turn For here consider with me these few things 1. That it may be he was not so vile and vicious a Person as he is commonly taken to have been for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Latro do not alwaies note a Thief or Robber but signify a Souldier and out of Zeal to the Jews he might have somewhat transgress'd the Roman Laws It may be otherwise he was not altogether so bad a Man But thou knowest the heinous circumstances of thy own misled and ill-governed Life But 2. Suppose him to have been a notorious Ill Liver yet it is to be considered that the Conversion and Salvation of the Thief is an extraordinary Instance For 1. The Thief was converted at a very remarkable Time when the Son of God and Saviour of the World shed his precious Blood and suffer'd a painful shameful Death to satisfy the Divine Law and Justice and to redeem and recover lost and miserable Mankind And certainly if ever God would work a Miracle he would do it then Dost thou hope to exercise Repentance unto Life at the Hour of Death and to sue out a Pardon with thy last Breath when thou hast not heartily and devoutly call'd upon God in all thy Life because God had Mercy on the Thief upon the Cross Tell me canst thou expect that Christ should come another Time into the World and suffer again and die once more for Mankind if so then thou maiest conceive great Hopes indeed that God will do the like again and it may fare as well with thee as it did with the Thief Christ then triumphing on the Cross saies the Worthy [p] Threat of Repent p. 161. Mr. Daniel Dyke did as Princes do in the Triumph of Entring into their Kingdoms they pardon gross Offences before committed such as they pardon not afterwards And [q] Instruct for a right comf Affl. Consc p. 251. Mr. Robert Bolton useth an Illustration somewhat like it A King sometimes pardons a Malefactour at the Place of Execution saies he wilt thou therefore run desperately into some horrible Villany deserving Death hoping to be that One amongst many Thousands If God do good to any Sinner that has securely liv'd in his Sins all his Daies and bring him home to himself at last he goes out of the way of his ordinary Grace and Providence and the Conversion of a Sinner upon his Death-bed it is a high expression of extraordinary Grace and Mercy and an Act of God's absolute Power and Soveraignty And surely it is safest and most comfortable to expect from God not meerly what he can do but what he has promis'd in his Word and given us plain notice that he will do and what in the ordinary course of his Providence he declares himself ready to do I make no Question but God is [n] Agentia naturali mode debilius agunt quà m ut possant unt actu habitum informare idóque opus est subinde râ—petit is actibu At res longè aluer se habet in divinis cùn nemsram is qui producit actum Deus est Deus inquam agent tantâ vi efficacia ut statim primo illo actis in utraqus animae parte seu potentia habitus fides charatates ingeneret atque infundat quasi Cameronis oper p. 912. But I think that ordinarily Habitus infusi infunduntur ad modum acquisitoâ—â—â— able in the shortest Time to work such clear and strong Convictions and to make such powerful deep Impressions upon the Mind and Heart of a dying Sinner as should have the virtue and power of a general Habit or be equivalent to many particular Habits and in case of longer continuance of Life should be effectual to a lasting persevering Obedience And I readily acknowledg that the Nature of God is infinitely merciful and that it was the gracious Nature of God which mov'd and inclined him to make the Evangelical Promise and I think he has not so restrain'd and bound up himself by the New Covenant but that if he please he may use [p] Divine tum libertati tum gratiae ac nilsericer liae detr thi aut decedere non parùn videtur si dicatur Deum non posse aut nulo u quam tempote velle extra ordinem idâ—st praeter aut suprae quà n promisit paenitentium resipiseentium licèt se ò admodum iâ— capulo quasi vitae suae misereri Non entm astringitur suis legtbus proprits Deus sed jus suunt supremum semper intig um siet servat agendi pro arbitrio suo Annon licit mibi facere de meo quod volo Mat. 20.15 Ad jus autem Divinum hoc pertinet aestimatio paenitentiae resipiscentiae quae in sine vitae fit pro paenitentta resipiscentia quae spe ventae digna est Epise Resp ad 64 Quaest quaest 15. Prerogative Royal and act beyond his own Covenant-obligation and ordinary certain