in Darkness and after all to share in the boundless Inheritance with the Children of Light How unlike thy self wilt thou appear before God if thou come without these qualifications Thou art a Christian but where is the Life of Christ that should be in thee Will the Judge ever take thee for his Sheep when it 's evident thou do'st not hear his Voice How ridiculous is that Man that hangs out a Bush and yet hath no Wine to sell And how foolish is that Apothecary that writes glorious Names upon his Pots when the rich drugs that are named have no being in his Shop And will it not tend to thy everlasting confusion that thou hast had the Name of a Christian and done nothing like a Christian Thus the particular proceedings of that future judgment must be applied to our selves if we resolve that the prospect of a future Judgment shall damp our carnal delights and satisfactions and without using this method we do but trifle and talk of breeding Mountains and bring forth ridiculous Mice play with Religion and are not in good earnest when we say we believe a future account 3. But neither the Reflections aforesaid nor the Application we have spoken of will make any deep impression except all be seconded with earnest Prayer that God by his holy Spirit working in our Minds would make the attempt effectual this must set to its Seal drive in the Nail and clench it The Eternal Spirit must give success to these enterprizes and in vain do we plant or water except he gives the increase He is that anointing which must supple the Soul and Crown all with Laurels and Victory By strength of thought and application the Fort of sin may be assaulted but without this Spirit lends his helping Hand it will never be taken or subdued His Power must overcome the Oppositions our Flesh and the World will certainly make in this case and if he blows upon our Hearts the strong Holds of Iniquity like the Walls of Jericho will fall and nothing can stand before him and he will certainly come in to our assistance if our Prayer and Addresses be fervent and importunate Upon such Devotions the frequent Discourses of this Day of Judgment we read or hear will be so far from bringing the thing into contempt with our Souls that our Hearts will be awaken'd more and it 's impossible we can miscarry in the pious design if with strong cries we apply our selves to him who hath appointed a Day in the which he will judge the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordain'd whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the Dead Act. 17.31 That which we are chiefly to insist upon in these Addresses is that we may get lively apprehensions of that Day and such apprehensions as no pleasure no folly no temptation of the World may darken or destroy and here let the Soul break forth into such Ejaculations O God Great and Glorious make me deeply sensible of that Day and of that Hour when the Son of Man will come when the Goats shall be separated from the Sheep the Tares from the Wheat the Good from the Bad when neither Prayers nor 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 to the proud Fool Give place to him that 's more Honourable than thou art when the Book of Conscience shall be open'd 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 sits 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 same 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 the 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 Terrour 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 Terrour this Day of Joy this Day of Comfort this Day wherein thy Promises and Threatnings will be fulfill'd this Day which must decide the controversy 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
every Man's Interest not to do that which he will wish he had not done when it is too late But of this I have said enough before The next Point follows and is a Case of Conscience how far sensual delights must be embittered with this prospect 5. Whether a Christian that would be saved is upon this account obliged to forbear and abandon all sensual and worldly delights and recreations whatsoever So not a few have thought in the Primitive times which made them retire from the World and deny themselves in all the comforts of this life and put themselves to very great hardships and self-denials being of Opinion that they who laughed here would mourn hereafter and such as enjoy'd the good things of this life would be miserably poor hereafter They look'd upon the two Worlds as opposites and consequently believed that the means to arrive to the happiness of the future were directly contrary to all present satisfactions they concluded that they who would be happy hereafter must be unhappy here and that they who would be happy here could not be so hereafter from hence rose their selling all they had and giving it to the poor and the strange severities they used upon their Bodies whereof I have discoursed elsewhere and indeed the Gospel gives very little incouragement to any thing that savours of wordly pleasure nor do the Apostles allow much liberty in this particular whether it were that they thought that all sensual delights were improper for a state of persecution in which the Church then lived or whether it was that they were afraid such delights would damp their Spiritual fervour this is certain that there is little to be gathered from their Writings in favour of Sports and Recreations Yet as strict as the Gospel is it grants that we have Bodies as well as Souls and that if the Bow be not unbent sometimes the String will crack and become useless and though it 's possible for our Minds to soar so far above the World as to know and care for no other delights but what savour of God and the Glories of another Life yet those Spiritual delights will not be of any long continuance without the Body be allow'd suitable refreshment and hath its fits of ease and relaxation Were not some Divertisements lawful Christ would scarce have vouchsafed his presence at the Wedding-feast in Cana much less provided them Wine to encourage temperate cheerfulness and hither may be referr'd St. John the Evangelists playing sometimes with a Bird and going into a common Bath whereof Ecclesiastical Histories give us an account yet since there is nothing more common with men than to confound their sinful delights with lawful Recreations it will be necessary here to explain the Point in these following Particulars 1. This must be laid down as a grand Principle of our Religion That a Spiritual delight in God in a Crucified Saviour and in the Blessed Effects and influences of the Holy Ghost in the Graces and Fruits of the Spirit in feeling the Operations of the Divine Power Glory upon our Souls in the precious Promises of the Gospel in the Revelations God hath vouchsafed to Mankind in the good 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 's certain I say that delighting and rejoicing in such Spiritual Objects is the Chief the Principal and Soveraign 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 impression it may make 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 then 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 Gardening 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 cheerfulness 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 observ'd 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 wellfare 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 bestow'd upon us is consistent with a serious prospect of a future judgment
