Warnings from the Dead. OR Solemn Admonitions Unto ALL PEOPLE; but Especially unto YOUNG PERSONS to Beware Of such EVILS as would bring them to the Dead.
By COTTON MATHER.
IN Two Discourses, Occasioned by Sentence of DEATH, Executed on some Unhappy MALEFACTORS. Together with the Last CONFESSION, made by a Young Woman, who Dyed on June 8. 1693. ONE of these Malefactors.
BOSTON in New-England; Printed by Bartholomew Green, for Samuel Phillips, at the West End of the Exchange. 1693.
A Blessed Medicine for Sinful Madness.
A Discourse, Occasioned by a Sentence of DEATH, passed upon several Malefactors, who were then in the Congregation.
IT is a very doleful Thing, that upon the Reading of this Text, I may do as our Saviour, upon a better Occasion did; even shut the Book, and Begin to say, This day is this Scripture fulfiled in your Eyes. The Beginning of it ha's been wofully fulfilled by the Mad Lives of some unhappy and condemned Malefactors, who make a Sight in this house at this Time, very moving unto all Spectators. The Endeavour of one Sermon more is to be bestow'd upon them before [Page 2] they Dy, that their Madness many not accompany them unto their Execution, to be cured only by Death, which is indeed an Effectual, but a very miserable Cure for all Diseases.
We have in our Text, A Wise man, describing of a Mad man. Tis an Impenitent and an unreclameable Sinner, which hath here the Title of a Mad man too justly put upon him; and the Madness of such a man hath both the Cause of in and the End of it, here Assigned.
First, For the Cause of this Madness. A great thing that inspires wicked men with so much Madness is, their Observing, That there is one Event unto all. Many a man is too Pore-blind to see any Difference between Good and Bad men in the World. As to the Comforts of this Life, he sees an Ishmael to live as long as an Isaac, an Epicure to fare as well as an Abraham. As to the Troubles of this Life, he sees a Job, a David, a Lazarus in as terrible Distresses, as any that befall the worst of men, and Saul and Jonathan in their Deaths not Divided. What follows now? Madnes [...] is in their hearts while they live. Tha [...] [Page 3] passage, While they live, notes the continuance, and Obstinacy of the Malady. And for an Instance, this Madness Expresses it self particularly, in that one Mad Imagination, That the basest Life here, is better than the best hereafter; or as the Proverb in our Context has it, A Living Dog is better than a dead Lyon.
Secondly, For the End of this Madness. Tis here concluded in that clause, After that, they go to the Dead. A clause capable of a Various Interpretation. Some carry it, as a further Account of the Promiscuous Events happening both to Good and Bad men. They both Go to the Dead. But we may rather conceive the Issue of the Madness that is in wicked men, here pointed at. It Expires in Death; of which Death we must understand, That it is Agreeable to the Life which went before; and therefore a Wretched, Woful, Shameful Death, a Death in Madness, and therefore a Death in Misery, must be imply'd in this Assertion. Wherefore the Doctrine, which demands your Attention is, [...] DOCT. [...]
A Sad Death, after a [...] is, the Condition which [...] Ungodliness is attended with.
[Page] We have Two very Sorrowful Subjects to discourse upon; and therefore my whole Sermon must be like Ezekiels Roll, full of Lamentation and Mourning and Wo.
The first PROPOSITION which do's Arrest our Thoughts, is this,
It is a Mad Life, that Ungodly men use to Lead.
There is an Horrible Madness which do's possess the Hearts, and thereupon pollute the Lives of all ungodly men. Every Penitent in this Assembly, will in much Bitterness of Soul, confess the Truth of this Proposition, and say, None but Mad men would ever do as we have done!
