as they are driven away, loaded with the guilt of all their fins : this is the winding fheet, that fhall ly down with them in the duft. Job xx. 11. Their works follow them into the other world; they go away with the yoke of their tranfgreffions wreathed about their necks. Guilt is a bad companion in life, but how terrible will ic be in death! it lies now, perhaps, like cold brimstone on their benum'd coufciences; but, when death opens the way for fparks. of divine vengeance, like fire, to fall upon it; it will make dreadful flames in the confcience, in which the foul will be as it were wrapt up for ever. Laftly, The wicked are driven away in their wickedness, in fo far as they die under the abfolute power of their wickedness. While there is hope, there is fome restraint on the worst of men: and thefe moral endowments, which God gives to a number of men, for the benefit of mankind in this fe, are fo many allays and refraints upon the impetuous wickednefs of human nature. But all hope being cut off, and thefe gifts withdrawn, the wickedness of the wicked will then arrive at its perfection. As the feeds of grace fown in the hearts of the elect, come to their full maturity at death: fo wicked and hellith difpofitions in the reprobate come then to their highest pitch. Their prayers to God will then be turned to horrible curfes; and their praifes to hideous blafphemies, Matth. xxii. 13. There fhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This gives a difmal but genuine view of the ftate of the wicked in another world.

II. I fhail difcover the hopelefness of the ftate of unrenewed men, at death. It appears to be very hopeless, if we confider thefe four things:

First, Death cuts off all their hopes and profpects of peace and pleafure in this life, Luke xii. 19. "Soul, thou haft much goods laid 66 up for many years, take thine eafe, eat, drink and be merry. "Ver. 20. But God faid unto him, Thou fool, this night thy foul "fhall be required of thee; then whofe fhall thofe things be, which "thou haft provided?" They look for great matters in this world, they hope to increase their wealth, to fee their families profper, and to live at eafe; but death comes like a ftormy wind, and flakes off all their fond hopes, like green fruit from off a tree. "When he is

"about to fill his belly, God fhall caft the fury of his wrath upon him," Job xx. 23. He may begin a web of contrivances, for advancing his worldly intereft: but before he gets it wrought out, death comes and cuts it out. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth: in "that very day his thoughts perifh,” Pfal. cxlvi. 4.

Secondly, When death comes, they have no folid grounds to hope for eternal happiness. "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, tho' "he hath gained, when God taketh away his foul?" Job xxvii. 8. Whatever hopes they fondly entertain, they are not founded on God's word, which is the only fure ground of hope: if they knew their own cafe, they would fee themfelves only happy in a dream. And indeed.

what

what hope can they have? The law is plain against them, and condemns them. The curfes of it (thefe cords of death) are about them already. The Saviour, whom they flighted, is now their Judge; and their Judge is their enemy. How then can they hope? They have bolted the door of mercy against themfelves by their unbelief. They have defpifed the remedy, and therefore muft die without mercy. They have no faving intereft in Jefus Chrift, the only channel of conveyance, in which mercy flows; and therefore they can never tafte of it. The fword of juftice guards the door of mercy, fo as none can enter in, but the members of the mystical body of Chrift, over whofe heads is a covert of atoning blood, the Mediator's blood. The fe indeed may pafs without harm, for juftice has nothing to require of them. But others cannot pafs, fince they are not in Chrift: death comes to them with the fting in it, the fting of unpardoned guilt. It is armed against them with all the force the fanction of a holy law can give it, I Cor. xv. 56. "The fting of death is fin, and the ftrength of fin is the law." When that law was given on Sinai, "the whole mount quaked greatly," Exod. xix. 18. When the Redeemer was making fatisfaction for the elect's breaking of it, "the earth did quake, "and the rocks rent," Matth. xxvii. 51. What poffible ground of hope then is there to the wicked man, when death comes upon armed with the force of this law? How can he escape that fire, which "burnt unto the midft of heaven?" Deut. iv 11. How fhall he be able to stand in that finoke, that "afcended as the finoak of a furnace?" Exod. xix. 18. How will he endure the terrible" thunders and "lightnings," ver. 16. and dwell in" the darknefs, clouds and thick "darknefs?" Deut. iv. 11. All these refemblances heaped together, do but faintly reprefent the fearful tempeft of wrath and indignation, which fhall pursue the wicked to the lowest hell: and for ever abide on them, who are driven to darkness at death.