and express Promise to the saving of a Sinner upon the change of his Mind and Heart and his having [q] See Dr. Sibbs's Soul's Conflict p. 327. an eternal desire of pleasing God begotten in him by special Grace who had no time to perform the constant Obedience of a holy Life But is it easy for thee to expect that an infinitely wise holy and just God should at last act in a very extraordinary way to save thee who wouldst destroy thy self and hast long neglected the ordinary Means of thy Soul's Salvation and wouldst by no means know and do the things that belonged unto thy Peace How very justly may God at last * Prov. 1.26 [r] Risus Dei longè gravior est irâ Dei Quod Deus loquitur cum risu tu legas cuns luctu Aug. laugh at thy Calamity and mock when thy Fear cometh 2. The Learned
dismal Voice Serve nequam * Mat. 25.19 26 30. thou wicked and slothful Servant and shall find and feel a Retribution accordingly 'T will surely then be said concerning him * Mat. 25. 19 26 30. Cast the unprofitable Servant into outer Darkness there shall be Wecping and Gnashing of Teeth O let 's not put that evil Day far from us but let that Voice be alwaies ringing in our Ears which was ever sounding in [g] Quoties diem tillum considero toto corpore contremisco sive entm comedo sive bibo sive aliqutd facio semper videtur mihi tuba illa terrtilis sonare in auribus meis Surgite mortus ventte ad judicium Hieron St. Jerom's Arise ye Dead and come to Judgment Our Time must be strictly reckon'd for and therefore we should thriftily husband if possible every Minute of it The sixth and last Additional Reason Sixthly and lastly We should be sure to redeem the Time Because this Time is all we can redeem and upon this short Moment of Time depends long Eternity We shall never have any more Time or Space to redeem either in this or in another World 1. As we cannot live this same Life over again so when once we die and leave this World we shall never return to this Earth again to converse in Flesh with Men any more nor be suffer'd to live another Life here in this World to mend and correct what we did amiss heretofore * Job 14.14 If a Man die shall he live again says Job Some understand this Interrogation as flat denial an absolute Negation He shall live a natural Life on Earth no more †Job 7.9 10. As the Cloud is consumed and vanisheth away So he that goeth down to the Grave shall come up no more He shall return no more to his House neither shall his Place know him any more ‖ Job 26.22 Job 10. 21. When a few Years are come then I shall go the Way whence I shall not return 2. And as we shall have no new Time in this So no Space will be given or granted us for Repentance and Purgation of our Souls nor will any Offer of Mercy be made us in the other World No new Covenant will ever there be tendred to us no Ambassadours of Peace be sent to beseech us to pray us there n Christ's stead to be reconcil'd to God God will then be irreconcilable Sin unpardonable and unremovable Heaven unattainable and lost Souls uncurable and irrecoverable If we do not do our best here we shall have no other Game to play nor Part to and in any other Region or Mansion We shall not be [h] Quoad animae separatae statum nun itâ—rum sit Viator neque in probationis stain posita ad foe scitatein â—ahue acquirendam sed in statu ponitur hnals resurrections mutationibus expectatis Baxter Methodus Theologiae Christianae part 4. cap. 4. Probationers in the other World We shall not be suffered to begin there upon a new Score [i] In quo quemque invenerit suus novissimus dies in hoc eum compiehendet munds novissmas dies Quoniam qualis in die isto qutsque moritur talis in die illo judicabitur August Epist 80. Qualis exieris de hac vita talis redder is illi vitae August in Psal 36. Our Souls at Death will enter into a sixed unchangeable State and continue for ever such as they went out of this World The very same Frame and Temper Qualities and Assectious as we carry with us out of this Life we shall keep and retain in the next Such good Dispositions as were begun here will indeed beintended and perfected in Heaven And such ill Dispositions as took place and got Root here will be strongly setled and fully confirm'd in the damn'd hereafter But the [k] See Dr. Tillotson 1. vol pag. 29â— Dr. More 's Mystery of Godliness pag. 441. Dr. Dowler's Design of Christianity pag. 122. main State of any either good or bad will never be varied or altered in the other World As the Tree