The Word of God calls every thing by its Right Name; and Ungodly men are called Mad men in those unerring Oracles. As the Preacher tells us, in Ecc. 2. 2. I said of Laughter, it is mad; So do's the Bible assure us concerning the Merry Jolly Sinner, He is Mad, & there is a Madness in all his wayes. It assuresus concerning all that Renounce and Forsake the Blessed God, in Jere. 30. 38. They are mad upon their Idels. Our First Father by his Fall, gave himself [Page 5] a sore blow in his Head; he Crack'd and Craz'd his own Brain; and the Madness hath ever since run in a Blood; his poor Children derive it from him. Hence tis the Name of a Sinner, in Psal 14. 1. He is a Fool! and Solomon who Preach't and Wrote with some Imitation of his Father, do's espouse that Phrase, as the most proper to denote, A Sinner, by. Now it specifies but a Degree of the same Distemper; the Dotage of a Sinner quickly grows up into Phrensy, which makes a perfect Mad man of him.
Truly, the World is almost an Entire Bethlem, and none but that infinite Wisdom, which keeps the Waves of the Sea, within their Bounds, could Govern the Madness, and manage the Exorbitancies and Confusions of it.
Let us a little reflect upon the Symptomes of MADNESS, which appear in the Lives of ungodly men.
First. An ungodly man, Believes like a Mad man. His Fancy, like a mad mans▪ is disturbed and depraved, and he hath very Ridiculous Opinions in his mind. His madness lies in that, in Isa. 5. 20. To [...] evil good, and rood evil; to put [Page 6] darkness for light, and light for darkness. He hath such Frantick Whimseys in him! What thinks he of God? He madly thinks, God is altogether such an one, as my self. What thinks he of Christ? He madly thinks, Christ is a Stumblingblock and Foolishness. What will he think of Religion? He madly thinks, What is the Almighty that I should serve Him, and what profit shall I have, if I pray unto Him? He hath mad Thoughts about Sin, as if, The Stolen Waters of it were sweet. He hath mad Thoughts about the World, as if, Here were his Resting place. And he hath as mad. Thoughts about himself: with a Laodicean madness in him, he counts himself, Rich and Increased in Goods and having Need of Nothing, when he is Wretched and Miserable and poor and blind and naked. Go into a Case de Locos among the proud Spaniards, and you shall see one fancying himself a King, another a Pope, and a third, an Emperour. Such a Swelling madness is in every ungodly man; he do's really count himself, The best man in the World. The Word used for madness, in our Text, is one that carries Pride in the Signification of it. [Page 7] The Vapours of Pride have disordered the Head of an ungodly man. And in all his Thoughts, he will be sure to Contradict whatever the Blessed God ha's Revel'd unto us.
Secondly. An Ungodly man, Chooses like a Mad man. We say, Quis nisi ment is Inops? Who but a mad-man will Refuse offered Gold, and prefer a Counter, or a Gew-gaw, before it? It is the way to Try a Fool; set a piece of Gold, and some sorry Trifle before him; if he choose the Trifle rather than the Gold, he is, A Fool. Such a Mad fool is every ungodly man! His Choise is mentioned in Isai. 66. 3. They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their Abominations. There are Various Objects presented unto the Choise of the Sinner; but what a Choise do's he make? There is both Life Eternal and Eternal Death set before him; but so mad is he, that he chooses Death rather thanLife. His prodigious Choise is that in Jere. 2. 13. They have forsaken the Fountain of Living waters, and have hewenthem out Cisterns, broken Cisterns, that can hold no water. What a mad man is he? On the one [Page 8] side, Wisdom offers unto the Sinner, Spiritual Riches and Spiritual Honours, & Eternal Priviledges; on the other side, Satan offers unto him. A few Short-liv'd sensual Delights, that shall forfeit all the Blessings of the New Covenant forever; but like a mad-man he chooses the offers of Satan before those of Wisdom. He may have his Choise, and that profer is made unto him, Ask what thou wil [...] have, and thou shalt have it, though there be more than the half of a Kingdom in it. But this Mad-man, he chooses a Straw before a Crown, before a Throne. He chooses a Daughel, yea, a Dungeon, before a Kingdom. He had rather have Husks with H [...]gs, than Bread in the Heavenly Fathers House. A Pebble Stone, or a Barley Corn, is of more Esteem with him, than the Pearl of great price. Behold, a very Stupendous Madness here!
