THIS Chapter the Hebrews call the Summary, or an Abridgment of the whole Law; it is the Song of Moſes, which he compoſed for, and ſung to the Children of Iſrael before his Death: He was highly ſenſible what a rebellious and ſtiff-necked People he had had the Conduct and Government of, and by Divine Inſtinct or Inſpiration foreſaw their greater Rebellion after his Departure from them, and the Dreadful Judgments that would fall down upon them; plainly foretold, that after his Death God would pour down upon them the fierceſt Inſtances of his Anger and heavy Diſpleaſure, for their Violation of his Commandments, for their Nonconformity to his Divine Laws and Preſcriptions: We find him therefore, in the Cloſe of the foregoing Chapter, ſummoning the Elders of their Tribes, and their Officers, to whom he communicated his Preſcience or Fore-knowledge of their utterly corrupting themſelves after his Death, and of the Evil which would befall them in the latter days for their doing Evil in the ſight of the Lord, for their provoking him to Anger through the work of their hands, verſ. 27, 28, 29.

And indeed, what Moſes thus foretold, exactly came to paſs; for when they were come into the Promiſed Land, and had received particular Command utterly to deſtroy all the Idolatrous Inhabitants thereof, for fear they ſhould be inveigled by them, and drawn away to their Idol-Worſhip, and thoſe Abominable Pollutions they were infamouſly guilty of; yet, contrary to the expreſs Command of God, they executed not this Severity, they deſtroyed not the Nations, but mingled among the Heathen, and learned their Works; they went a whoring with their own inventions, they ſerved their Idols, and ſacrificed their Sons and Daughters unto Devils. Thus to their Idolatry they added Blood-guiltineſs, of the higheſt degree, the deepeſt Dye, even the moſt barbarous and unnatural, the Blood of their deareſt and innocent Children. Theſe, Moſes told them, would be ſuch Provocations, as would moſt juſtly inflame the vehement Anger and Diſpleaſure of God, as would enforce the Almighty to withdraw his Favour and Protection from them; ſo to abhor them, tho his own peculiar People, that he would give them over into the hands of the Heathen, and ſuffer ſuch as hated them, to Rule and Lord it over them. All this Moſes faithfully repreſented to the Elders of their Tribes, and to their Officers, but withal preſcribed them an effectual way to Peace and Reconciliation with their God, to render him propitious and favourable to them, and that was, a turning unto him with true and faithful Repentance: This, he told them, would be the only way to oblige the Lord to Pity and Commiſeration: If they ſincerely repented, their ſins then, tho of ſo high and provoking a Nature, would be blotted out, and the times of refreſhing would come; God then would hear their Complaint, God then would make his Arrows drunk with their Enemies Blood, verſ. 42. and Crown them, his People, with Victory and good Succeſs. But alaſs! Moſes had fearful Apprehenſions of their Obdurateneſs and Impenitency, of their Blindneſs and Stupidity, that they would loſe all their true Judgment, that for want of underſtanding, they would deſpiſe his wholſom Counſels and Inſtruction; therefore he very pathetically and Affectionately prays for them in the Words of my Text, Oh that they were wiſe, that they underſtood this, that they would conſider their latter end!

From which Words I will endeavour to ſhew you, I. What it is to conſider. II. The Benefit of Conſideration. III. What is meant by the latter End, the Object of Conſideration. IV. The great Advantage of conſidering the latter End. V. That to conſider our latter End is an Argument of our Wiſdom and Underſtanding. VI. I ſhall make a particular Application, and then a'done.

Oh that they were wiſe, &c.

But Firſt, In the firſt place, What it is to conſider.

And here, to conſider, is to make a proper Uſe of the rational Faculty which God hath implanted in every one of us, to exerciſe the ſeveral Capacities of the Soul, to reflect upon our ſelves, to meaſure our Motions, our Actions, by the Standard of Reaſon. Whoever, through a manly and ſerious Application of his Mind, takes a juſt and an impartial View of himſelf, of all ſuch things as relate to and concern him, and accordingly governs his Will and Affections, determins his Behaviour and Deportment; ſuch an one is a conſiderative Man. When a Man ſuffers not his Paſſions to tumultuate and ferment into a Storm, nor himſelf to be carried away with Exorbitant Luſts, but embraces in his Mind the whole Nature, Tendency, and all the Circumſtances of things; when he weighs them in the Scale of Reaſon, and diligently examins, carefully obſerves which way the Scale turns, and proportions his Courſe, his Actions to ſuch a diligent Obſervance and careful Examination; ſuch a Man is a wiſe and ſerious, a thinking and conſiderative Perſon: And this it is, in ſhort, to conſider; which brings me to the ſecond obſervable, namely,

The Benefit of conſideration.