him

Thirdly, Death roots up their delufive hopes of eternal happiness: then it is their covenant with death, and agreement with hell is broken. They are awakned out of their golden dreams, and at length lift up their eyes Job viii. 14. "Whole hope thall be cut off, and whofe "truft fhall be a fpider's web." They truft áll fhall be well with them after death but this their trust is but a web woven out of their own bowels, with a great deal of art and induftry. They wrap themfelves up in this their hope, as the fpider wraps herself in her web. But it is but a weak and flender defence; for however it may withstand the threatnings of the word of God; death, that befom of deftruction, will fweep them and it both away, fo as there fhall not be the least fhred of it left them; but he, who this moment will not let his hope go, fhall next moment be utterly hopeless Death overturns the house built on the fand: it leaves no man under the power of delufion.

Laftly, Death makes their state abfolutely, and for ever hopeless. Matters cannot be retrieved and amended after death. For (1) Time once gone can never be recalled. If cries or tears, price or pains,

could

could bring time back again; the wicked man might have hope in his death. But tears of blood will not prevail; nor will his roaring for millions of ages, cause it to return. The fun will not stand still until

:

the fluggard awake, and enter on his journey; and when once it is gone down, he needs not expect the night to be turned into day for his Jake; he muft lodge thro' the long night of eternity, where his time left him. (2.) There is no returning to this life, to amend what is amifs it is a state of probation and trial, which terminates at death; and therefore we cannot return to it again: it is but once we thus live, and once we die. Death carries the wicked man to his own place, Acts i, 25. This life is our working-day: death clofeth our day and our work together. We may readily imagine the wicked might have fome hope in their death; if, after death has opened their eyes, they could return to life, and have but the trial of one Sabbath, one offer of Chrift, one day, or but one hour more, to make up their peace with God: but, 66 man lieth down, and rifeth not till the heavens be no more; they fhall not awake, nor be raised out of their fleep," Job xiv. 12. Lastly, In the other world, men have no accefs to get their ruined ftate and condition retrieved, if they never fo fain would. "For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in "the grave, whither thou goeft," Ecclef. ix. 10. Now, a man may flee from the wrath to come; now he may get into a refuge: but when once death has done its work, the door is but there are no more offers of mercy, no more pardons: where the tree is fallen, there it must ly.

Let what has been faid, be carefully pondered, and that it may be of ufe, let me exhort you,

First, To take heed that ye entertain no hopes of heaven, but what are built on a folid foundation: tremble to think what fair hopes of happiness death fweeps away like cobwebs; how the hopes of many are cut off, when they feem to themselves to be on the very threshold of heaven; how, in the moment they expected to be carried by angels into Abraham's bosom, into the regions of blifs and peace, they are carried by devils into the fociety of the dainned in hell, into the place of torment, and regions of horror. I beseech you to beware, (1.) Of a hope built up, where the ground was never cleared. The wife builder digged deep, Luke vi. 48. Were your hopes of heaven never fhaken; but ye have had good hopes all your days? Alas for it; you may fee the mystery of your cafe explained, Luke xi. 21. "When

a ftrong man armed keepeth his place, his goods are in peace." But if they have been fhaken, take heed left there have only fome. breaches been made in the old building, which you have got repaired again, by ways and means of your own I affure you your hope (howfoever fair a building it is) is not to trust to; unless your old hopes have been razed, and you have built on a foundation quite new. (2) Beware of that hope which looks brifk in the dark; but lofeth all its luftre, when it is fet in the light of God's word, when it is

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exa.

examined and tried by the touchftone of divine revelation, John iii 20. "For every one that doth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to "the light, left his deeds fhould be reproved Ver 21 But he that