Thirdly. An Ungodly man ha's the Rashness, and Boldness, of a mad-man in him. He troubles not himself with any, Wherefores, and, What if's? He do's not ask himself, Wherefore did I come into the World? Nor, What if I go out of the World before I have made better Provision for it? He is one of [Page 9] those, whose Pourtraiture we have in Prov. 27.12. The Simple pass on and are Punished. He Drinks all that he sees before him, and he never ponders, Is there no poison in it? He is not Sollicitous about the Dangers, and the Downfalls, which he is continually Expos'd unto. And hence he permits himself to be cheated, worse than ever any mad-man was. Doubtless, Adam was Mad, when he suffered himself to be cheated of his Innocence and his Paradise, with an Apple? The Devil is a notable Hu [...]ster and Juggler! and he cheats the mad Sinner of all he ha's; the mad Creature will part with his precious Time, though all the Angels in Heaven cannot Recal one Lost Hour of it; and he will part with his Immortal Soul, though the Gain of the whole World, would not Repair the Loss; The Devil gets these things of him, for a Song. And he runs as Mad Ventures, as he makes Mad Bargains. There is that foaming Madness in him, that he Values not the Terrors of the Almighty God; He hears the Threatnings of God; He sees the Judgments of God, for Sin, and yet he [Page 10] will, Go on still in his Trespasses. He do's, as we read in Jere. 8. 6. As the Horse rusheth into the Battel. Though he is fairly Warned, that if he Venture on in his Evil ways, the Omnipotent God will make him feel the force of His Iron Fiery Arms, What cares he? He goes on in the Rage of Sin, and mocking at fear, he playes with Folly before the Canons Roaring Mouth. Such a furious Mad-man the ungodly Sinner is!
Fourthly. An ungodly man, like a mad-man, endeavours the Hurt of all are about him; especially of those by whom his own Good is most Endeavoured. His madness, makes him given to mischief. We read in Eccl. 10. 13; about, Mischievous madness. That is it which the Sinner is under the continual Hurries of; and as tis said in Prov. 10. 23. It is a Sport unto a Fool to do mischief. He is always doing mischief to himself. He do's what is worse than tearing his own Hair, cutting his own Flesh, and killing his own Children, which mad-men use to do for with a Thousand Stabs and Wounds he Wrongs his own Soul. And, he is [Page 11] doing mischief to where too as fast as he can. The Estate, and Credit, and Health of his Neighbours all fare the worse for him; they find him, A Mad-man casting Fire-brands and Arrows and Death. Nor is he content to Go to Hell alone, but he draws [...]as many with him thither as he can. But especially, if any man shall go to Restrain him or Oppose him in his Extravagancies, this mad-man will grow yet more outrageous at it. It was a Quality which Balaam was marked for, in 2 Pet. 2. 16. The Madness of the Prophet. Wherein did he show his Madness? In this; That when he met with a Stop in his way, it flung him into such a Passion, that there was no coming a near him. Tis thus with such a man; Tell him the Truth, and hee'l treat you like the most mortal and cruel Adversary: Go to Stop him, or bind him, or thwait him, and you had as good Meet a Bear bereaved of her Whelps. And hence his Vexation Spends it self upon the Faithful Ministers of God with a peculiar Animosity; if he see such an one, he crys out, That man, I hate him! if he meet [Page 12] such an one, he crys out, Have I found thee, O mine Enemy? He cannot Endure to be Controlled in his Wickedness.
Fifthly. The ungodly man has, The Devil in him. There is an Unaccountablean Unexpressible Interest of Satan oftentimes in the Distemp [...] madness. It was a common sentiment among the Jews of old, That madness was oftentimes produced by an Invasion and Possession of Evil Spirits; Especially, if the madness were Sine Febri. Hence they said in one of their Slanderous Blasphemies against our Lord, as in Joh. 10. 20. He hath a Devil, and is mad. It is often some Devil, which takes Advantage of the Poisonous Fires which madness is inflamed with, to carry on the hideous Hurly Burly's that are in the minds of the Distempered. Hence also t'was said concerning one that was mad, in Match. 17. 15,18. He is Lunatick; that is, one Distracted at certain Times of the Moon. And it follows; Jesus rebuked the Devil. Be sure, An ungodly Sinner ha's this point of madness in him, That he is under a Remarkable Energy of the [Page 13] Devil. It was said unto a Cheater, in Act. 5. 3. Why hath Satan filled thine Heart? And so it may be said of every other Sinner, Satan hath a Strong-hold in the Heart of such a Sinner. He hath given himself up to the Devil, resolving and engaging, To walk after the Prince of the power of the Air. He ha's a thousand times over said unto Satan, as Ahab to the Syrian, I am thine and all that I have. And hereupon, He is mov'd by the Devil, and led by the Devil in his whole Conversation. This is his Madness while he Lives!