Seraphim and Cherubim such a Perspicuity of sight do Tears give to a Holy Soul That which made these great Men weep so much was either a Sense of their own and other mens Offences or a lively Prospect of the Love of God or a glorious fore-sight of the Joys above But worldly Sorrow is no Virtue and he that weeps much either because he cannot have those Conveniences he would have or is cross'd and disappointed in his Designs or because he hath lost such a great Mans Favour or because some other Loss befalls him weeps in vain nay sins by his weeping and his Sin if he continue impenitent brings on Death 2 Cor. 7.10 Floods of Tears upon a mere temporal Account are insignificant in Heaven and no more than Water spilt upon the Ground such Tears God doth not put into his Bottle nor have the blessed Angels any Charge to number the drops that fall but where Religion and a mighty Sense of God and Tenderness of his Honour and Glory causes Rivers of Tears and where the Soul hath so delicate a Taste that it cannot think of God without weeping nor speak of him without weeping nor reflect upon his Goodness without weeping there the Man is come up to a Perfection which is the very Suburbs of Heaven It 's true all People cannot weep nor are they therefore in a damnable Condition for they may be sincere in Goodness and yet not be able to express their Sincerity in Tears tho I am apt to believe that it is for want of refining the Soul into a high Relish of Divine Objects that puts a stop to these sacred Floods in most Men yet where they can weep and something they see in God or in the Word of God or in the Providences of God is the true Cause of those Tears every drop is richer than a Diamond and such a Soul may vye Happiness with the greatest Monarchs They are inestimable Treasures and though Man knows not how to value them yet the Spirits above esteem them at a mighty rate and magnifie them in Gods Presence Luke 15.10 It 's a huge Mistake that Men cannot rejoyce except they laugh there are Tears of Joy as well as Tears of Grief and the very Heathen saw that true Joy was a very serious thing Hence it was that they confined true Joy to their Philosophers and left the louder Laughter to Slaves and Carters and Ploughmen and how often have I seen the richest Joys bubble forth from the largest Tears Nor would Men in those Circumstances change Condition with the most potent Prince in the World such Content such Satisfaction such Riches such Wealth appears in these Tears which Religion forces How much better is it to be afflicted where our Porsperity and a good Conscience are inconsistent than to enjoy Kingdoms and Principalities without the light of Gods Countenance This was the excellent choice of Moses and of all the Martyrs of old who were content to be sawn asunder to be stoned to be tormented to wander about in Caves and Dens weeping and destitute rather than defile their Souls with Sin which puts me in mind of the good Advice St. Jerom gave to his Friend Heliodorus Did the Babe thy Grandchild saith he hang about thy Neck should thy Mother that bare thee bid thee look upon the Breasts thou hast sucked should thine own Father lie prostrate at thy Feet and entreat thee to spare thy self and to forbear venturing on the Strictness and Severities of Religion get away from them my Friend and with dry Eyes fly unto the Banner of Christ Jesus in this case to be cruel is the greatest Piety This was the Case of the Primitive Believers who preferred their Distresses before Nero's Chair of State and took greater Pleasure in their seemingly forlorn Condition than Claudius or Caligula in their Affluence In the midst of their Tears they were greater men than their Persecutors and though they wanted all things and their Enemies had all that Heart could wish yet they justly believed themselves happier in their Funeral Dress than the other in their Triumphs The Man that roars in a Tavern or sings in an Ale-house or rejoyces in his Sin had more need to wish that his head were water and his eyes a Fountain of Tears were he in his Wits he would do so But his Reason is distorted his Understanding darkned his Eyes blinded his Mind unhing'd his Desires perverted his Affections led astray and like a distracted Creature he rejoyces in his Nakedness Ah brutish and inconsiderate Soul Thou weepest to see a Child or a near Relation dye and canst thou see thy Soul die and be robb'd of that Goodness which must give her Life and be unconcerned Thou weepest at the loss of a thousand Pounds and canst thou remember how thou losest God's Favour and all Right and Interest in the Merits of a crucified Saviour and keep thine Eyes dry Thou weepest to see a Friend drowning or burning in a merciless Fire and canst thou think how thou flingest thy self into the Furnace of God's Wrath makest his Anger kindle and wax hot against thee and dost what thou canst to turn it into a Fire which no Man no Angel can quench and will no Tears flow into thine Eyes How barbarous how inhumane is thy Joy What doest thou rejoyce in That Sin which makes thee merry that Folly that cheers thy Spirit what is it but Ingratitude to thy kindest Benefactor What is it but requiting the greatest Good with the greatest Evil What is it but contempt of him who keeps thy Soul in Life What is it but bidding defiance to him who carries thee on his Wings and out-does the tenderness of a Mother the care of a Father and doth all that 's fitting to guard thy Soul from Ruine And are these fit things to rejoyce in Are these fit Objects for thy Mirth Are these Divertisements for a Creature that holds his very Being of God and is beholding to him for all the Blessings he enjoys What wonder if after all this Impiety and Stubborness God rejoyces too rejoyces in thy Groans rejoyces in thy Anguish rejoyces in thy Agonies rejoyces in thy Sense of his Justice rejoyces in thy Howlings This he must do at last to secure his Honour This he will be obliged to do in the end to vindicate the Veracity of his Threatings This he will be constrained to do after all that Devils may not mock his Holiness nor deride his Thunders nor upbraid him with Partiality At that time this will appear very good Divinity no Fable no Romance no Trade of Priests no Invention of Politicians no old Wifes Tale no idle Story and if thou could'st exhaust the Sea in that day and weep it out again to testifie thy unfeigned Sorrow thou would'st do it Happy the Soul that thinks of this Happy the Man that believes these Terrors before he feels them How much wiser are those tender Hearts that do little else but weep and
with his Family to his Country-House adorned with Tyrian Silke and Persian Carpets and with all the Eastern Riches and there lives merrily and at his ease one Night being very jovial at Supper a Servant of his base and ill-natured puts some Lethargick or Opiate Potion into his Master's and Fellow-Servants Cups and having rocked them all asleep opens the Doors le ts in Thieves and Robbers who having plunder'd the House at last lay violent hands on the Master and to make sport with him drag him thus intoxicated into the open Field and there leave him In the mean while the Heavens grow black and a hideous Tempest gathers in the Clouds the Sky begins to lighten and the Voice of Thunder to be heard and a dreadful Rain falls and in the midst of all this Noise and Confusion the besotted Master wakes looks about quakes trembles believes himself in another World is astonish'd to see himself lying on a barren Turf without Servants without Attendants without Friends without Necessaries without Conveniencies among Showers and Storms and Tempests stiff with Cold frozen to Death almost and beholding nothing but Misery about him O my Soul thou canst not but look upon such a Person as the very Emblem of Confusion and while thou dread'st this fearful State take heed thou doest not prepare for it or drop into it take heed of carnal Security for that will expose thee to the Rage and Fury of hellish Thieves and make God's Indignation strangely surprizing The Terror that will seize the sleepy Soul when it is summon'd away to the Bar of a righteous God will be beyond Storms of Hail and Tempests of Rain and Flashes of Lightning and Claps of Thunder When Covetousness would entice thee shew it the miserable Gehazi trembling before the Throne of God when Luxury would tempt thee bid it look upon the wretched Belshazzar mourning to eternal Ages for his Intemperance when worldly Mindedness would debauch thee find out Nabal among the damned Spirits and with that Sight fright the foolish Lust away when Envy would enter into thy Soul call out Cain from that unhappy Crew and bid it see its Doom in his Funeral when present Satisfactions would make thee slight the after hopes of Glory bid the profane Esau stand forth from his fiery Cell to which he is condemned and it will lose its Courage Thou readest of the Syrians how in a Consternation sent upon them from above they fled in the Night