We preach not to you Ifs and Ands: It is not, perhaps there is a Heaven and Hell: But as fure as you are here, and muft anon go hence, you must as shortly quit this world, and take up your abode in the world that's now to us invifible. And no tongue can exprefs how fenfible you will then be of the things that you will not now be made fenfible of. O then with what a dreadful view will you look before you and bebind you! Bebind you, upon Time, and fay, It is gone, and never will return: and hear confcience ask you, How you spert it, and what you did with it? Before you upon Eternity, and fay, It is come, and to the ungodly will be an Eternity of woe. What a peal will confcience then ring in the unbelievers cars? [Now the day is come that I was forewarned of! the day and change which I would not believe! whither muft I now go! what muft I now do! what fhall I fay before the Lord for all the fin that I have wilfully committed! for all the time of mercy which I loft! How fhall I answer my contempt of Chrift! my neglect of means, and enmity to a holy ferions Life! What a diftra&ted wretch was I, to condemn and difkke them that spent their lives, in preparation for this day! when now I would give a thousand worlds, to be but one of the meanest of them! O that the Church doors, and the door of grace, were open to me now, as once they were, when I refused to enter. Many a time did I hear of this day, and would not be lieve, or foberly confider of it. Many a time was I intreated to prepare and I thought an hypocritical trifling fhew, would have been taken for a fufficient preparation! Now who must be my companions! How long muft I dwell with woe and horrour! God by his Minifters was wont to call to me, How long, Ofcorrer, wilt thou delight in fcorming? How Long wilt thou go on impenitently in thy fally? And now I must cry cut, How long! How long muft I feel the wrath of the Almighty! the unquenchable fire ! the immortal warm! Alas, for ever! When thall I receive one moments cafe? when shall I fee one glimpse of hope? O never, never, never! Now I perceive what Satan meant in his temptations! what fin intended! what God meant in the threatnings of his Law! what grace was good for! what Chrißt was fent for and what was the defign and meaning of the Gofpel! and how I fhould have I 2 valued valued the offers and promifes of life! Now I understand what Minifters meant to be fo importunate with me for my converfion; and what was the caufe that they would even have kneeled to me, to have procured my return to God in time. Now I understand that holiness was not a needlefs thing that Chrift and Grace deferved better entertainment than contempt; that precious time was worth more than to be wafted id y; that an immortal foul, and life eternal should have been more regarded, and not caft away for fo short, fo bafe a fleshly plealure. Now all these things are plain and open to my understanding: But alas, it's now too late! I know that now to my woe and torment, which I might have known in time to my recovery and joy. For the Lords fake, and for your fouls fake, open your eyes, and forefee the things that are even at hand, and prevent thefe fruitless lamentations. Judge but as you will all Shortly judge, and live but as you will wish that you had lived, and I defire no more. Be ferious as if you faw the things that you say you do believe. I know this ferious difcourfe of another life, is ufually ungrateful, to men that are conscious of their frangeness to it, and taking up their portion here, are loth to be tormented before the time. This is not the fmoothing pleafing way. But remember that we have flesh as well as you; which longs not to be accounted troublefome or precife: which loves not to difplease or be difspleased: And had we no higher light and life, we should talk as men that faw and felt no more than fight and flesh can reach: But when we are preaching and dying, and you are bearing and dying, and we believe and know, that you are now going to fee the things we fpeak of, and death will ftraightway draw afide the veil, and fhew you the great amazing light, it's time for us to speak, and you to bear, with all our hearts. It's time for us to be ferions, when we are fo near the place where all are ferious. There are none that are in jeft in Heaven or Hell: pardon us therefore if we jest not at the door, and in the way to fuch a ferrous ftate. All that fee and feel are ferious: and therefore all that truly believe, muft be fo too. Were your eyes all opened this hour to fee what we believe, we appeal to your own confciences, whether it would not make you more ferious than we. Marvel not if you fee Believers make another matter of their falvation, than thofe that have hired their understandings in fervice to their fense; and think the world is no bigger or better than their globe or map; and reacheth no further than they can kenn. As long as we fee you ferious about Lands and Lordships, and titles and honours, the rattles and tarrying Irons of the cheating world, you must give us leave (whether you will or no) to be ferious about the life eternal. They that fcramble fo eagerly for the bonds of worldly riches, and devour fo greedily the driffe of fenfual delights, methinks fhould blush (if fuch animals had the blushing property) to blame or deride us for being a little (alas, too little) carneft in the matters of God and our falvation. Can you not pardon us if we love God a little more than you love your lufts; and if we run as faft for the Crown of