But what becomes of him afterwards: This is the Business of
The Second PROPOSITION,
Which we ought Soberly to meditate a while upon. You are now to hear, That
A Sad Death is that which the Incureable Madness of ungodly men brings them at length unto.
This is a Thing that should reach the Heart of every Person here; but especially of those who by a more sensible Approach of Death, have it said unto them, Set thy Soul in Order, for thou shalt Dy and not Live.
[Page 14] First, there is a Natural Death which ungodly men must have Experience of. They must Go to the Dead, which by Rotting in the Grave. This is a thing which there is no avoiding and, There is no discharge in this War Will the Wealth of the ungodly man Excuse him from Dying? No. Tis said, in Psal. 49. 6. They that boast themselves in the multitude of Riches, contact Redeem from the Stroke of Death. Will the Strength of the ungodly man Excuse him from Dying? No. Tis said in Job 21. 23. One Dyes in his full strength. Will his Hunour Protect him from it? No. T'was said in Psal. 82. 6,7. I have said, ye are Gods, but ye shall Dy like men. Will his Wisdom defend him? NO. T'was said in Psal. 49. 10. The Wise men Dy. The man must come to it, whether he will, or no. And there is a double sadness in the Natural Death of an ungodly man.
First. His Natural Death is the Execution of a Divine and a Dreadful Curse upon him. It was Gods Curse for our Sin, in Gen. 3. 17. Thou shall surely Dy. The Sting is taken out of that Curse, to the true Believer, and [Page 15] the Snake ha's more of Cordial than of [...] in it. But the Death of an [...] comes upon him, as part of [...] and Satisfaction which [...] Justice of God calleth [...] Justice of the Great God, [...] not let such a Transgressor Live; but will Pay him home the Wages; that his Faults make due unto him. The Blessed God will not let his Creatures any longer groan under the Burden of serving such a Monster, and therefore. He gives to His Officer Death, such an order as this, Go Marshal, Take some away, carry him to his own place!
Secondly. His Natural Death hath often some very Dismal Circumstances to Embitter it. It is said of some, in Jere. 16. 4. They shall Dy of Grievous Deaths. There occurs frequently some Grievous Accident, in the Death of a notoriously ungodly man. Perhaps there may be some Grievous Plagues and Pains upon him in his Dying Hours. Or, an Early Death, and also a Sudden Death, which is a Grievous Death to a man that ha's not made his Peace with God, though it be not so to a Believer; such a Death may be his portion. Yea, [Page 16] it may be that a Violent Death may sieze upon him, and this by the Hands of a Common Executioner; the Sword of Civil Justice may take him off, and Men Clapping their Hands at him, hiss him out of his Place. This is the Grievous Death which many a forlorn Creature comes unto. But it were well if This were all. There are yet more terrible things to be laid before you. For,
Secondly, There is an Eternal Death which ungodly men are Obnoxious unto. They must Go to the Dead which ly Roaring in the Fiery Bottom of Hell forever. Death arrives unto them, with such an horrible Train, as we have represented in Rev. 6. 8. Behold, a Pale Horse, and his Name that satt thereon was Death, and Hell follow'd with him. Ay, This is that which makes their Death look so Pale, so Ghastly, so Hideous; Hell followes! It is that whereof we are told more than once in the Old Testament, as in Psal. 9. 17. The wicked shall be turned into Hell. And that it may no want Sufficient Witnesses, we have it over and over Confirmed in the New, as in Math. 25. 46. The [Page 17] Wicked shall go away into Everlasting Punishment. If a man go Christless and Graceless out of This World, he passes unto Various Torments in Another; and these make up the Second Death.