It is a great Art and an Excellence in Man to know how to think, how to conſider; it is a thing that requires ſome time for its Accompliſhment and Perfection, ſome Pains, ſome Induſtry for its Acquiſition; and whoever would but take the Pains, will but be at the expence of ſome Labour to ſeek it, will certainly find it; and when he hath found it, nothing will be more uſeful and neceſſary, more beneficial and Advantagious to him; nothing will more avail to the good Conduct and well-government of his Life and Converſation: For then he will be able to look into the Nature of Humane Actions, to weigh well the Cauſes, and compare the Conſequence of things, and to exerciſe that Senſe and Reaſon which God hath plentifully enrich'd and endow'd him with: And what can better contribute to his Peace and Happineſs, to his Security and Preſervation? If he communeth but with his own Heart, and acts according to the Illumination of his Underſtanding, to the Dictates of Reaſon and Convictions of Conſcience, if he ſeriouſly revolves in his Mind the Reward of Vertue and the Danger of Vice; in all probability he will ſtand in Awe, and not ſin; he will have a care of affronting his God by wickedneſs and impiety; and this is the Benefit, this is the Advantage of Conſideration. Alas! if we ſail without Chart, without Compaſs, without a Pilot, what can we expect but a fatal Shipwrack? If Men will not endeavour to diſpoſe themſelves to a ſerious Conſideration and Reflection upon what they are a going to do; but, as the Horſe into the Battle, ruſh upon things with Indiſcretion and Precipitancy; what can be the conſequence of ſuch their Folly, but Ruin and Deſtruction? It is the worthy Obſervation of Philo, That the firſt reaſon of all the dangers and miſcarriages of Men lies in their running on with the boiſtrous Tide of Paſſion; and that the firſt hopes of ſafety flow from a ſober reaſoning of the matter. But behold a greater than Philo is here: God himſelf lays the blame of all Men's Miſery upon Inconſideration. Thus God complains of his People, Iſa. 1.4. Ah ſinful Nation, a people laden with Iniquity! And why were they ſo? Why forſook they the Lord, and provoked him to Anger? It was becauſe of their heedleſneſs and Inadvertency: Iſrael doth not know, my People doth not conſider, verſ 3. Thus Ezekiel 18.27, 28. Who is he that turneth away from his Wickedneſs, and doth that which is lawful and right? The Conſiderative Perſon, He repents becauſe he conſidereth: So that Inconſideration is the chief Impediment, the principal Obſtruction of Repentance, which is the Reaſon why God, according to Solomon's Aſſertion, will ſeverely puniſh Men for it at the Day of Judgment, Eccleſ. 12.14. God will bring every Work into Judgment, with every ſecret thing, i. e. ſay the generality of Latiniſts, Pro omni Errato, with every Error or Miſcarriage; i. e. He will bring into Judgment the inconſiderateneſs of Men: And this Tranſlation the Seventy ſeem to approve of, Every ſecret thing, i. e. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , now 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , eſt iucurioſe aſpicere, vel per incuriam mentis minus attentis oculis & praeterire, To behold or look upon a thing with a negligent or careleſs Eye. This Heedleſneſs and Neglect, this Remiſsneſs and Inconſideration in our Actions God will puniſh at the Day of Judgment; and there is all the Reaſon and Juſtice imaginable in ſo doing, becauſe from Inconſideration flow all Vicious and Immmoral Actions.

But this by the By.

Thus Pſalm 4.4. What curbs and reſtrains a Man from the Commiſſion of any wicked Act? A withdrawing into his Chamber, and there communing with his own Heart; ſuch a Solitude, ſuch a private Retirement and Communing, darts the moſt powerful and auſpicious Influence upon the Hearts of Men: Stand in awe and ſin not; commune with your own Hearts upon your Beds, and be ſtill. Thus in the Goſpel; Who were they that heard the Word of God, and were no better for it? Such as heard it ſlightly and ſuperficially, ſuch as ſuffered it not to enter into their Mind and Conſideration: Without Conſideration it was impoſſible for it to take root and grow, or to digeſt into Principles of Action; ſome Seed, indeed, there was, which arriv'd to maturity and perfection, which was proſperous and fruitful; but the reaſon was, becauſe it was ſown in an honeſt and a good Heart; ſuch heard the Word and kept it, i. e. Retain'd it in their Thoughts and Conſideration, and ſo brought forth Fruit with patience, Luke 8.12, 13, 14, 15.

But thus much of the Benefit of Conſideration: I come now to the third Obſervable, Namely, To ſhew you what is meant by the Latter End, which is the Object of the Conſideration here in the Text: Oh that they were wiſe, that they underſtood this, that they would conſider their latter end! That is, as if he ſhould have ſaid, Oh that they would ſee the things which belong unto their Peace! Oh that the Evil I forewarn them of, may deter them from avowed Wickedneſs and Impiety, may oblige them to a conſtant Living up to the Precepts and Obligations of the Divine Laws! If not, Oh that the Judgments of God may convince them of their Errors, and reclaim their Sins, that they would ſtimulate and excite them to Repentance, to a due ſenſe▪ and conſideration what it is to ſin againſt God, to an underſtanding what will be the Event of perſiſting in Wickedneſs, what will be the Reward of their Impenitence, both in this Life and the Life to come; ſo that by the Latter End is to be underſtood not only Death, but, what follows after Death, the Judgment, an Appearance before the dreadful Tribunal of Almighty God, there to receive a Reward or a Puniſhment proportionable to what we have tranſacted upon the Stage of this World. Oh that all you, who hear me this day, would underſtand and conſider this great and certain Truth! That it is not only appointed unto all men once to die, but after this the Judgment. This is the import, this is the ſignification of the Latter End; Death is our Latter End, but the Reſurrection, the future Judgment is a Latter End beyond it. The Soul is of an immortal Nature, incapable of any Ceſſation, can never ceaſe to be; the Body muſt naturally die, it's noble Frame and admirable Contexture muſt be diſſolved and taken in Pieces, it muſt return to its original Duſt and Corruption; tho this is but a tranſitory and temporal Death, this is reparable by a Reſurrection; it muſt certainly be raiſed again, and be re-united to the Soul, and ſhare with it in whatever ſtate or Condition it ſhall be ſentenced unto; if it hath not ſerved God, but the Devil, it ſhall then ſuffer a ſecond Death, after its reunition to the Soul, they ſhall both be depreſs'd into a ſtate of Miſery, a State where are endleſs and eaſeleſs Torments; a Miſery, which is not Temporal or Tranſitory, but durable and permanent to all Eternity, and who can dwell with everlaſting burnings? Whoſoever is wiſe will conſider this.