falls so it lies As Time leaves us so Eternity will find and continue us God will never trie us more with Opportunities and Helps of Conversion and Reformation with the Means of Grace and Life in another Place and State And therefore let 's now improve Providences and Ordinances Aids and Assistances as those that shall never hereafter meet with such Advantages and do all the Duties and Offices of Religion as those that are going to that World where there is no room for such Performances no place for Confession Praier Repentance and Amendment of Life in order to the Pardon of our Sins and Salvation of our Souls no occasion of running wrestling striving watching fighting any more in order to obtaining of a Prize and receiving of a Crown All that is now left undone must be undone for ever This is the only Space allotted us and Opportunity afforded us wherein to build and prepare our Ark to get Oil sufficient into our Vessels and to provide a competent Measure or Portion of Manna We can only gather the spiritual Manna in the six Daies of this Temporal Life there is no finding no getting of it on the Sabbath of Eternity As we must do all our worldly Business before the weekly Sabbath comes So we must quite finish our spiritual Business in the working Daies of the Life present for there is no working on the eternal Sabbath when once this earthly Lise is ended Then we must labour and work preparatory Work no longer but receive from our great Lord and Master the Reward or Punishment of our former Works The Life to come it is no Seed Time but only a Time of Harvest We must reap in the future State the Fruit of our own present Doings whether good or bad As we do use the Time of this Life so shall we be used treated and dealt with in the other Life We shall certainly fare happily or miserably to all Eternity according to our Carriage and Behaviour here According to our Choice and Election Affection and Action in this World will be our everlasting Lot in the World to come So that the right Improving or Misimproving the well or ill spending and husbanding of our Time is of infinite Consequence and Concernment to us Let us therefore in this Time of Life get all Things ready that are necessary to a joyful Entrance into eternal Life Let our Work and Business in Preparation for an endless Happiness be dispatch'd and done before we go hence and be no more seen * Eccles 9.10 Whatsoever our Hand findeth to do let us do it with our Might for there is no Work nor Device nor Knowledg nor Wisdome in the Grave whither we are going There is no Hope or Expectation of working out our Salvation in an after State and Condition If this Work be not effected before this mortal Life is ended it can never be done
Devotion but his loving and longing Soul disdaining to be confin'd within Canonical Hours is frequently soaring in some heavenly Raptures or other and sallying forth in holy Ejaculations If thou beest a truly regenerate Person such Ejaculation was thy first and will be thy last Breathing O see that it be the most usual Exercise of thy Life Great is the Benefit of holy and heavenly Ejaculation which is like the keeping alive and quickning the Fire for the Use and Service of the daily Sacrifice If by neglect of this spiritual Exercise we unhappily suffer the holy Fire to go out we can't expect that God should kindle it anew when we go to offer the Sacrifice of solemn Prayer to God By our much using Ejaculatory Prayer and familiarizing our selves to praying Thoughts and Desires and exercising our selves in spiritual Pleadings with God our Hearts will be generally [w] Such as will be ever and anon thus whetting their praying Spirits and Graces will make Work of it when they come to it They that are good at these running Pulls and Trips are surely good Wrastlers with God Cobbet of Prayer p. 47. fram'd and sitted and by immediatly previous Ejaculatory Prayer our Hearts will be particularly disposed and prepared for performance of set and solemn Prayer We shall also [x] All the Prayers of a gracious Suppliant are not ended with his continued Speech in Prayer no his heart is lifting and lifting as you see a Bell-rope oft hoysing up after you have done ringing the Bell. When a gracious Person 's Heart is left in Heaven uttering its after Requests now Prayer was well carried on These shorter Post-scripts written after the other longer Letter have ever something of note and worth Id. ib p. 33 34. When men part with men they