Now the Sadness of the Eternal Death, which falls upon an ungodly man, ha's these Aggravations in it.
First. It is an Intolerable Anguish which he shall then be Tortured with. Doubtless there will be multitudes of Miseries to Cruciate the ungodly man among the Damned In all those things wherein he can be Sensible, he shall be Miserable. But there are especially two things which Hell consisteth of; and those two the Scripture calls in Mark 9. sin.: A Fire, and, A Worm. There shall be a Fire, to Vex and Scald upon a Damned Soul; and what shall that Fire be? Truly, It shall be the Wrath, the fierce and hot Wrath of the Great God, making Immediate Impressions upon the souls. It is said, in Heb. 12. 29. Our God is a Consuming Fire. Our God, Will then flash in very [...] Rebakes upon the Sinner, and (as Paul speaks) he shall be; Destroy'ed [Page 18] By the Presence of the Lord. There shall also be a Worm, to Gnaw the very Vitals of a Damned Soul; and that Worm shall be an Enraged Conscience, making most Angry and Horrid Reflections upon the Condition of the Soul. It is said in Prov. 1. 31. They shall be Filled with their own Devices. Out of the Sinners own Corruption will be bred a Viper, that shall keep feeding forever upon his very Heart within him. Alas, my Friends, what a formidable Death is this? They that have only tasted the Beginnings of it, in a Wounded Spirit here, have made the Town Ring with the Noises and Clamours of their Agonies. One so Visited, over-hearing some body to speak about some Exquisite Anguishes, Cry'd out, All that is but a Metaphor to what I am feeling of! O what a Death is that unto which the worst of Deaths is but a Metaphor!
Secondly. The Eternity of that Intolerable Anguish, will render the Anguish yet more Intolerable. We have it thrice ever told unto us, in Mark 9 sin. The Worm Dyeth [...], and the Fire is not [...]. That the Calamities of the [Page 19] Damned will be Truly Eternal, is Evident both from Scripture and Consent. The Scripture asserts the Eternity thereof, Expressing it by the very same word which is used to declare the Eternity of God Himself; and it were easy to multiply Quotations for it. The Consent of Good men hereabout, hath been such, That the Church in all Ages hath Agreed in Receiving it as an Article of Religion. The Consent of Bad men hereabout, is discovered in the Indelible Suspicions and Jelousies thereof, which can by no means be wholly rooted out of their minds. That these Calamities will be Justly Eternal, is evident from This, That it is very Just for the measures of a Poenalty to be taken from the Quality of the Object Affronted and Offended by the Fault. As now; To kill a Fly, is a Sport for a Beggar, as well as an Emperour; but to Kill a Man, this is justly counted, a Capital Crime. Thus, It is an Infinite God that is Injured and Provoked by Our Sin. Hence an Infinite Wrath is but proportionable thereunto. We cannot sustain a Revenge Infinite for the Intention of it; hence one Infinite [Page 20] for the Duration of it, is but very Reasonable. Here then make another Pause! What an Astonishing Death is this? To be under Inconceivable Vexations, for as many Millions of Ages, as there are Stars in the Sky, or Sands on the Shore, or Drops within the Ocean, and yet be no nearer to the period of them, than the first Moment they began! Ah! Lord, I am afraid of thy Judgments! Well might once a poor Sinner say, If I were to Endure the wrath of God for a Thousand years, I might go through it; but Eternity, Eternity, that Amazes me!
But what Improvement is to be made of such things as these? For the
First USE.