Men and Brethren, let me uſe the Strain of the Holy Apoſtle to King Agrippa, Acts 26.27. Do you believe the Scriptures? Do you believe a Reſurrection, a Judgment to come? I know you believe it: May I ſay, I know you remember it? This I dare ſay, that if you do not, I know you have no cauſe not to remember it: A thing of the higheſt Importance, a thing of the greateſt Concernment that ever will befall you, a thing that is moſt ſure and certain, a thing that you can as little avoid, as you can avoid Death, and a thing that muſt determin of your Eternal State, and do you not remember it? I am ſure we have all cauſe to remember it, we have all the reaſon imaginable to underſtand and conſider our Latter End.

If there be any here of a Sadducean Temper, that deny the Reſurrection; or, with the Corinthian Naturalist, queſtion How are the Dead raiſed up? And with what Body do they come? Such are fooliſh and inconſiderate; ſuch Queſtions flow from Incogitancy and Indiſcretion, ſuch are horribly deceived; and they will find themſelves groſly miſtaken, for there will be a Reſurrection from the Dead: God hath certainly appointed a day in the which he will judge the World in righteouſneſs, by that Man whom he he hath ordain'd, whereof he hath given aſſurance unto all men, in that he hath raiſed him from the Dead Acts 17.31. How ſtrangely then will ſuch Sadducees, or any, who are mindleſs of a future ſtate, be ſurpriz'd at the Reſurrection of the Dead? Oh! that we had been wiſe and conſider'd this. Oh! let us lie ſtill in the Duſt, will they then cry, let the Earth cover us, Let the Mountains and the Rocks fall upon us. Alas! the Trumpet will ſound, and they ſhall be rais'd from the Dead, they ſhall hear this terrible Voice, Ariſe you Wretches and come to Judgment; they will then find that, which Solomon hath aſſerted, to be infallibly true, Eccleſ. 11.9. Know that for all theſe things God will bring thee into Judgment.

And this leads me to the fourth Obſervable, namely,

The great Advantage of conſidering the latter End. Oh that they were wiſe, that they underſtood this, that they would conſider their latter End!

It is the Saying of the Wiſe Man, Eccluſ. 7.36. Whatſoever thou takeſt in hand, remember the end, and thou ſhalt never do amiſs. The Latiniſt reads it, In omnibus Operibus vel Sermonibus tuis memorare Noviſſima & in aeternum non peccabis, In all thy Works or Words remember the laſt things, and thou wilt never commit a Sin unto Death; ſuch a Remembrance would make it morally impoſſible for thee to commit a preſumptuous Sin, a wilful and deliberate Tranſgreſſion. Now the Four last things to be continually remembred, are, Death, a Judgment to come, Hell, and Celestial Glory. And what more horrible than Death? What more terrible than ſuch a Judgment? What more intolerable than Eternal Fire? And what worthier Object can there be for us to exert our Faculties upon, than God and the Manſions of everlaſting Felicity? How many Sins might we have avoided in the courſe of our Lives, if we had had the ſerious remembrance and apprehenſion of theſe things? And how many Sins might we yet avoid, if we would but endeavour to have theſe things, as Belſhazzar's Hand-writing upon the Wall, conſtantly in our Eye? Theſe things, as the Pilot the Ship, would direct and influence our whole Life and Converſation, would help us to ſteer our Courſe, and ſafely bring us to the Haven of Bliſs and Happineſs. Such would be the great Advantage of conſidering our latter End: If Men would but thus conſider, no Temptation would then take hold of them, nothing would ruffle and diſcompoſe their Conſcience, it would be void of Offence both towards God and towards Men. But alas! In this lapſed and degenerate Age, in this miſerable and naughty World, how many are there that have languid, luke-warm and feeble Opinions of Religion? If Judgment may be formed according to their Vicious and immoral Converſation, what a Deluge of Prophaneneſs and Impiety, Atheiſm and Infidelity overflows this Sinful Land, this poor Nation? How many live, as tho they believed that Vertue and Vice, that God and the Devil were Words ſignifying nothing, as if they were the Extract of ſome melancholy and pregnant Brain, as if they were invented meerly for Mens Terror and Affrightment? The Halter, the Gibbet, and the moſt terrible of Temporal Puniſhments too, have as little Influence upon Mens Lives, makes as ſmall an Impreſſion upon the Minds of Men, as thoſe which are Eternal: How many have ſuffer'd as Murderers, as Thieves, as Evil-doers? And yet Men will not take Warning and Example; Men will not be deterr'd from committing the like abominable, Vile and Enormous Offences. Every Aſſize gives us too many freſh and ſad Inſtances of this Truth. Oh that Men would become wiſe, and conſider not only Temporal, but Eternal Puniſhments! Such a Conſideration would, if any thing, oblige them to follow the important buſineſs of Religion, To hurt no body by Word or Deed, to keep their hands from picking and ſtealing: Such a Conſideration would enforce them to labour truly to get their own living, and to do their Duty in that Station which Divine Providence hath allotted to them.