use to give one another a Faâ—ewell and not bluntly deliver their Mind one to another and so turn their backs one upon another Neither may a man when a Duty is done go away bluntly from God but give him a Farewell by holy Meditation It 's an unseemly kicking of a Duty as most men do when they are come to the end of their Prayers to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit be ascribed all Praise and Glory Amen Come is Dinner ready or What news do you hear This is unmannerliness towards the Ordinances of God Fenner of the Vse and Ben. of Divine Medit. p. 25. fol close and come off well from continued Prayer with the greater Spirituality and Ardency of Devotion by following at last our larger and longer Prayers with several short strong Desires earnest and affectionate good Wishes lively and vigorous Heart-lifts such like as these Lord forgive the Iniquity of my holy Things O Lord hear O Lord forgive O Lord hearken and do defer not for thine own sake O my God Let the Words of my Mouth and the Meditation of my Heart be acceptable in thy Sight O Lord my Strength and my Redeemer Good Lord help me to live over my Prayers and let me not destroy my Prayers by a careless Christless wicked loose and ungodly Life Amen Amen Yea often retire address and apply thy self to God in short Prayers and cordial Ejaculations and these may [y] Bp. Taylor 's Rule and Exerc. of Holy Living c. 1. §. 1. Rule 7. The want of the solemn Morning-Prayer in case that some necessary work of Charity do hinder us may be supplied by some frequent Ejaculatory Prayers and frequent inward spiritual Admirings and Adorings of God but the want of these cannot be supplied by the other White 's Power of Godl p. 97. If the case were so that we must omit one of them it were better to omit our solemn Prayer in the Morning and to have our Heart sending up continually Ejaculatory Prayers and Breathings after God than to spend an Hour in the Morning in solemn Prayer and Meditation and all the rest of the Day not to have so much as one Thought of God Id Ib. p. 202. You must not leave off solemn Duties and think to supply the want thereof by Ejaculatory Prayers for they are not to justle out but help one another This is as if the Priests should content themselves with keeping the Fire burning alwaies on the Altar and neglect their Morning and Evening Sacrifice Id. ib. p. 2 9. supply the Lack of those larger Portions of Time which thou desirest and covetest for thy Devotion and in which it may be thou thinkest others have advantage of thee Again This is the readiest surest way to improve any spiritual Warmth holy Affection or good Motion wrought in thy Heart in the Use of Christian Conference in Hearing Reading Meditation or the like To send up sudden suitable seasonable Ejaculatory Prayers or Praises while thou art under such a lively Sense and in such a Godly Frame Farther Our often using and daily maintaining a frequent Converse with God in the way of these holy devout Ejaculations these Aspirations and Emigrations of Soul after God this will prove a special Help to keep our Hearts very spiritual and savoury and close with God and to get more intimate Acquaintance with him and to secure the continuance of his gracious friendly Presence with us This moreover is a sit and proper Means to call in and engage Divine Assistance to inable us meetly to manage any temporal or spiritual Employment and rightly to improve any Ordinance or Providence a direct Means to procure from God Wisdome and Grace suitably to entertain any notable Mercy newly received to get Ease and Relief in any sudden strait or want Patience under and the Sanctification of a surprising and unexpected Affliction a present and approved Means to throw out the Injections and to repel the fiery Darts of the Devil to gain Help from Heaven against any sudden strong Temptation or rising and working of any Corruption and Strength against our Bosom Master Sin which is so apt so easily to beset us A Means to prevent our being unwarily ensnared and entangled in the Use and Exercise of our lawful Labours or Recreations To be preserved effectually from Sin and Folly when cast unawares into profane or carnal Company to obtain Mercy and Pardon speedily upon apprehension of any Insirmities Slips or Failings To lift up our Hearts in such Cases in the Way of sudden Ejaculatory Prayer to God This will save our solitary Hours in the Day-time and well improve our wakeful Hours in the Night-season when we cannot take our natural Rest and Sleep then to awaken and call upon our Souls to return unto their spiritual Rest to raise and lift up our Hearts to Heaven and to present the Desires of our Souls to God [z] In hard Havens so choaked up with the envious Sands that great Ships drawing many Foot Water cannot come near lighter and lesser Pinnaces may freely and safely arrive VVhen we are Time-bound Place-bound or Person-bound so that we cannot compose our selves to make a large