Life, as you run after a feather or a fly? or if we breath as hard after Chrift in holy defires, as you do in blowing the bubble of vain-glory? If a thousand pound a year in paffage to a grave, and the chains of darkness, be worth your labour; give us leave to believe that mercy in order to everlafting mercy, grace in order to glory, and glory as the end of grace, is worth our labour, and infinitely more. Your end is narrow, though your way be broad: and our end is broad, though our way be narrow. You build as Miners in Gole-pits do, by digging downwards into the dark; and yet you are laborious: Though we begin on earth, we build towards Heaven, where an attractive loadftone draws up the workmen and the work; and fhall we loiter under fo greatencouragements? Have you confidered that Faith is the be bolding grace? the evidence of things not feen? and yet have you the hearts to blame Believers, for doing all that they can do,in a case of such unspeakable everlasting confequence. If we are Believers, Heaven and Hell are as it were open to our fight? And would you with us to trifle in the fight of Heaven? or to leap into Hell, when we fee it as before us? what name can exprefs the inhumane cruelty offuch a with c% motion? or the unchriftian folly of thofe that will obey O give us leave to be ferious for a Kingdom which by Faith we fee! Blame us for this, and blame us that we are not befide our Lelves. Pardon us that we are awake, when the thunder of Jehovah's voice doth call to us, denouncing everJafting wrath to all that are fenfual and ungodly. Were we allcep, as you are, we would lie fill and take no heed what God or man faid to us. Pardon us that we are Chriftians, and believe these things, fecing you profefs the fame your felves. Difclaim not the praaice till you dare difclaim the profeffion. If we were Infidels, we would do as the ungodly world: we would pursue our prefent pleasures and commodity, and fay, that things above us are nothing to us; and would take Religion to be the Troubler of the world: Bat till we are 'Infidels or Atheists at the heart, we cannot do fo. Forgive us that we are men; if you take it to be pardonable. Were we braits, we would eat, and drink, and play, and never trouble our selves or others, with the care of our falvation, or the fears of any death but one; or with refifting fenfual inclinations, and meditating on the life to come; but would take our cafe and pleasure while we may. At least forgive us that we are not blocks or stones; that we have life and feeling. Were we infenfate clods, we would not fee the light of Heaven, nor hear the roaring of the Lion, nor fear the threats of God himself: we would not complain, or figh, or groan, because we feel not. If therefore we may have leave to be awak,and to be in our wits, to be Chriftians; to be men; to be creatures that have life and fenfe, forgive us that we believe the living God; that we cannot laugh at Heaven and Hell, nor jeft at the threatned wrath of the Almighty. If thefe things mult make us the object of the worlds reproach and malice, let me rather be a reproached man, than an honoured beaft; and a bated Chrifian, than a beloved Infidel; and rather let me live in the midft of malice and contempt, than pals through honour unto shame, through mirth to mifery, and a fenflf, to a feeling death. Hate us when we are in Heaven, and fee who will be the fufferer by it. If ever we thould begin tonod and relapse towards your hypocritical formality, and fenAefs indifferency, our our lively fight of the world invifible, by a ferious faith, would prefently awake us, and force us confidently to conclude AUT SANCTUS AUT BRUTUS: There is practically and predominantly no Mean. He'l prove a BRUIT that is not a SAINT. CHAP. III. Aving done with this general conviction and exhorta-. tion to unbelieving Hypocrites, I proceed to acquaint Believers with their Duty, in feveral particulars. 1. Worship God as Believers, ferve him with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a confuming fire, Heb. 12. 28, 29. A feeing faith, if well excited, would kindle love, defire,fear, and all praying graces. No man prayes well, that doth not well know what he prayes for. When it comes to feeing, all men can cry loud, and pray when praying will do no good. They will not then fpeak fleepily, or by rote, Fides intuendo, amorem recipit, amorem fufcitat: Cor flagrans amore defideria, gemitus, orationes fpirat. Faith is the burning-glass which beholding God, receiveth the beats of his communicated love, and inflameth the heart with love to him again; which mounteth up by groans and prayers, till it reach its original, and love for ever reft in love. 2. Defire and use the creature as Believers. Interpret all things as they receive their meaning, from the things unfeen : understand them in no other fenfe. It's only God and the life to come that can tell you what's good or bad for you in the world. And therefore the ungodly that cannot go to Heaven for counfel, are carryed about by meer deceits. Take heed what you love and take heed of that you love. God is very jealous of our love: He fheds abroad his own love in our hearts, that our hearts may be fruitful in love to him, which is his chief delight. By love he commandeth love; that we may fuitably move toward him, and center in him. He communicateth fo much for the procuring of a little, that we should endeavour to give him all that little, and fhed none of it inordinately upon the creature by the way. Nothing is great, or greatly |