There is not certainly a more effectual way to revive the drooping Spirit of Chriſtian Religion in the World, than ſeriouſly to contemplate upon, and conſider our Latter End, That we muſt ſhortly die, and come to Judgment, and there receive a Reward according to our Deeds. If we were but poſſeſs'd with a warm and conſtant Senſe of theſe things, we ſhould, in all probability, endeavour to walk, circumſpectly, not as Foools, but as wiſe, to be holy in all manner of Converſation.

Such is the advantage of a Religious Conſideration. Alas! were there but mature Thoughts, would but Men be wrought upon to act as reaſonable Creatures; would they but judiciouſly and ſoberly weigh things in the Balance of their Underſtanding, they would ſeldom or never be found wanting in their Duty and Obligation: If Men would once entertain ſerious Thoughts of Religion, they would ſoon ſet open their Ears to its ſweet and charming Language; if they would but fix their Eyes upon it, they would ſoon be captivated with its incomparable Beauty, it would preſently attract their love and admiration, and enforce them to embrace it with all profound reſpect and affection: A conſideration of our latter end, a ſerious reflection upon Eternity, this would put the Soul into ſuch a frame and poſture, as would make it reſtleſs and uneaſy, wrack'd and impatient, till it had made its Peace with an incens'd Judge, by Repentance not to be repented of; till it had prepar'd it ſelf for a comfortable Appearance at his Bar, for a glorious advancement into an endleſs ſtate of Bliſs and Immortality: Such is the great advantage of conſidering our latter end. Oh that they were wiſe, that they underſtood this, that they would conſider their latter end!

And this leads me to the fifth and laſt Obſervable, Namely, That to conſider our latter end, is an Argument of our Wiſdom and Underſtanding.

And here, if we conſider our latter end as we ought, it we ſeriouſly meditate upon Death and a Judgment to come, then we ſhall prepare our ſelves, and make ready for it by purity of Life, and holineſs of Converſation; ſuch a Conſideration will create in our Minds an abhorrency and deteſtation of Sin, and plant in us Vertue and Goodneſs, a perfect and ſincere love of God and Religion; and this, I am ſure, is the greateſt Wiſdom, the nobleſt Underſtanding.

The fear of the Lord, ſaith the Royal Pſalmiſt, is the beginning of Wiſdom: a good Ʋnderſtanding have all they that do thereafter, Pſalm 110.10. i. e. There is no ſuch excellent and prudential courſe, as the preſerving in our Breaſts a juſt and due reverence of God, an awe to his Laws, and a dread to his Judgments; and all this is the happy effect of conſidering our latter end. So teach us to number our Days, is the fervent Prayer of Moſes, Pſal. 90.12. So teach us to conſider our latter end, that we may apply our Hearts unto Wiſdom, i. e. to the important buſineſs of Religion; thus ſhall we lay up in ſtore for our ſelves a good foundation againſt the time to come; thus ſhall we lay hold on Eternal Life: And this if we do, it will be a demonſtrative argument of our Wiſdom and Underſtanding. And that you may be perſwaded to incline your Ear unto Wiſdom, and apply your Hearts to Ʋnderſtanding, I ſhall ſet before you the happineſs of a Religious, and the folly of a vicious and an Immoral Converſation; and this I cannot better do, than by referring you to the third Chapter of the Proverbs: You will ſee there, how the Wiſe Man ſets off Religion in the moſt beautiful and glorious Dreſs, enumerates there its peculiar excellencies, and particular advantages; ver. 16. He repreſents her as a great and generous Princeſs, diſtributing Gifts to her Subjects, length of Days is in her right hand, and in her left hand Riches and Honour: and ver. 17. Her ways are ways of pleaſantneſs, and all her paths are peace; i. e. They procure a bleſſed Tranquility in a Mans Mind and Conſcience, Proſperity in all his enterprizes, and Eternal Reſt with God in Glory. The Religious Man hath Peace and an Heaven in his Boſom; the greateſt tranſports of Joy poſſeſs and ſurround his Breaſt, and his laſt end is ſweet and comfortable, he dies the Death of the Righteous; his Conſcience then, as a Glaſs, repreſents to his ſight the Beatific Viſion and the Joys of Eternity. And this it is to conſider our latter end, this is the bleſſed effect of a righteous Life; whoſoever then thus conſiders his latter end, it is certainly an Argument of his Wiſdom and Underſtanding.