leaving all their Provision behind them But what is this to the Consternation the Judgment Seat of Christ will strike into that Man who having slighted his Commands is on a sudden ordered to come and answer the Reason of his Contempt and forced to leave all his vain Excuses and Apologies behind him The Name of some Warriours hath frighted Men Women Children and then how terrible will the Name of the Lord of Hosts be to them that have fought against his Holy Spirit by their Stubbornness O my Soul Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame Rev. 16.15 3. Walk circumspectly every Day and use that conscientiousness you would use were you sure you should be summon'd to Judgment at Night Say not next Year or when I have accomplished such a Business I will trim my Lamp and make it ready against the Bride-groom comes Every Day to live in expectation of the Summons is the act of a Wise and Blessed Servant And he that every Day walks with God walks in a mighty sense of his Omniscience and Omnipresence and in his company business conversation dealings keeps God in his Eye sets his Laws before him walks as one resolved to please God in all things le ts not a Day pass over his Head without doing some good uses the World as if he used it not and if through inadvertency he slips rises again presently and arms himself with fresh resolutions is the Person that lives every Day as if it were his last Day Sinner wert thou sure that this Night thou shouldst be summon'd to the Bar of God wouldst thou swear and lie and dissemble and be Cholerick or backward to good works Live as if thou wert sure of it For suppose thou continuest in the Land of the Living that Night thou losest nothing by this preparation nay thou art a mighty gainer by it for hereby thy Soul is refresh'd thy Mind preserved in an excellent temper thy Goodness strengthen'd thy Graces renew'd thy Affections enlarg'd thy Understanding enlightned thy Will made more tractable thy Spirits eased thy Calmness maintain'd and thy very Body kept in Health God loves thee the Promises of the Gospel belong to thee Devils cannot hurt thee thou livest like a Christian actest like a Man of Reason preparest for thine own quiet thy Condition is happy thy Estate safe thy Life out of danger thy Conscience clear thy Confidence in God encreases thy Satisfaction swells thy Comforts grow bigger and thou freest thy self from that Mire and Clay in which so many Souls do stick and deliverest thy Soul from that terrible Pit which swallows up so many imprudent Travellers 4. When ever you see or hear of the judicial Process of a Malefactor think and reflect upon this Day Think how terrible the sight of the judge is to the guilty Prisoner and how much more terrible the sight of a Majestick God will be to the unhappy Sinner that would not be kept in by the Laws and Sanctions of the great Commander of the World and stood more in awe of a Child or Servant when he was going to commit lewdness then of him who gave him life and being Think how the Malefactor is frighted confounded with the vast company of Men and Women that crowd in to hear his Tryal and how much more the impenitent Sinner will be ashamed in the last Day when all the People that have been since the Creation of the World will look upon him and hear what his fate will be some Orators have been struck dumb with the greatness of their Auditory what effect then may we suppose will the Congregation of Mankind have upon a wretch that never saw the hundred thousandth part of them before Think how it must be with the Malefactor before the Sentence of Death passes upon him how heavy his mind is how Melancholick his Thoughts how drooping his Spirits are and what Palpitations he feels about his Heart and how far greater the heaviness of the sinful Soul must be before the Sentence of Condemnation proceeds against her from the mouth of God how much more sad remembrances how much more dismal reflections will seize upon her And if it be so sad with her before the Sentence be past what trembling and horrour will invade her after it A Malefactor here on Earth may yet entertain hopes of Pardon his Prince may be merciful pitty the distressed condition of his Family remember past services and relent and change
the Sentence but the sinful Soul once condemned to suffer hath no hopes of forgiveness no hopes of being Repriv'd no hopes of being released not but that God is infinitely more merciful then the meekest Prince on Earth can be but the time of Mercy is past Once he was merciful to her to a Miracle his Mercy was her Shield Mercy did encompass her Mercy lay entreating of her Mercy courted her Mercy though abused came again and tried new arguments Mercy followed her Mercy preserved her from a Thousand evils Mercy would not suffer the roaring Lion to touch her for many years Mercy stood by her even then when she desperately affronted her Maker Mercy was patient towards her Mercy wept over her Mercy call'd to her Mercy would have pull'd her away from her Errors but she thrust this bright Angel away would have none of it made light of it laught at its charms despised its entreaties scorned its carresses disregarded its smiles refused its offers rejected its embraces and therefore cannot seed her self with hopes of Pardon now Nay the Malefactor here on Earth when Men will not Pardon hath yet hopes that upon his true Repentance God will Pardon him but the Soul that departs hence in a sensual carnal condition the same she lived in hath no higher Court to appeal to none above God to make her moan to none beyond the supream Lawgiver to address her self to The God the hath despised and whose Mercy could make no impression on her is to be her last Judge and therefore how much more disconsolate must her state be then the condemn'd Malefactor's here on Earth 5. Whenever you converse with sick and dying men and are present when their Breath leaves their Bodies think and reflect upon this day Think with your selves This man is going to be judged his Soul is entring into the Territories of another World to know what her everlasting state must be This will shortly be my case I must ere long follow her to God's Tribunal here my stay will be but short here I have no continuing City here I am not to tarry long my Friend that 's gone shews me the way that I must go I saw him expire I heard his last groans I was by when his Eye-strings broke if the Lord Jesus gave him any assurance of his favour before he died with what chearfulness will his Soul meet her Bridegroom in the Air how welcome will he be in the Court of the great King What rejoicing will there be when he and the other glorified spirits behold one another and they see that one more is added to their Number for there is no envy in Heaven no grudges no fretting because so many are admitted into the Everlasting Mansions but the more holy Souls do enter there the more their joy encreases If this my Friend hath lived above the World while he lived here with what gladness will his Soul be brought and enter into the Kings Palace How will his Name be remembred there How kindly will Angels talk of him How favourable will the Judge be to him but if his Devotion and Piety hath been but Paint and Shew what a surprize will it be immediatly upon his coming among the spirits of another World to be arrested at the suit of the Great God and to be carried away to his Tryal He is taken away from his sick Bed but should his Soul be sent away with a Curse how much worse will Hell be then his sick Bed In a sick Bed Physick may yet give some ease but Hell scorns all Medicines no Drugs are of any use there no Cordials no Cataplasmes are to be found there no vulnerary Herbs grow in that Wilderness On a sick Bed Friends may yet comfort us but in Hell there is no Friend all are Enemies all hate one another because none can deliver the other from his Torments In a sick Bed Neighbours may give their advice but in Hell no advice can be given for the Inhabitant are not capable of taking it The Devils indeed may advise them to speak evil of God because of the irreversible doom they lie under but that 's a Remedy infinitly worse then the Disease and they that follow this counsel increase God's Anger and their own Plagues and