this present World Thy thinking of Judgment will make thee careful of thy Thoughts because God will judg the Secrets * Rom. 2.16 of Men and †1 Cor. 4.5 manifest the Counsels of the Hearts And render thee watchful over thy Words because of all thy ‖ Jude 15. hard Speeches and of every ‖ Jude 15. idle Word thou must give an account and ‖ Jude 15. by thy Words thou shalt be justified or condemned And will cause thee to be circumspect in all thy Waies and narrowly observant of all thy Actions because Christ vvill come to (†) Ibid. convince Men of all their ungodly Deeds and thou must be judged according to thy Works Didst thou faithfully mind thy self of a future Judgment thou wouldst not be so frothy and foolish in thy Speeches so vain and profane in thy Merriments so deceitful in thy Trade so formal in thy Duties thou wouldst not sottishly sleep or impertinently muse or irreverently talk out Sermons nor mumble and huddle over thy Praiers like so many Ave-Marie's Thou wouldst certainly think and speak and act buy and sell hear and pray carry thy self in thy Dealings with Men and in thy Devotions to God as one that must give an account of thy self to God O think and say at the End and Close of every Day Now I have one Day less to live and one Day more to reckon for It is [g] Apophthegms collected by George Herbert in his Remains reported of Ignatius Loyola that he used to say when he heard a Clock strike There 's one Hour more that I have to answer to God for Such a good Meditation concerning the past Hour would surely quicken thee to spend the following and succeeding Hour much better To conclude this particular Consider thou art to be judged by Christ and surely then thou wilt not be ashamed of him now lest he be ashamed of thee another Day Thou wilt wisely labour for an Interest in him who is to be thy Judg that when the Devil shall accuse thee thou maiest have an Advocate to plead for thee and the Judg himself to befriend thee and to deal according to the Mildness of the Gospel with thee Thou wilt hear and receive his Commands now that thou maiest hereafter hear the Sentence of Absolution from him Thou wilt endeavour so to live that thou maiest look upon the Day of Judgment as the Time of thy Refreshment and maiest * 2 Tim. 4.8 love the appearing of thy Lord and Judg. The eminently holy [h] In his Life written by his Brother Mr. James Janeway p. 95 96. Mr. John Janeway sometime Fellow of King's Colledg in Cambridg had very [i] At about 20 for he died between 23 and 24 and this was his Condition for about 3 Years before he died p. 97 120. early arriv'd and attain'd to such an high pitch and great measure of spiritual Readiness and heavenly Preparedness that when once there was much Talk that one had fore-told that Doom's-Day should be upon such a Day although he blamed the presumptuous Folly of the false Prophet yet supposing it were true What then said he What if the Day of Judgment were come as it will most certainly come shortly If I were sure the Day of Judgment were to begin within an Hour I should be glad with all my heart If at this very instant I should hear such Thundrings and see such Lightnings as Israel did at Mount Sinai I am perswaded my very Heart would leap for joy But this I am confident of through infinite Mercy that the very Meditation of the Day hath even ravished my Soul and the Thought of the Certainty and Nearness of it is more refreshing to me than the Comforts of the whole World Surely nothing can more revive my Spirits than to behold the blessed Jesus the Joy Life and Beauty of my Soul Would it not more rejoyce me than Joseph 's Wagons did old Jacob O let us labour to be like him Let 's love Christ's Laws that we may not dread but love his appearing when he shall come to reckon and call to an account for our Observation or Violation of them Let us love the Appearing and Manifestation of Christ in his Ordinances his Word and Sacraments love the Appearing Enlargement and