There is both Comfort and Counsil hence to be laid before those that have beed Cured of their Madness by a true Conversion unto God. Some of us there are that have been brought unto a Right sense of things, by the Renewing of the Holy Spirit, and unto a just Contemplation and Reformation of our Manners. We may indeed with much Humility look back, and say with the [Page 21] Apostle, in Act. 26. 11. I was once Exceeding mad. We were Mad and worse than so, when we [...] without God, and without Christ, and without Hope, and went along without Fear or Wit, in the Lew'd Courses of our Unregeneracy. But our God ha's reduced us unto a blessed measure of Sobriety, by Changing of our Hearts within us. Now,
First. There is Rich matter of Comfort, in our Cure. Our Deliverance foretels many Comfortable Things unto us; but This Particularly, That it will not be a Sad, but a Sweet kind of Death, which we must quickly Encounter with. We shall shortly Go to the Dead; and this is one of the Greatest, the Blackest Fears that we are Afflicted with. But, be now assured, Ye Recovered Souls, That when you go to the Dead, you shall not Go to the Mad. Indeed you shall then be Gathered unto your People, as tis said, Abraham was. But who are they? Not the Mad people, whose boisterous Excesses were unto you alwayes Abominable here. No, a Departing Saint sometimes pleaded that with God, Lord, Let me not go to be with the Wicked forever, for [Page 22] I did not care to be with them here! But the people which you shall go unto, will be that, in Heb. 12. 22,22,24. An Innumerable Company of Holy Angels, and the Spirits of Just men made Perfect and Jesus the Mediator of the New-Covenant. Happy Souls, Never then be Afraid of Dying any more. T'wil be but going from a World full of Dangerous Madmen, unto the most Reasonable and most Desireable Society that ever was. Well then, when Grim Death layes his Cold Hand upon you, methinks, he should look pleasantly; he says, Come, will you go; I wont hurt you! and you should answer, Yea, Friend, with all my Heart! Do not now tremble at his Approaches, as before, A King of Terrors, any more!
But, Secondly, We are to find matter of Counsil, on our Cure. Particularly,
First, Let us be Thankful that we are Cured our selves. To be Restored from Natural Madness is a most Invaluable mercy; much more, to be Restored from Spiritual. What Praises, Millions of Praises, must our Glorious Physician have! The people were [Page 23] Surprised, when they saw a Madman in Mark 5. 15. Sitting, and Cloathed & in his Right mind. Surely, That man must servently and forever Love the Lord Jesus, that had Healed him. Christians, Tis our own Case. As he said of old, This I know, that I was Blind but now I see; So may we say, This I Know, I was mad, but now tis otherwise. Let us then with a Right mind admire and adore the Lordour Healer. Nebuchadnezzar did so, when he came out of his Lycanthropy. And let us herewithal, be much in pondering, What shall we do for the Honour of Him that hath wrought such a Miracle?
But, Secondly. Let us be concern'd for others that are not Cured yet. Alas, we may see the Streets full of Madmen from Day to Day; and as t'was find of Egypt, There was not an House, in which there was not one Dead; So may it be said of This Place, There is hardly an House wherein there is not one Mad. O Let us make them the Objects of out Pitty, and the Subjects of our Prayer. Let us mourn over them with a very deep Affection; and if they give never so much Affront and [Page 24] Abuse unto out selves, Let us resent it no otherwise, than we would the Tricks of a Mad-man: but say for them, like out Saviour in Luke 23. 34 Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Let us do them all the Good we can; If it be in our power, Let us Govern and Restrain all the Freaks which they are madly ready to run into; and Let us carry them in the Arms of our Supplications unto the Lord Jesus, for His Help, as the Friends of such people did of old. O be concerned for them; they Know not what they do. Tis in Compliance with this Advise, that I shall now my self, pass unto a
Second USE.
Let all ungodly Persons be now call'd upon to Take-heed of that Mad Life which will bring a Sad-Death upon them at the Last. To speak Reason unto such as are Mad, may seem a Mad and a Vain Attempt. But that God who hid His Minister to Prophesy over the Dead, ha's made it a Reasonable Thing for us also to, Prophesy over the Mad. Let me then Apply my self to all those Carnal and Careless people [Page 25] here, that are Madly pursuing the Interests of the Flesh, and the World and the Devil, and Forsaking their own Mercies. Poor Souls, what a Wretched and a Raving State is it that you are in? It was denounced as a very direful Calamity, in Deut 28. 28. The Lord shall smite thee, with madness. Tis that which every despiser of Christ and Life, and Holiness, is most Prodigiously Smitten with. But, O Stop, O Stand, O Come to a little Consideration, if you can, before you, Go to the Dead, and the Cure be, All too Late! Though Sinners are desperately Mad, yet with a Word of Advice God can make a Word of Power, to reach unto their Souls, and they may be made Sober if the Alsufficient Grace of God accompany His dispensations. 1 I First Bow my knees unto the Father of Spirits, for the Concurrence of His Grace, and I shall then set before every ungodly Sinner, these few Directions for the Cure of his Madness.