as they venture upon new Sins so God must inflict new Curses and try new Rods and new Scourges which makes the misery truly infinite Such Reflections the sight of a sick and dying Man will cause nor is this judging of his everlasting and final State but a mere conditional Meditation undertaken for no other end but to affect our own Souls with the day of God's righteous Judgment to improve our own Thoughts and to make a holy use of such Occasions as God's Providence thinks fit to present to us 6. Whenever you go to a Funeral think of this Day of Judgment When you see the Mourners go about the Streets when you your selves accompany the Corps to the Grave think of the great Sentence the Soul will receive upon her Approaches to the Throne of the Heavenly Majesty St. Hierom describing the Funeral of the happy Paula that famous Saint who while she lived here was Eyes to the Blind a Nurse of the Poor a Staff to the Lame and an Example to all religious Persons tells us That when she was dead there were heard no Shrieks no Howlings no Weeping no despairing Lamentations but Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs her Corps was carried to the Grave upon Bishops Shoulders Prelates carried Lamps and Wax-Candles before her and a Quire of Singing-Men accompanied her to her Tomb and most of the People of Palestina came together to attend the Funeral The Monks crept out of their Cells the Virgins from their Retirement and good Men in all Places thereabout thought it Sacriledge not to pay the last Office to her The Widows and Orphans as in the case of Dorcas came and shew'd the Garments she had made for them and all the indigent and needy cryed they had lost a Mother and for three Days Psalms were sung in Greek Hebrew Latin and Syriack and every Body celebrated her Funeral as if it had been their own When you behold the Funeral of such a holy Person think how with far greater Pomp the Angels meet her Soul at the Gates of Heaven and on their Shoulders carry it to the Throne of everlasting Mercy Think how joyfully those blessed Ministers conduct such a Soul to her eternal Rest and how they triumph that she is deliver'd from the Burden of the Flesh and advanced from a Valley of Tears to a Place of endless Glory When the great Constantius died in Brittain his Ashes were put in a golden Chest and with great Pomp carried through France and Italy to Rome but think how far greater Honour it is for such a holy Soul to be convey'd by the Spirits of Light into the City coming down from Heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her
and they not only denied it but swore to it by all that 's good and holy I bid them take their ease and be merry and they made themselves Swine I bid them neglect God's Service on the Lord's day but they profaned it besides by playing and drinking and other enormities I bid them keep what they had got but they went beyond what I prompted them to oppressed cheated dissembled and made way to their Wealth through oppression of the Widow and Fatherless These therefore have my Image and Superscription and consequently must be mine I claim them as mine own I challenge them as they are Apostates and Traitors to thee It is thy Statute which like the Laws of Medes and Persians is irrevocable that those shall be despised who did lightly esteem thee Nor can God be worse than his Word but must deliver up the Sinner whom no Mercy could reform to these tormentors Nay if we have oppressed any Persons those very Persons will be Witnesses against us Abel will in that Day bear witness agaisnt Cain his Murderer Naboth against Ahab whole Countreys against their Tyrannical Princes Israel against Pharaoh in the same manner those whom we have corrupted with Gifts or Moneys or some other way will stand up against us Herodias against Herod Drusilla against Felix the Harlot against her Inamorato Helena against Paris Danae against Jupiter and Men and Women perverted by Hereticks against the broachers of false Doctrines and how can there be want of Witnesses when our School-masters our Parents and other good Men whose Counsels we rejected whose Admonitions we despised and whose frequent Exhortations we laughed at will be forced to speak what they know against us Sinner The Ministers of the Gospel those who follow'd thee with checks and intreaties to be reconciled to God will be obliged to speak of thy stubbornness and impenitence Nay this Pulpit these Walls these Stones these Pews will cry out against thee Heaven and Earth are even in this life call'd in as Witnesses against the Monsters who were more inconsiderate then the Ox or Ass much more in that Day when God will bring every thing into Judgment not only the sinful actions but the very places in which those actions were committed Such Witnesses will be the Riches and Goods thou hast abused thâ— Gold thou hast spent upon thy Luxury the Silver thou hast thrown away in a frollick the Garments thou hast abused to Pride the Corn and Bread thou hast play'd withal the Hungry whom thou hast not fed the Thirsty to whom thou hast not given Drink the naked whom thou hast not clothed when it lay in thy power the Prisoners whom thou hast not visited these will all be accusers of thy abuses and uncharitableness But the accusation of all these might yet be born with it 's the Testimony of the Judge who shall approve of all that these Witnesses averr which appears most dreadful and terrible and therefore certainly the prospect of this Judgment is able to damp the greatest mirth and sensuality And as this Judge will himself be Witness in that Day so he will be his own Advocate too To this purpose saith the Pathetick Nazianzene What shall we do my Friends what shall we say what Apology shall we make when this Judge shall plead for himself in that Day Though disobedient Wretch I made thee of Clay with mine own Hands and breathed the Breath of Life into thee I made thee after my Image I gave thee Reason and Understanding and Power and Dominion over the Beasts of the Field a mercy which if I had not vouchsafed unto thee those Creatures which are stronger than thou would have master'd destroy'd thee I plac'd thee among the Pleasures of Paradise made thee a happy Inhabitant of Eden and when thou wouldst needs hearken to the false and treacherous suggestions of thy sworn Enemy behold in pity and commiseration to thee I resolved to be Born of a Virgin and accordingly took Flesh and became Man for thy sake was Born in a Stable lay unregarded in a Manger swadled in Rags and Clouts endured all the reproaches and injuries that Childhood is subject to bore thy griefs and assumed thy infirmities and was made like thy self that thou might be like me in Felicity at the end of thy Race I suffered men to trample on me to buffet me to spit in my Face to give me Gall and Vinegar to drink to Scourge me to crown me with Thorns to Wound and Nail me to the Cross and all this that I might deliver thee from Eternal contempt and torments Behold the mark of the Nails which were struck into my Flesh. Behold my wounded side I suffered that thou might'st Triumph I died that thou might'st live was buried that thou might'st rise and made my self a scorn of the People that thou might'st reign in Heaven and why would'st thou throw away this Mercy Why would'st thou refuse this Treasure What evil Spirit did possess thee to make light of these kindnesses Why would'st thou pollute that Soul which I redeemed with mine own Blood Why wouldst thou make thy Heart a habitation of Devils which I intended for my Throne Why would'st thou lose that which I purchased at so dear a rate VVhat pleasure couldst thou take in doing that which cost me so many sighs and tears and a bloody sweat why would'st thou make a mock of so great a Mercy How could'st thou undervalue a Favour of that importance and consequence Can any Hell be thought too much for such stubbornness Either thou didst believe that thy God did all this for thee or thou didst not If thou didst not believe it why didst thou make confession of it with thy Mouth If thou didst how couldst thou be so ungrateful How could'st thou abuse a Friendship of that worth and value Thou lovest a Friend a Neighbour a Man a VVoman for kindnesses which are meer shadows and bubbles to my love and hadst not thou reason to love me beyond all earthly comforts Hadst not thou reason to prefer my Favour before the smiles of a transitory VVorld How did I deserve such preposterous doings at thy Hands Couldst thou have dealt worse with a Slave or with an Enemy than thou hast done with me Did this condescension deserve dost thou think such affronts and injuries such contempt and disobedience as thou hast returned to me Therefore as for those mine Enemies which would not have this Man to Reign over them bring them hither and slay them before me All this appears in the prospect of a future Judgment and therefore there must be Vertue in it to check that mirth and jollity which infatuates Souls and leads them into ruine 4. In the prospect of this future Judgment there appears the unspeakable anguish and misery of those who have been most jolly and merry in this life Dives who cloth'd himself in Purple and fine Linnen and fared sumptuously every day appears there quaking and trembling