Encreasing of his spiritual Kingdom in the World love his Appearing in the Hearts and Lives of his most saithful and obedient People love his Appearing in our Houses and Families and his being formed and inthroned in our own Hearts and in the Hearts of our nearest and dearest Friends and Relations and by earnest and ardent Desire even hasten the coming of the Day of God long for the second coming of the Lord Christ when he shall appear without Sin unto Salvation and very heartily pray and say * Rev. 22.17 20. Come Lord Jesus come quickly When wilt thou †Joh. 14.3 come again and receive us unto thy self that where thou art there we may be also Thus I have offer'd to your best Consideration the Certainty and Necessity of a future and final Judgment 2. I come now to lead you to the Meditation of the great Vncertainty as to us of the Time and Season of this Judgment O think with thy self that the Son of Man * Luke 12.40 cometh at an Hour when you think not That Christ saies †Rev. 16.15 Behold I come as a Thief That thou ‖ Mark 13.33 knowest not when the Time is That (*) Mat. 24.42 25.13 thou knowest neither the Day nor the Hour wherein (*) Mat. 24.42 25.13 your Lord (*) Mat. 24.42 25.13 the Son of Man cometh to particular Judgment at the Day of Death or to general Judgment at the End of the World That there are indeed Signs of the Times which shew when it is near which the Faithful are to observe and take notice of to be instructed by and to gather comfort from But that the punctual and precise Time is hid from us And that a considerable Latitude being to be allowed in the Accounts of Time both as to the Beginning and Ending of them we can therefore take no exact Measures nor six directly upon the very Time and Day that God hath set in his own purpose to judg the World in And here 't will be useful to thee to consider that as St. Austin speaks [k] Ideo later ultimus dies ut abserventur omnes dies The last Day is conceal'd and kept secret from thee that all other Daies may be observ'd well-spent and improved by thee and that there may be a due Trial of thy Faith and Patience and Obedience by a Course of holy Living Whereas if thou knewest certainly the just Term of thy Life and how long it would be before thou shouldst be called to be judged thou mightst too probably take Occasion from it to defer and put off thy Conversion and Repentance to a few Daies
you have no better improved Christian Fellowship and Communion no more awaken'd quicken'd comforted and spiritually served one another Grudg not to bestow a little Labour in watching over thy Friend and Neighbour this Work and Task will be quickly over And take not amiss anothers taking care of thee Count the Christian Religion lovely and amiable upon this Consideration that it makes such excellent and admirable Provision for the Welfare and Safety of Souls for the spiritual Security and eternal Felicity of the Professors of it Prize and value the rich Mercy and abundant Kindness of God to thee that he should appoint every Friend about thee to be a spiritual Help to thee and make it part of his Office and Business to take care of thy Soul And when you find any Friend faithful in the Exercise of his Duty and Discharge of his Conscience toward thee bless God that he is so And be truly thankful to him also for so high an expression of his charitable Affection Let his sincere and hearty Love to thee make him appear * 1 Sam 29.9 good in thy sight as an Angel of God and cause his †Rom. 10 15. Feet as well as Face to be truly [x] Quid tam alsurdum quà m delectari multis inanibus rebus ui honore ut glorià ut aedificio ut vestitu culiú jue cerporis animo autem virtute praedito eo qut vel amare vel ut enini remuneratione benevolentiae nthil vicissitudine studiorum essicier úmque jucundiù Lael apud Cic. de amic beautiful to thee Never be provoked with an ill Provocation against the Person of a Friend who sharpens and provokes you with a good Provocation Be not angry with any that provoke you to Love nor render evil for good to such as labour to provoke you to good Works If thy Friend and Companion rebuke thee know how to accept a great Kindness take his Love and Good-will well and shew that thou hast good Flesh to heal Say with holy David ‖ Ps 41.5 Let the Righteous smite me it shall be a Kindness and let him reprove me it shall be an excellent Oil which shall not break my Head And reckon this to be one of the saddest Strokes that God inflicts for God