doth the truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made mani"feft, that they are wrought in God" That hope, which cannot abide fcripture-trial, but finks when fearched into by facred truth, is a delufion, and not a true hope: for God's word is always a friend to the graces of God's Spirit, and an enemy to delufion. (3.) Beware of that hope, which ftands without being fupported by fcripture evidences. Alas! many are big with hopes, who cannot give, because they really have not any fcripture-grounds for them. Thou hopeft that all fhall be well with thee after death: but what word of God is it, on which thou haft -been caufed to hope? Pfal. cxix. 49. What fcriptue-evidence haft thou to prove, that thy hope is not the hope of the hypocrite? What haft thou, after impartial felf-examination, as in the fight of God, found in thyfelf, which the word of God determines to be a fure evidence of his right,to eternal life, who is poffeffed of it? Numbers of men are ruined with fuch hopes as ftand unfupported by fcripture-evidence.. Men are fond and tenacious of these hopes; but death will throw them down and leave the felf-deceiver hopelefs. Laftly,Beware of that hope of heaven, which doth not prepare and difpofe you for heaven, which never makes your foul more holy, 1 John iii. 3. "Every man that "hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure" The hope of the most part of men is, rather a hope to be free of pain and torment in another life; than a hope of true happiness, the nature whereof is not understood and difcerned: "and therefore it stakes down in floth and indolence, and does not excite to mortification and a heavenly life. So far are they from hoping aright for heaven; that they muft own, if they fpeak their genuine fentiments, removing out of this world into any other place whatfoever, is rather their fear than their hope. The glory of the heavenly city does not at all draw their hearts upwards towards it; nor do they lift up their heads with joy, in the profpect of arriving at it. If they had the true hope of the marriage-day, they would, as the birde, the Lamb's wife, be making tbemfelves ready for it, Rev xix. 7. But their hopes are produced by their floth, and their floth is nourished by their hopes Oh! Sirs, as ye would not be driven away hopeless in your death, beware of these hopes. Raze them now, and build on a new foundation; left ́death leave not one stone of them upon another, and ye never be able to hope any more.

Secondly, Haften, O finners, out of your wickedness, out of your finful ftate, and out of your wicked life: if ye would not at death be driven away in your wickednefs. Remember the fatal end of the wicked man, as the text reprefents it. I know there is a great difference in the death of the wicked, in refpect of fome circumftances: but all of them, in their death, agree in this, that they are driven away in their wickedness. Some of them die refolutely, as if they

fcorn

fcorned to be afraid. Some in raging defpair, fo filled with horror, that they cry out, as if they were already in hell: others in fullen defpondency, oppreft with fears, infomuch, that their hearts are funk within him, upon the remembrance of mif-fpent time, and the view they have 'of eternity; having neither head nor heart to do any thing for their own relief. And others die ftupid: they lived like beafts, and they die like beafts, without any concern on their fpirits about their eternal ftate. They groan under their bodily diftrefs, but have no fenfe of the danger of their fouls. One may with almost as much profpect of fuccefs fpeak to a ftone, as to speak to them: vain is the attempt to teach them, nothing that can be faid moves them. To difcourfe to them, either of the joys of heaven, or the torments of hell, is to plow on a rock, or beat the air. Some die like the foolih virgins, dreaming of heaven: their foreheads are steeled against the fears of hell, with prefumptuous hopes of heaven. Their bulinefs, who would be useful to them, is not to answer doubts about the cafe of their fouls; but to difpute them out of their falfe hopes. But which way foever the unconverted man dies, he is driven away in his wickedness. O dreadful cafe! Oh, let the confideration of fo horrible a departure out of this world, move you to betake your felves to Jefus Chrift, as an all-fufficient Saviour, an Almighty Redeemer. Let it prevail to drive you out of your wickedness, to holiness of heart and life. Though you reckon it pleasant to tive in wickednefs; you can-not but own it is better to die in it. And if you leave it not in time, you fhall go in your wickedness to hell, the proper place of it, that it may be fet there in its own bafe. For when you are paffing out of this world, all your fins from the eldest to the youngest of them, will fwarm about you, hang upon you, accompany you to the other world; and, as fo many furies, furround you there for ever

- Laftly, O be concerned for others, especially for your relations, that they may not continue in their finful natural state, but be brought into a state of falvation; left they be driven away in their wickedness at death What would ye not do to prevent any of your friends dying an untimely and violent death? But alas! do not ye fee them in hazard of being driven away in their wickedness? Is not death approaching them, even the youngest of them? And are they not strangers to true Christianity, remaining in that ftate in which they came into the world? Oh! make hafte to pluck the brand out of the fire, before it be burnt to afhes. The death of relations often leaves a fting in the hearts of these they leave behind them; for that they do not do for their fouls, as they had opportunity; and that now the opportunity is for ever taken out of their hands.