The great Day of the Lord is near it is near hasteth greatly even the Voice 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 because 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 satisfactions of the Flesh with a 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 mention'd 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 when it meets with any temptation to them without all peradventure the stronger cannot be excused And the Reasons are these following 1. If they be not embitter'd with such Thoughts as these they will infallibly lead the Soul into innumerable dangers there is no Man but is obliged to preserve his Soul from danger It is said of the Prodigal Luk. 15.13 That he took his Journey into a far Countrey these sensual Pleasures alienated his Soul from God drove it away far from him made him travel as far as Hell the Truth is the Soul is lost in such sensual Pleasures they wear out the bright Notions the Soul had of God and Religion as it is said of the Sicilian Dogs that running through the sweet and floury Fields they lose their Scent in huntting so the Soul where these pleasures these white Devils become her Familiars loses the Noble apprehensions it once had of God's Omniscience and Omnipresence of his Holiness and Goodness and of the Truth of his Promises and Threatnings and these Characters like Letters written with bad Ink vanish and consequently the Life of the Soul for which reason the Prodigal who drowned himself in these delights is said to be dead v. 32. These choak the good Seed that 's sown in the noble Ground and as you have seen a Field of Wheat where the red Poppies spring up as fast as the richer Grain though the proud Flowers are pleasing to the Eye yet they retard and hinder the growth of the more useful Blade and suck away the moisture that should have fed the other so sensual delights where they are taken in as Partners and suffered to grow in the Soul in which some Fruits of the Spirit do appear in a short time blast those excellent Fruits the Effects of the Holy Ghost or Education or the Ministry of the Word and prove Bryars and Thorns which will not suffer any of the better Corn to grow under them Man's Soul and Body are like two Buckets while the one comes up full the other goes down empty Carnal delights advance the bruitish or fleshly part make it grow strong lusty and vigorous whereby it wrests the Scepter out of the Hand of Reason and the Soul looses her strength and power and Sagacity in Spiritual things grows weak and faint and at last expires and dies I mean the vertuous Principles which either kind Nature or kinder Grace or Afflictions or some other means and Instruments have incorporated with the Soul which indeed are the life of that excellent Creature and the Soul being thus dead it falls a Prey to Devils who rejoice over so great a Prey and lead it in Triumph take it Prisoner and make it draw in their Victorious Chariot and now all the Curses of the Law are in force against it the threatnings of the Gospel become her Portion and there is nothing left to stand betwixt her and Eternal grief and anguish but the slender Thred of this Mortal Life which if it chance to break or tear the Soul sinks irrecoverably into the Gulph of Perdition from whence there is no returning so fatal is the influence of these flattering Guests which in time starve their Keeper and finding the House empty swept and garnish'd like the Evil Spirit spoken of Matt. 12.45 go and take with them Seven other Spirits more wicked than themselves and they enter in and dwell there and the last state of that Man is worse than the first and thus they plunder and boldly rob the Soul of her Riches and hinder her from that Holiness which is her Food her Cordial and her greatest support and without which no Man can see the Lord they had need therefore be embittered with something that 's sour and unpleasant to Flesh
commanded Let the poor find that thou art rich let the needy feel that thou dost abound gain thy God by thy patrimony feed the hungry Jesus and lay up thy treasure there where Thieves cannot break in and steal get thee possessions but let them be Celestial such as the Moth cannot corrupt nor Rust eat away nor the Hail destroy nor the Sun dry up nor the Rain melt away Thou sinnest against God if thou thinkest thy riches are given thee not to make a wholesome use of them God hath given man a voice must he therefore sing amorous and undecent and obscence tunes with it God hath made Iron must thou therefore murther men with it and because he hath vouchsafed unto us Frankincense and Wine and Fire must we therefore sacrifice to Idols or because thy Herds and Flocks are great must thou therefore commit Idolatry with them Riches are great temptations except they be employed to pious uses In Scripture the Whore of Babylon is brought in array'd in Purple and Scarlet colours and decked with Gold and Precious Stone and Pearl and her Judgment is said to be great and terrible and the Prophet Esaias threatens a fatal humiliation to the Daughters of Sion because of their bravery when they were exalted thus they fell being trimmed thus they deserved to have their perfumes turned into a stink being deck'd with Silk and Purple they could not put on Christ being adorned with Bracelets and Jewels they lost the true Ornament of their hearts and consciences who would not shun that whereby others have perished Who would desire that which hath been a Sword and Arrow to others If a man should drop down dead upon drinking of a Cup we should conclude it was Poyson that killed him and what stupid ignorance of the truth must it be what madness to be fond of that which hath always done and still doth hurt and to imagin thou shalt not be undone by that whereby thou knowest others have been ruind Thus far St. Cyprian who lived about the year of our Lord 248 an eminent Bishop and who afterwards died a Martyr in Christs cause and in all probability spoke not only his own sense but the judgment of the universal Church in this point I will conclude this subject with a passage out of Tertullian St. Cyprians Master who thus reasons the case with the Women of his Age What means that saying let your light shine before men Why doth our Lord call us the light of the World Why doth he compare us to a City seated upon a Hill if we shine not in darkness or do not stand up among the drowned part of the World If thou hide thy candle under a Bushel thou must needs being left in the dark be subject to numberless assaults These are the things which make us lights of the World even our good works True goodness is not enamoured with darkness but rejoyces to be seen and is glad to be pointed at A modest and shamefaced Christian doth not think it enough that he is so but he delights lights to appear so too for such must be the fullness of his vertues that it may burst out from the mind within to the habit without and press from the conscience to the outward man that men from without may see what store and treasure he hath in the secret recesses of his Soul Voluptuousness and Wantonness must be renounced for by these the Vertue of Faith loses its masculine vigor I doubt the hand that hath been used to Bracelets will never