to say (*) Hos 4.4 Let no Man strive nor reprove another Be so wise and good natured as to [y] Plurimim in amicitia amicorum bene suadentium valeat autoritas eáque adhibeatur ad monendum non moaò aperrè sed etiam acriter si res postulabit autoritati adhibitae pareatur Id. ib. suffer a Word of Exhortation and Admonition from a truly loving Christian Friend When thou aut in Company with thy Friends do †1 Kings 20.23 as Benhadad's Servant did in the Presence of Ahab diligently observe whether any good thing will come from any and hastily catch it Shew thy self much pleased and delighted with any good Discourse that is started and labour to keep it up and maintain it But know that if now thou refusest to hearken to the Counsels and follow the Advices and submit * Eph. 5.21 thy self to the Reproofs and Reprehensions of prudent pious Christian Friends and art ready to strive against all their earnest passionate Strivings with thee then they that contended and laboured in vain with thee here shall surely †1 Cor. 6.2 judg thee at Last Day and bring in Evidence and Testimony against thee that they would have healed thee and thou wouldst not be healed that they by all means would have helped thee to Heaven and thou wouldst hasten and hurry to Hell ‖ Jer. 51.9 The eleventh Direction If we would earnestly redeem the Time we must remember and consider perform and answer our solemn Sacramental Vows Occasional Promises and Sick-bed Resolutions 1. Our solemn Sacramental Vows 1. Our Promise and [a] Of the Vow of Baptism see Dr. Hammond's Pract. Cat. l. 6. the latter part of sect 2 and 3. And his notions contracted in the VVhole Duty of Man partit 2. par 33 c. Vow made in Baptism Which Promise made by Persons baptized when adult or of full Age is called as some understand and interpret that Place the stipulation or * 1 Pet. 3.21 answer of a good Conscience towards God At the time of our Infant-Baptism we were dedicated to the Service of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and solemnly entred into a sacred Covenant Then we indented and engaged to renounce the Devil the †Eph. 6.12 2.2 Ruler ‖ Joh. 12 31. Prince and (*) 2 Cor. 4.4 God of this World And all his Works All that the Devil labours by any means to set us about and employ us in But especially and principally all those Sins which carry particularly the stamp and character the image and resemblance of Satan upon them and have (†) Joh. 8.44 from the beginning been practised by him such as Pride Lying Slandering Malice Envy Killing and Destroying Tempting and Soliciting others to Sin We covenanted expresly to abandon and abomine all Diabolical Works And to forsake and disclaim the Pomps and Vanities or Pompous Vanities the profane Spectacles the Luxury the ostentatious vain-glorious Bravery of this wicked World To abhor and avoid the evil Company and to resist the applauded vile vicious Customs and popular Temptations of the World To take care not to accompany the Ungodly in their Sins To deny Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and all the sinful Desires Affections Appetites of the Flesh◠to abstain from fleshly Lusts and from all the Works of the Flesh to make no provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof To endeavour to moderate and subordinate all our Desires to the Will of God And by God's Grace and under the influence of Divine Assistance according to our Abilities obediently to keep God's holy Will and Commandments and not only to take a few Steps but to walk in the same and that not only for a spurt or a few daies but all the daies of our Lives And since we came to years of Discretion and were of age sufficient to use our Reason and act understandingly we have personally owned openly and deliberately confirmed our Baptismal Vow taken the obligation in our own names by actual consent yielded and resigned devoted and delivered up our selves to become the teachable tractable Disciples the ready and voluntary Servants of the blessed Trinity Now to make this grand Promise good were to redeem the Time indeed Let 's never offer or dare to live as if we had been initiated in the impure Mysteries of the Heathen as if we had been baptized in the name of Bacchus or Venus baptized in the very Devil's name devoted to his Drudgery and deeply engaged against God and Christ and the Holy Spirit against the Gospel and Godliness against the Members of Christ and the People of God But look and see we live as those who