But Secondly, Conſider we the folly of a Vicious Life, and an Immoral Converſation; Alas! what is Vice and Immorality, but a ſort of practice that debaſeth and diſparageth a Man? Such a ſad courſe of Life generally plunges a Man into the moſt grievous and intolerable Evils, as a diſtemper both of Body and Soul, the greateſt diſtreſs of Fortune, Poverty and Diſgrace, a low and contemptible condition, reproach and the loſs of Reputation, Affliction and Diſcompoſure of Mind, the torments of a troubled Conſcience, (for there is no Peace, ſaith my God, to the Wicked,) the danger of a Death-bed Repentance, and frequently brings him to a violent and an unnatural Death: Add to this Miſery, the loſs of Gods favour and loving kindneſs; ſuch treaſure up unto themſelves wrath againſt the day of wrath. Oh the perplexity and conſternation ſuch are in when they come to dye! when their Conſcience preſents to their ſight the dreadful Scenes of a Judgment to come; their evil Conſcience then flaſhes in their Face, caſts abroad its Thunder, and ſtrikes them with the greateſt Terrour and Affrightment. All theſe are the lamentable effects of a vicious Life, and an immoral Converſation; which ſufficiently demonſtrates the folly of ſuch as prefer Wickedneſs above Religion; ſuch do truly wander out of the way of Ʋnderſtanding: But this is not all, the Man that wandereth out of the way of Ʋnderſtanding, ſhall remain in the Congregation of the Dead, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , according to the verſion of the LXX, Prov. 21.16. i. e. The Man that leaves the beautiful Paths of Vertue, which directly lead to Happineſs, and takes the By-Paths, the rough and unpleaſant Road of Iniquity, which conducts him to Eternal Death, ſuch a Man doth not only dethrone his Reaſon, is not only void of Underſtanding, but he ſhall remain in the Company of the Giants, of whom we read, Gen. 6.4. They were Men of a monſtrous Stature, and whoſe wickedneſs too was proportionable to their large Size; theſe Men, as they were ſingularly eminent for their height and bigneſs, ſo were they horribly infamous for Acts of Injuſtice, for Wrong and Robbery, for Tyranny and Oppreſſion; theſe were the Men, for whom it repented the Lord that he had made Man on the Earth; theſe were the Men, whoſe Sins opened the Cataracts, the Windows of Heaven, and brought down a deluge of Wrath and Indignation; and the Man, who works Wickedneſs, is not only without Ʋnderſtanding, but ſhall be incorporated into the wretched Society and Converſe of thoſe Giants and Rebels againſt God, ſhall be condemned to keep them company, ſhall be ſentenced to that accurſed place, which they had aſſign'd them, when the Flood came and deſtroyed them all; a Place where the Worm dieth not, and the Fire is not quenched.

Thus I have ſhewn you, I. What it is to conſider. II. The benefit of Conſideration. III. What is meant by the latter end, the object of Conſideration. IV. The great advantage of conſidering the latter end. V. That to conſider our latter end, is an argument of our Wiſdom and Underſtanding.

I come now in the Sixth and laſt place to make an Application, and then I a'done.

And here, ſuffer a Word of Exhortation, you, who worthily deſerve to be puniſhed; you, who for your Evil Deeds are condemned to die; let me beſeech you and prevail with you to conſider your Latter End; it behoves you conſider it: Eternal Bliſs and Happineſs ſure, is a thing of the greateſt and moſt weighty Conſideration, a thing of ſuch vaſt moment, that for you to put off the Thoughts of it, and neglect the Proviſion for it, is certainly the moſt unaccountable Indiſcretion, the greateſt Folly and Madneſs.

You have but this, and part of the Day following, to make your Peace with an Offended God, to make Proviſion for your Future Happineſs. To day then hear the Voice of God, who calleth upon you to conſider your latter End. I do not doubt your Conſideration of it in one Senſe, i. e. That you have terrible Apprehenſions of your Temporal Puniſhment, of the violent and unnatural End you have brought your ſelves unto; but this ought to be the leaſt of your Conſideration; nothing ought to diſturb you now, but the apprehenſion of your having offended God: And if you now do truly▪ fear God, (as you have all imaginable reaſon to fear him, who is able to caſt both Body and Soul into Hell) that will raiſe you above all other Depreſſions, that will exalt you above all baſe and diſpiriting Fears. You are to conſider, that after your departure hence there will be a Judgment; and to make ready and prepare your ſelves for a comfortable appearance at that tremendous Tribunal, you have received Sentence of Death from an Earthly Judge, which Death is only Temporal and Tranſitory; and it was paſs'd upon you with all poſſible Regret and Reluctancy, with the greateſt unwillingneſs; but if you repent not of the Evils you have done, a more terrible Sentence will be pronounced upon you by the Righteous Judge of the World, Go you Curſed into everlaſting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. Will you not then conſider your latter end, ſo as to prepare for it by true and faithful Repentance? Surely if you be wiſe, you will ſo conſider it, and let not your puniſhment here, but the conſideration, that you have offended a good and gracious God by your Wickedneſs, be the motive to ſuch a Repentance.

And here, let me a little touch upon, let me reprove the Wickedneſs, and ſet before you the evil things that you have done.

Two of you are Condemned for Murder, and that of a moſt cruel and barbarous ſort; the one, for the Wife of his own Boſom, the other, of her harmleſs and innocent Babe; Murders, monſtrous and unnatural: How Diametrically oppoſite are ſuch horrid Acts to the Laws of the Chriſtian Religion? They command the Husband to dwell with his Wife according to Knowledg, i. e. with all Conjugal Love and Affection, to give honour to the Wife, as unto the weaker Veſſel; How then doth he violate this Command, who breaks the Bone of his Bone, who wounds the Fleſh of his Fleſh? Chriſtianity obliges Husbands to love their Wives as their own Bodies, charges every Man to love his Wife even as himſelf, Epheſ. 5.28.33. Husbands love your Wives, and be not bitter againſt them, Col. 3.19.