endure the sturdiness of a Chain for Christ Jesus nor can I apprehend how the Knee used to a soft Garter will be able to endure the Stocks or Racks for the Gospel and I very much question whether that Neck which glistered with Pearles and precious Stones will ever yield unto the Sword of persecution therefore my beloved let 's chuse hard and uneasie things and we shall not feel them let 's forsake the pleasant things of this World and we shall not desire them these are the Anchors of our hope let 's lay aside these outward gayeties if we aim at the Wedding Garment in Heaven let not Gold prove the object of our love by which the sins of Israel are expressed let 's hate that which hath undone the Patriarchs and was adored by them after they had forsaken the fountain of living waters Come forth beloved and set before you the rich attire of the Prophets and Apostles of our Lord take your fairness from their simplicity your blushes from their modesty paint your eyes with their shamefacedness and your lips with their self-denial in speaking instead of Pendants insert in your ears the word of God and let your necks bear the yoke of Christ Jesus submit your heads to your own Husbands and then you 'l be dressed like Christians employ your hands about Wool and as much as you can keep at home and this will render you more amiable than Gold Clothe your selves with the Silk of Innocence with the Velvet of Holiness and with the Purple of Chastity and thus adorned God will fall in love with you 10. Delight in Painting and Patching and artificial meliorations of the Face and Skin to please and delude spectators or to draw others into admiration of our persons as it is a thing which the very Heathens have condemn'd for reasons drawn from the light of nature so it is almost needless to discourse of it or to batter it with Arms and Weapons out of the Magazine of the Gospel This delight hath in most Ages been infamous and the thing it self counted incongruous with the Law of our very Creation The Fathers of the second third and fourth Centuries derive the Original of it from the Devil and will allow nothing of this nature in any person that looks like a Christian. It 's a sign that the Spirit of Christ doth not dwell in a person that dares delight in such vanities for that Spirit inclines the Soul to other things makes her regardless of beauty and external comeliness obliges her solicitous about inward accomplishments and how she may please him that died and hath purchased an eternal Salvation for her and it 's enough that he that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his A Soul that hath the Spirit of Christ hath other things to do then spend her time and care in mending the Face for they that are after the Flesh do mind the things of the Flesh but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit And what are the things of the Spirit but setting our affections upon the things which are above meditating of the purchased possession longing after the light of Gods countenance despising the World self-denyal taking up the Cross of Christ a transcendent love of God a burning zeal to his Glory laying up in store a good foundation against the time to come growing strong in the Lord and in the
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 from you and be unmoved at the want of it Can you see how other Men by thinking arrive to Perfection and will you lye groveling in the Dust O! think while thinking may do you good In Hell you 'll think but it will be too late there you 'll think but your Thoughts will be your Torment there your Thoughts will be the undoing of you there you 'll think what happy Persons you might have been if you had imitated Abraham's Faith and Moses's Resolution David's Candour and Josiah's Piety St. Paul's Courage and St. Peter's Tears St. John's Love and Lydia's Attentiveness the Berrhaeans Zeal and the Macedonian Churches Charity Zachaeus his Restitution and the Publican's Repentance but these Thoughts will then be your Vexation since the working time is past and the day of Vengeance come There you 'll think that Christ was your Friend indeed when he made himself of no Reputation but took upon him the form of a Servant became obedient to the Cross and dyed for you but to think that he is your Enemy now because you refused Obedience to him because you made light of his Offers and would not accept of him for your Governour must needs fill you with endless Grief and bitterness of Spirit Now consider this ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver Psal. 50.22 3. And is not the greatest part of the World to be pityed that can delight in nothing but what they can grasp and feel The Covetous can delight in nothing but in Gold If he want Money all his Joy is gone If his Coffers be full and his Barns stock'd with Corn and Plenty doth surround him his Heart rejoyces his Soul triumphs and Cheerfulness plumps his Cheeks but without this his Mind is disturbed his Faculties languish his Countenance is dejected and he looks like a dying Man Who would imagine that this Man hath a rational Soul Who would think he were created after the Image of God Who would conclude him to have lived in a Land where the Gospel is preach'd Who can inferr from his Actions or Behaviour that this Man believes a Word of Scripture Who would take the Wretch for a Disciple of the poor and afflicted Jesus Who that looks upon him would not be apt to cry with him Sit anima mea cum Philosophis Let me dye the Death of some brave self-denying Heathen Philosopher For these certainly are in a likelier way of Salvation at least of escaping the Wrath to come than the covetous Christian. Diogenes being desired of Alexander the Great to beg either Gold or Silver of him received this Answer Do but stand out of the Sun and do not hinder that glorious Light from shining upon me and I have enough The brave Crates having sold what he had and turned it into Money generously threw it all into the Sea saying It 's far better I should drown thee than that thou should'st drown me in Perdition Alexander having sent to the great Phocion two Talents of Gold the wise Man ask'd the Messengers Seeing there were so many good Men at Athens why the King should of all Men make choice of him to present him The Ambassadours answer'd because of all Men he look'd upon him as the honestest Say you so replyed the Philosopher Then let Alexander give me leave to be still an honest Man which I can be without all these Presents and glistering Treasures Cimon had two large Cups sent him from a Persian King the one full of Gold the other of Silver He looks upon them smilingly and asks the Man who brought them Whether his Master intended that Cimon should be his Friend or his Servant The man replied It was out of Ambition to have him for his Friend that he sent it Oh! then saith he take them back again for being his Friend when I have need of them I can send for them at any time Epaminondas when some came to corrupt him with gifts invites the Ambassadours to Dinner and there entertains them with Roots and Herbs and with small sour Wine Dinner being done Go home saith he and tell your