Direction. I.
Accustome your selves to [...] upon your own Condition. Let me say to you, as in Isai. 46. 8. Show [...] [Page 26] selves men, O ye Transgressor You that play the Fool, every Day, be perswaded once to Play the Men. Act like men by Arguing upon your own Affayrs. Argue, and Ponder with your selves, Whether you Act Wise [...]orno? Think, whether you would count that to be Prudence in your Temporal, which you do every day in your Spiritual concerns. Ask your selves, What Good, & what End you propound in what you are doing of and see well, whether there be, Nothing unworthy of a man, in your Deportments.
Direction. 2.
Avoid the Company and Fellowship of them that Madness is yet Prevailing in. Achish of old would not [...]dure one that pretended Madness, to be near him; said he, Have I any need of madmen? So impatient be you, of any Familiarity with Vicious men; if any such Entice you to join with them in any of their Impieties, then say, What shall I get by being among mad-men? Depart from me, ye workers of Iniquity. It was the Wish of the Apostle Paul, in 2 Thes. 3. 2. To [...] Delivered from on cas [...]nable and Wicked men. O 'Tis [Page 27] an Hell upon Earth to be among them! If you are Entangled in any Knot of them, I Pray, quickly Deliver your selves. Their Madness has This Peculiar in it, that it is Contagions. As the Biting of a Mad Dog, disposes a man to Lap, and Pant, and Perish, just like the Dog that has bitten him: thus it is with many a man, when the Venome and spittle of a W'rld Companion ha's infused it sel [...] into him. O that every Soul were awfully mindful of that Admonition, in Prov. 13.20. He that walks with the Wife shall be Wife; but a Companion of Fools shall be Destroyed.
Direction. 3.
Remember and Consider much, That you are Going to the Dead. The Thoughts of Death have a marvelous Efficacy to Compose and Settle the Madness of our Hearts. If you find your selves Mad upon any thing, the way to allay that Madness will be, by thinking, I am to Dy Shortly! Let the First Death be often in your Thoughts; and often say with your selves like Job, in [...] I know that God will bring [...] Death. [...] Are you Mad upon any [Page 28] Pleasures? Then think, 'Tis but a M [...] ment that I can Enjoy them. Are you Mad upon any Profits? Then think, I must be gone from them all, within a [...] while. A Clod of that Earth; which must Ere long be laid upon us, we should find a wonderful Cooler of all that Madness which we are carried away withal. A Mad Sinner will [...] of a thing that he never thought of, [...] thought no more of it than of my Dying day. Forlorn Soul, I believe thee. Didst thou think of thy Dying day, we should see more Sobriety in thy whole Behaviour. Let the Second Death also have a room in your Thoughts. It is a smart passage in Eccl. 11.9. Rejoyce, O young man, in thy Youth; yea, that I will, says he; he thinks the Wiseman in Earnest, and mad mirth is an [...] with him. But stay there [...] Hear what a Reprimand follows hereupon, But know thou, that for all these Things, God will bring thee into Judgment. Even so, Let the Mad Sinner Know, that God will call him to a Reckoning for all his Mad Frolicks here; Know thou, that there is an Eternity of Destruction and Confusion for them that now [Page 29] live without the Fear of God; Know thou, that the Contemners of the Lord Jesus, and of His Word, and of His House, will be Broken sore in the Place of Dragons World without End. This Knowledge actually and frequently revived in us, would strangely remove that Madness which is in many of our Souls.