Secondly, We have before us a Woman who hath Murder'd her own Child, an Infant born of Fornication; Fornication of it ſelf is an hainous Sin, a Sin, that without Repentance excludes from the Kingdom of Heaven, 1 Cor. 6.9. Fornicators ſhall not inherit the Kingdom of God: And it is a Sin much more hainous, when it is productive of a greater, when Murder is the ſad effect and lamentable conſequence of it; to deſtroy the Fruit of one's own Womb, to ſend it out of the World too unbaptized, before it was waſh'd in the Laver of Regeneration; to give it a Bloody Baptiſm! I want Words to expreſs the unnaturalneſs and barbarity of ſuch an Action. Alas! How doth the Commiſſion of one Sin make way for another? How doth one Wickedneſs tread upon the heels of another? The Devil tempted to Fornication, and then to hide the Shame, tempted to murder the Infant; though that was the moſt effectual way to be expos'd to the greater Ignominy and Diſgrace. Thus the Devil did with David, as ſoon as ever he ſucceeded in his Temptation to commit Adultery with the Wife of Ʋriah, he preſently took the advantage, and tempted him to add to his Adultery, the crying Sin of Murder.

Blood-guiltineſs! A Sin which defiles the Land, a Sin which cries to Heaven for Vengeance, which importunes the Juſtice, and wearies the Ears of the Almighty, till it be avenged; a Sin for which God hath not only ordained a Temporal, but an Eternal Death to be the puniſhment of it, unleſs his Wrath be atton'd with an hearty and an unfeigned Repentance: Pardon for Sins of ſuch an horrid nature, muſt be ſought carefully with Tears.

Others of you are to be cut off with the Sword of Juſtice for Theft, for Wrong and Robbery, Acts altogether repugnant to the Laws of the Land, and contradictory to the Laws of God, who hath commanded us not to Steal, Thou ſhalt not Steal; had you ſought the Kingdom of God, and his Righteouſneſs, had you not neglected his Divine Service and Worſhip, had you wrought honeſtly with your hands, and been induſtrious in your reſpective Vocations, God would never have ſuffer'd you to have wanted the Comforts and Neceſſaries of this Life, but Idleneſs is the grand Snare of the DEVIL; had you truſted upon your Heavenly Father, who Cloathes the Graſs and Lillies of the Field, He would have provided for you, He would have much more cloath'd you, O ye of little Faith.

It is Excellent Advice which the Royal Pſalmiſt gives, 62.10. O truſt not in Wrong and Robbery: He, that thinks to ſupport himſelf by ſuch Means, truſteth to a broken Reed, he will be ſure to be diſappointed, to find his Folly, when he expects the Fruit of his Contrivances; Riches innocently gotten are not to be rely'd on, much leſs ſuch Gain as is got by Injury and Oppreſſion; Acts of Injuſtice make Men odious to God, render them unfit for humane Society: There are few that follow this wicked Employment, but at the laſt reap up the Wages which are appointed by the Law to be the Reward of it; and whoſoever of them eſcapes Vengeance in this World, ſhall not, without Repentance, eſcape Vengeance in the World to come: Nothing but the Execution of ſuch Men can give Check to their Wickedneſs, nothing can put a Stop to them, and prevent the Miſchief that ſuch Men do in the World, but a cutting them off, this is the Reaſon of Capital Puniſhments among Men; it is all imaginable Juſtice and Equity, to remove ſuch Men out of the World, as will be a Plague to Mankind, while they live in it.

Another of you ſuffers Death for Burning a Barn, for conſuming with Fire the Fruits of the Earth, which had been with Labour and Charge ſown and reap'd by one, who had formerly been to him a kind and an indulgent Maſter; An Act of Ingratitude as well as Impiety, and an Argument of a moſt Malicious and Diabolical Spirit, an Act that is contrary to the Golden Rule of the Chriſtian Religion, which commands all its Profeſſors, not to do that to others, which they would not have others to do unto them; to put away all Hatred and Strife, all Envy, Malice and Revenge, ſuch being the Suggeſtions of the Devil.

Others of you are Condemn'd for Coyning, for Counterfeiting the King's Coyn, which, with Clipping of it, is one of the moſt growing Miſchiefs in the Kingdom; How Excellent is the Coin of this Nation, both for intrinſick Value and Comelineſs? and never was Mony ſo ſpoyl'd and abus'd as ours: If the ſame Queſtion were to be put in this Age, as of old, Whoſe is this Image and Superſcription? Part we might, but we could not anſwer the whole; we may indeed gueſs at the Image upon a piece of Money, but we cannot tell whoſe it is by the Superſcription, for that is all gone; but mark the End of ſuch Men.

Such Criminals rob the King of his Due, invade his Right and Propriety, and intrench upon his Royal Prerogative, for it is the KING alone who hath Power to Coin, it is He alone who hath an indiſputable Right to ſet the Value upon Money, and to make it currant within his Sovereignty and Dominion; and our Religion obliges us to give unto Caeſar the things that are Caeſar's; ſuch therefore as Counterfeit or Clip the King's Coin, the ſame are Thieves and Robbers, and it is an Iniquity to be puniſh'd by the Judge.