Prince that Epaminondas being content with such a Dinner is not easily to be drawn by Bribes into a base and trayterous Action Fabritius the Roman General having concluded a Peace with the Samnites the Magistrates of the Samnites by way of Gratitude send six Ambassadours to him with vast Sums of Money begging of him to accept of it but he stroaking his Head and Face and Breast and Knees Gentlemen saith he while I can command these Limbs I have no need of Money and so dismissed them Curius gave the same Answer to them adding that he had rather rule over Persons that had Money than be possess'd of Money himself These Men were Heathens whose Delight in Virtue drown'd their Delight in these outward Comforts They saw what an Impediment to Goodness these Heaps of Silver were and therefore scorn'd to delight in a thing so base and trivial they were sensible that the Soul had her Riches as well as the Body and as the former by the Confession of Mankind went beyond the other in value so it was reasonable they should delight in the one more than in the other These Men were better Christians by the Light of Nature than thousands among us are with all the helps that Revelation and Grace affords not that the Fault lies in the means which are larger and richer than Pagans and Infidels have but that men stupifie their Souls more under these Advantages than Heathens did under the lesser Irradiations of the Divine Light and Splendour So then the very Heathens saw that the more spiritual the Delight was the nobler it was and the more it was refin'd and purified from the Dross of the World the more rational it was and therefore more amiable and fitter to be embraced and sure God must have provided but very ill for Mankind when he embued and impregnated their Souls with a Sense of Religion if he had not put something into Religion that 's charming and lovely whereby their Souls might be attracted to delight in it Religion being derived from him who is the Fountain of Delight and Satisfaction must necessarily have that in it which may make humane Souls rejoyce and exalt their Delight into a victorious Supremacy above all worldly Pleasures What did the Lord Jesus delight in who lived upon Alms What did the Apostles delight in who were in much Patience in Afflictions in Necessities and Distresses in Stripes in Imprisonments in tossings to and fro in Labours in Watchings in Fastings What did all the Primitive Believers delight in that were poor and naked driven into Exile banish'd forced to work in Mines chased away from the Comforts of Wife Children and Relations Something certainly they delighted in for humane Nature cannot well subsist without delight in something It could not be the Riches of this World for they had them not nor indeed did they care for them when they were offered them it was Religion that engrossed their Delight This made them joyful in all Condiditions this raised their drooping Spirits under the Rage of their Persecutors and certainly it would be hard if a glorious God with all his Attributes and the wonderful things he hath revealed to our Comfort were improper Objects of Delight and since these are the genuine Delights of a Christian O besotted Soul why dost thou delight in broken Cisterns when thou hast the Fountain of living Waters to delight in Why dost thou delight in Apes and Peacocks when thou hast the Creator of all these to rejoyce in Why dost thou delight in a morsel of Meat when thou hast the Birth-right of eternal Glory to delight in Why dost thou delight in the shade of the Bramble when thou hast the shadow of God's Wings to delight in Why dost thou delight in the nether Springs when thou hast the upper Springs of Mercy to delight in Why dost thou delight in Houses when thou hast a House made without Hands to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Rivers of Damascus when thou hast the River of God's Pleasure to delight in Why dost thou delight in a fading Beauty when thou hast him that 's altogether lovely to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Voice of a deceitful Siren when thou hast him whose Voice comforts the Mourners of Sion to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Slavery of thy Lusts when thou hast him whose Service is perfect Freedom to delight in Why dost thou delight in a little Gain in Drops of Happiness in Crums of Bliss in shining Dust when thou hast a Sea of Glory to delight in How deep must thy Soul lye immerst in Body if such illustrious Objects cannot delight it How far must thou be yet from the Kingdom of Heaven if things of this nature cannot content thee How earthly must thy Heart be how debauch'd how perverted from the end of its Creation if these spiritual Delights are insipid to it There are some here I believe who have tasted of both Delights the sinful ones of the Flesh and those which are proper for holy Souls tell me I beseech you whether you think a Fit of Laughter or a drunken Bout or a merry Meeting you once delighted in so sweet so comfortable so refreshing as the gentle and soft and kinder Influences of God's Spirit when you have been engaged in Prayer and Praises and Contemplations of a future State When you have been wrestling with God and after that work of Love have felt a holy assurance of God's Favour upon your Spirits can any thing be more pleasing or charming than those divine Communications When you have entred into Meditation of God's Goodness and the Love of God hath shined bright upon your Souls have not you felt that which hath been as much beyond all sensual Delights as an oriental Pearl is beyond Brass or Copper or such baser Minerals Have not you found a Joy stealing upon your Souls after such refreshing Considerations as hath transported you even into love of Martyrdom How contented have you been after such Exercises or after some signal Self-denial How harmonious have your Spirits and Affections been after such Enjoyments of God's loving Kindness and how like soft and curious Musick have these Gales of the Divine Goodness composed your troubled Thoughts and hush'd them into a lasting Peace And is not this infinitely better than the Pleasures of Sardanapalus of Dives and other luxurious men Will not this turn to better account at last than fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul Look upon Heliogabalus who tryed how great a Monster a man could make himself in his Cloaths you should see nothing but Gold and Purple his Beds were embroidered and the Feathers that were in them must be the softer Feathers of Partridges taken from under their Wings mix'd with the finest Rabbets hair He would ride in a Chariot shining with Rubies and Diamonds and not only in the out-side of his Shooes but even within he would have precious Stones he would not
shall be a poor man poor in Grace poor in gifts of God's holy Spirit poor with Respect to God's Favour poor even to contempt destitute of those richer incomes which sanctified Souls receive deprived of the Juice and Sap which flows from the flourishing Vine the Lord Jesus in want of a foretaste of Heaven and of a sense What the hope of Gods calling is and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance is in the Saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his Power toward them that believe according to the working of his mighty Power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right Hand in heavenly places Eph. 1.18 19 20. Who can grumble at Religion after all these advantages Who can find fault with it after this prospect of its benefits Who dares asperse that beauteous Virgin after such Fruits it bears Who would not esteem it Who would not prize it Who would not honour it Who would not speak well of it Who would not look upon it as a horn of plenty and a treasury of the greatest comforts Who would not maintain the honour of it against all opponents who would not vindicate it when it is abused Who would not rise up in defence of it when blasphemous Tongues would traduce and revile it Let no man say here I can follow my Carnal pleasures and yet be religious too Alas What Piety can that be where thy Affections are divided betwixt Religion and Worldly Pleasures and where these Delights commonly have the greater share May be thou sayest thy Prayers so have I seen Parrets and Magpies repeat a few Sentences which they have been taught May be thou goest to Church so have I seen a Blind-man sit down by a Candle but to no purpose Thou mayest attempt to reconcile the Temple of God and Idols but these attempts are as vain as thy pleasures are while these sensual delights ingross thy Mind the Word must needs be a dead Letter to thee Heaven cannot supple thy Soul Hell cannot fright it the Thunders of God are insignificant to it and thou art unfit to dye unfit to appear at the great Tribunal The Heathens tell this Fable That Ceres coming down from Heaven one day gave out that she was a Nurse whereupon King Eleusius took her to attend his Son Triptolemus and having him under her Tuition in the day time she fed him with celestial Milk and in the night she cover'd him with Fire to give him Immortality Religion is that Fire which must make you immortal this purges away your dross and cleanseth your Hearts from the dregs of Sin and Death makes you bright and shining and capable of eternal Light No Nurse is so tender of you as Religion is it feeds you 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 throw your Souls upon their Death-beds 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 Accommodation 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
Husband the twelve Gates whereof are twelve Pearls and the Streets pure Gold as it were transparent Glass On the other side when you see the stately Funeral of a voluptuous and sensual Man such as Attila was the Souldiers tearing their Hair the Courtiers weeping the Body wrap'd up in Silk the Guard proclaiming his valiant Actions and Monuments erected upon the Grave of Gold of Silver and of Iron think on the more dismal Funeral of his Soul in case it was not wash'd here with the Waters of Repentance and which is the greatest Purification with the Blood of Jesus think if the Soul be for ever separated from the glorious Presence of God and commanded away into everlasting Darkness not all the stately Monuments raised for the honour of her Body will qualifie her Misery in the other World not all the Acclamations or Applauses of Flatterers will give her any Comfort not all the Riches she enjoy'd on Earth nor all her Wealth and Greatness and Dominion will there extinguish the least Spark of Fire her Conscience will feel This dreadful Funeral will be attended with crouds of unhappy Spirits who instead of mourning will rejoyce at the Guest that 's come into their Tents and Lycaon like cover her with eternal Darkness Such a Soul is laid in a worse Grave than her Body even in the burning Lake where the Misery is proportion'd to her former Sins and her Conscience frighted with Scenes of Horror and the Remembrance of her quondam Pomp encreases her Discontent and Anguish think of this and learn to be sober think of this and learn self-denial think of this and learn not to love the World think of this and learn to secure the Light God's Countenance think of this and learn to honour them that fear the Lord think of this and learn to do good in your Generation 7. To avoid the Terror of this future Judgment judge your selves here on Earth for if we would judge our selves we should not be judged saith the Apostle 1. Cor. 11.31 Then we judge our selves when we confess our particular Errors and condemn our selves for the Commission when with Grief and sorrow of Heart and Indignation against our selves we do acknowledge that we have abused the Divine Mercy and by so doing deserved his taking his holy Spirit from us when we lay his Threatnings before us and confess that these Plagues are due to us and that we have deserved them and wonder at the Patience of God that hitherto hath been loath to give order to the destroying Angel to seize on us when from a sense of our Neglect and Sins we cry It is a bitter thing and evil that we have forsaken the Lord and that his Fear hath not been in us and are so convinced of our Demerits that we can give no other Reason for our Escape and Preservation so long but God's infinite Goodness when we are angry with our selves for our imprudence in neglecting so great Salvation and study how to be revenged upon our Corruptions when we decry our inward and outward failings and are resolved to mortifie them were they as dear to us as our right Hand and Foot and the Apple of our Eye when we erect a Tribunal in our Souls and bid our disorderly Thoughts and Words and Actions appear before us and give an account of their behaviour and finding they have been exhorbitant lash them into better manners when we lay mulcts on our inordinate desires in case they will not yield and put our Flesh to some more than ordinary trouble in case it will not be kept within its due bounds and limits when we punish our Eyes by fixing them so many hours on Heaven or on the Word of God because they gazed on things which God hath forbid when we chastise our Ears with hearing so many Sermons because such a Day they listned with pleasure to an offensive story when we inflict silence upon our Tongues for some days because such a time they spake things either undecent or injurious to our Neighbours when we bid our Feet keep at home for a considerable time because they ran into evil Company when they should not when we deny our Body its necessary Food and Refreshment for some time because it pamper'd it self such a Day and plaid the wanton when we will not let our sensual Appetite enjoy its harmless and innocent delights for a certain time because the other Day it it was greedy after outward and carnal satisfactions when we suffer our selves to be reproached without answering because such a Day we flew out into an unruly passion This is to judge our selves and they that do so may be confident they shall not be condemn'd with the World in doing so we do that to our selves which God would have done to us if we had continued impenitent insensible and take that vengeance of our selves which God would have taken of us in a severer manner in case we had not bethought our selves and thus we prevent his anger and shew that we dread his Wrath and seek his Love that his Threatnings fright us and that we have just apprehensions of his Indignation and such men the Holy Ghost counts happy for blessed is he that feareth always saith the wise Man Prov. 28.14 8. In your Actions regard not so much how they are relish'd with Men as whether they will hold Water and endure the Test before the Judge when your naked Souls must appear before him Abundance of our Actions appear plausible to men who see no further then the outside but let 's consider whether they will bear the piercing Eye of this All-seeing Judge it 's true should God lay our Righteousness to the Line and measure our Religious actions by the exact Rule of his Wisdom Justice and Holiness he would spy innumerable flaws even in the Services of the devoutest Person living but he proceeds not according to that rigour but upon the account of the Great Mediator vouchsafes Grains of allowance for accidental infirmities and incogitancies and unforeseen and involuntary slips and the sincerity of a good work is that he chiefly takes notice of whether the intention was good whether the design was Holy whether Love was the Principle of it whether it was without reserves of some secret sin whether there was candour and ingenuity in it and whether the offering was free unforced unconstrain'd by any outward Motive and whether Charity lay at the bottom Many of our Actions may want these qualifications of Sincerity and yet appear specious and gay and glorious in the Eyes of Spectators and those we converse withal Look not Christians on the commendations of your Neighbours in your acts of Piety but on the commendations of that Judg to whom ye must give an account for not he that commends himself or whom men commend is approved but whom the Lord commendeth 2 Cor. 10.18 If he do not commend our works all the approbations of Mortal men will do
us but little good another day and serve only to tell us that we were cheated by those Encomiums Alas How many men are counted Just and Righteous Honest and Good here on Earth whom the Great Judge will not find so when he comes to examine their deeds by the Rule of Sincerity Sirs matter not whether men do look upon you as devout but see 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 hear searching such Works God himself will be a witness to 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 this 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 this day What need'st thou seek Revenge when thy Master whom thou servest is resolved to judge thy Cause in this 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 this 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 this 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 Wrong and call the Persecuter Fool for his Pains in this day Say not At this rate there will be no living for me in the World trust that God who hath promised to clear thy Innocence in this 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 Wrong will be infinitely recompens'd in this 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 loth 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 untill 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