From thoſe Baſe and Vitious Practices, What a Loſs flows to the Subject? What a Scandal to the Nation? A Tradeſman, that takes up theſe diſhoneſt ways of living, what Injury may he bring upon ſuch as are of the ſame Trade with himſelf? By under-ſelling them, by affording his Commodities at a Cheaper Rate than he bought them, becauſe of the unlawful Profit and Advantage he can make of the large or broad Money, that he ſees laid down upon the Nail for them: But, Profit and Advantage did I ſay? Alas! This is not a way for a Man to enrich himſelf, there is a ſecret Curſe goes along with ſuch Gains, whereas a Penny honeſtly got wears like Iron, but Eſtates acquir'd by Coining and Clipping are never of any long Duration, there is a ſtrange Improſperouſneſs that attends them; Riches ſo attain'd have Wings and fly away, turn to the Owners Hurt, bring them at the laſt to an Ignominious and a Shameful End.

I am heartily ſorry that one who had taken Holy Orders upon him, (though it is a conſiderable time ſince he pretended to an Eccleſiaſtical Office or Adminiſtration) ſhould prove a Malefactor in this kind, and that ſome ſhould dare to improve this Crime to a general Reflection, ſuch as do ſo, are baſe and ill-natur'd, cenſorious and unthinking People: Alas! Offences will come, there will be ſome bad in all Societies and Communities of Men, there was a Judas among the very Apoſtles, the beſt Body hath ſome bad Blood in it, the fineſt Silver hath ſome Allay, the brighteſt Days have ſome Clouds.

The Clergy, I muſt confeſs, are under the greateſt Obligation to follow that which is good, to abſtain from all Appearance of Evil; they are oblig'd to live with eſpecial Regularity and ſtrictneſs of Converſation, with all imaginable Care and Circumſpection: The Miniſters of God! They are the Lights of the World, they, above all others, ought to let their Light ſo ſhine before Men, that they ſeeing their good Works, may Glorifie their Father which is in Heaven; they are particularly oblig'd to enlighten the Glorious Spheres, wherein they move, with the bright Luſtre of an exact and an Exemplary Converſation; for let Wit and Learning, let the braveſt Parts and the beſt Accompliſhments ſtand in the Front, yet if ill Morals, if an ungodly Life brings up the Rear, the Satyr ſoon devours the Panegyrick, their Vice will be reflected upon, it will be ſuch an Interpoſition as will Eclipſe the Beauty and Glory of the reſt; it is true, Learning and Excellent Parts may ſtrike the Tympane, may make the Drum of the Ear to ſound, but, if there be not an honeſt and a ſober converſation, they will never Touch the Fibres of the heart; if the light, that is in them, be darkneſs, how great is that darkneſs! they are plac'd as Stars in the Firmament, and if they Dart nothing but malignant, and improſperous influences, what can follow but an Univerſal Plague, and Epidemical Diſtemper?

But, Alas! They are Fleſh and Blood as well as other men are, they are not Exempted from Temptation; it is not Abſolutely impoſſible for them to fall into the Snare of the Devil; though it is matter of ſad conſideration, that he, who Taught others not to Steal, ſhould Steal Himſelf; that he, who Preach'd to others, ſhould himſelf be a Caſt-away; that he, who was obliged to teach, and exhort Parents too to train up their Children in the fear of the Lord, to dye them with vertue and goodneſs in the very wool of their infancy, that they might the better keep the colour as long as they live; that ſuch an one ſhould Teach his only Son a Treaſonable Trade, ſhould Chalk him out ſuch Wicked, and unlawful ways of living, as have brought upon him ſhame and confuſion, as have thrown him into the moſt Deplorable Circumſtances; that he, who, at his initiation into the Chriſtian Church by Baptiſm, call'd him Benjamin, i. e. the Son of his Right Hand, a Son as dear and Precious to him as his Right Hand, ſhould bring him up to be a Benoni, i. e. a Son of Sorrow; this is matter of the ſaddeſt conſideration.

But let him, that thinketh he ſtandeth, take heed leſt he fall.

We have inſtances in Holy Scripture of ſuch as have not anſwered their Character, as have Preach'd to others, and themſelves been Reprobate, as have Corrupted their Morals and Religion, as have by Covetouſneſs fall'n into the ſnare of the Devil:

Covetouſneſs is the Root of all Evil, and indeed ſuch an Evil as the Crime of this Condemned perſon had it's Riſe from; they that will be rich, that ſet their minds on the getting of riches, fall into a Temptation and a ſnare, into many fooliſh and hurtful luſts, which ingulph or drown them in Deſtruction and Perdition; the Love of Money is the Root of all Evil, which while ſome have coveted after, they have Erred from the Faith, and pierced themſelves through with many ſorrows, have brought themſelves to a ſad and moſt Wretched Condition; And the Man of God ſhould flee theſe things; this was the Charge, which St. Paul gave to his Scholar, and Spiritual Son Timothy, at his Embarquement into the Epiſcopal Office; 1 Tim. 6.9, 10, 11.

We have, I ſay, inſtances in Holy Scripture of ſuch as have not anſwer'd their Sacred Character, as have Preach'd to others, and themſelves been Reprobate, as have by Covetouſneſs fall'n into the ſnare of the Devil; thus Judas was poſſeſs'd with a baſe and unworthy Spirit of Covetouſneſs, he ſold the very Son of God for Money; when he ſaw indeed, the matter was to End in the death of his Lord, he Repented, but Alas! He acted his own Tragedy with a ſad, and and ignoble death, he hanged himſelf, a Crime which there could be no Repentance for.

Thus Balaam for Money ſold to Deſtruction, 24000 Men of Iſrael, Numbers, Twenty Fifth, he loved the Rewards of Divination; and though he was Reſtrain'd by the Divine prohibition to go at the firſt, yet a ſecond Meſſage carried by more Honourable Perſons, and enforc'd with a Charming promiſe of promotion, and Advancement to Honor; This Lull'd the Prophet Aſleep, this was a bait, which he could not but ſwallow, the ſilver and gold, the Honors, that Balak promis'd, run ſo in his mind, that he could not but hanker after them; though at the laſt this prov'd his deſtruction, for he Aſſociated with the Midianites, was found with them; and was Slain in the Battel, Numb. 31.8. God particularly turn'd the courſe of his wrath upon him, as he will do upon all ſuch as forſake the right way, as go Aſtray by following the way of Balaam the Son of Boſor, who loved the wages of unrighteouſneſs.

Thus have I ſet before you the evil things that you have done, and for which you are appointed to dye.

What remains, but that, as an Ambaſſador of God, I pray you in Chriſt's ſtead to be Reconcil'd to God, to conſider your latter end, to ſeek the Lord your God with an hearty, and Sincere Repentance; Repentance is a Turning of the whole Heart from Sin and the Devil, to ſerve God in Newneſs of Life, a purging of the Conſcience from Dead Works to ſerve the living God, a dying unto ſin; ſuch a Compunction of the Heart for ſin, as is joyn'd with a full purpoſe, and a ſteady Reſolution to leave, and forſake it; God hath promiſed to pardon, and hath Actually pardoned the greateſt Sin upon ſuch a Repentance; Even Murder it ſelf, that Execrable and Crying Sin; though the innocent blood, you have ſhed, Crys to Heaven for Vengeance, yet the blood of the ever Bleſſed Jeſus crys as loud for your pardon and forgiveneſs, if you be but deeply touch'd, and affected with a ſenſe of your abominable wickedneſs.

Your Repentance, 'Tis True, is late, you have been exceeding ſinful, you have put off your Duty towards God and your Neighbour; till the very laſt Minute of your Life; and the Holy Goſpel requires not only Sorrow and Remorſe for Sin; but an Holy Life to demonſtrate the Sincerity of Repentance; But Alas! You have little or no time to amend your Life in, your glaſs is well nigh run, you have not many hours for the Conſideration of your latter End; Well! but there is mercy with God, his Nature and Property is ever to have mercy and to forgive, his mercy is as infinite as himſelf; and therefore none muſt pretend to Limit or Confine it; though you have hitherto liv'd in Prophaneneſs, in the contempt of God and Religion; yet if you make a True and Ample Confeſſion of all your Wickedneſſes; if you humbly beg pardon, and, with the Publican in the Goſpel, ſmite upon your breaſt, and ſay, God be Merciful to me a Sinner, if you promiſe and reſolve Amendment, and if God foreſee that ſuch your reſolution would be inviolable, that you would Pay your Vows, if more time were given you; I hope, He will accept your Repentance.

I Leave you therefore to the goodneſs and pity, to the Gracious compaſſion of a merciful God; I pray you to conſider your Latter End, that after Death, there will be a Judgment; I beg of you to Employ the ſmall Moment, you have to live, to your Eternal intereſt and Advantage, to work out your Salvation with fear and Trembling, to be doubly diligent and induſtrious, to redeem the time, ſeeing you are but come into the Vineyard at the Eleventh hour.

May you receive Equal Wages with thoſe, that came in at the firſt, with thoſe that have born the burden and heat of the day; may you be ſav'd with the Thief upon the Croſs; tho' his Caſe, as well as the Labourers, is vaſtly different from yours, yet you have a general refuge in the Merits of Chriſt, and in the Mercys of God.

And here, may all you, who have eſcap'd the Sentence of Death, who have been but ſlightly puniſh'd for your offences, follow the ſalutary advice of our Bleſſed Saviour, which He gave to the Adulterous Woman, and the impotent Man in the Goſpel, Go and Sin no more, Jo. 5.14. Jo. 8.11. Leſt a worſe thing come unto you.

Laſtly, May all you, who hear me this day, be perſwaded, by the Exemplary puniſhment of theſe Perſons, to the Excellent and rewardable ſervice of God, to keep your veſſels in Sanctification and Honor, to the practice of Temperance and Chaſtity, to do always that which is juſt and honeſt, Lawful and Right, to a conſtant performance of your duty both towards God and Men, to an early and ſincere Repentance, to bring up your Children in the fear of the Lord, to ſeaſon them betimes with the ſalt of piety and Holy Religion.

I Pray for you all in the Pathetick and Affectionate words of my Text.

Oh that you may be Wiſe, Oh that you may underſtand this, O that you would conſider your Latter End!

Now to God the Father, God the Son, and to God the Holy Ghoſt be Aſcrib'd, as is moſt due, all Honor, Glory, Power, Might, Majeſty, Dominion and Faithful ſervice from Henceforth and for Evermore, Amen.