These Directions are useful unto all the Mad Sinners here. But I must Press them, with a very Particular Inculcation upon You, the condemned Persons, whose Madness has been so fatal to you, that for it you now see your selves apace Going to the Dead Poor Creatures, You must confess, That if you had not been Mad, you had never come to stand under a Sentence of Death in Irons here. Tis because you have been Mad, that you are now clap't in Chains, as Mad men use to be; for this tis, that you are come to Sit in the Shadow of Death, being bound in Affliction and Iron. Some of you have professed, That you would rather go to the Death which you are sentenced unto, then return to such a Life as [Page 30] you have Led heretofore. God grant there may be Sincerity in that Profession! I am sure, There can be no. Sincerity, if you either Affirm what you know to be False, or Deny what you know to be True, as too many if you do. Tis notorious, That you have gone a stray in the Greatness of your Folly; and that you are come to own it, is a Sign that your Madness is beginning to Decline. We are now concerned, that you may not Go down to the Congregation of the Dead, before your Madness be, Sufficiently rooted out of your Souls.
I am to tell you,
First, That you have been fearfully Mad all this While. You were indeed Born like the Wild Asses Colt, and so you have lived all your Days, Was it not a mad thing for you, to follow the Motions of the Devil, rather than to follow the Motions of the Saviour, as you have done in all your Conversation? Was it not a mad thing for you to make your selves the Common Enemies of mankind, when you were in a Country, where no man who don't Scorn to Work, need fear to Starve? [Page 31] Has it not been a Mad thing for you to sell your Lives, yea, to fell your Souls, for a little Meat and Drink, when you might have secured Food more Convenient for you, by preserving your own Lives and Souls? When Esau threw away a Birth-right for a Breakfast he was not half so mad as you [...] Methinks, you should make, A Great and Exceeding bitter Cry, at the mention of it?
I am to tell-you,
Secondly, That a true Repentance is the Thing your Madness must be Rectify'd withal. Tis Repentance, which must Undo now in a few days, all that you have been Doing ever since you came into the World. Repentance, I say; a Great-Word: What is Repentance, but a Growing Wise-again? You have been mad; but by Repentance you must Bewayl, and Confess, and Forsake all your Madness; and by Repentance you must Repair to the Lord Jesus for the Redress of all thee. Guilt, and all that Wo, which by your Madness you are involved in. A Souldier that was to Dy for Stealing a few Grapes, went Eating of them-on-the way to [Page 32] his Execution: being rebuked for it, he answered, Pray, Envy me not my Grapes, I have paid for them dear enough! Alas, you may say the like of all your Mad Courses, I have Paid dear, or those forbidden Grapes! But for that very cause, you should now throw them all away. You are mad, and worse than so, till a Profound Repentance be discovered in you. Among the Romans of old, They that were under a Publick Accusation, betook themselves to a Squalid and Ragged Habit, a dejected Countenance, and the Hair of their Head; and Face neglected; and One famous man procured a Banishment, because he would not submit unto the Ceremonies. Doubtless, he was mad! Surely, All that can show Repentance well becomes you, that are now arriv'd unto a righteous Condemnation; neither Earth must keep you, nor will Heaven receive you, if your madness continue any longer.
I am to tell you, Thirdly, That if you know leave of your madness, you shall Experience Gods Mercy forever Indeed, if your madness continue a little more, you shall be Turned out not into a [Page 33] Pasture with Bruits, as Nebucadnezzar was, but into an Hell with Devil [...] forever. Nevertheless, Tis a very Unreasonable thing which I now have to set before you; and a Million Deaths will be the portion of the man, that Encourageth himself to any further madness, from what I am going to say. But it is this, None of all your past madness will keep you out of the Kingdom of God, if you are now Sober for the remaining Hours that are before you. Though you are Going, you are not yet Gone to the Dead. Well, there is yet a Door of Hope set open for you; Come in, and Welcome. We read concerning the mad Prodigal, That when he Came to himself, then his Father met him and kis [...] him with a wonderful Affiction. You have been Prodigals with a Witness; but Return [...] Return; ye poor Prodigals; and the Merciful-God will yet say concerning you, They are pleasant Children, & I will surely; have Mercy on them.
I am to tell you, Lastly; That if your own madness be Cured, you will study very much to prevent the madness of other [...]. You-will then Labour to Convince and Caution all that are about you, about those Pathes of the Destroyer [Page 34] which your madness ha's heretofore been running on Head-long in O do it, if you can. Especially, Those of you, that are Young in Age, though Old in Sin; do you call upon all Young men to beware of treading in the steps of your wicked madness. You have been like that mad Young man, of whom Solomon says, in Prov. 7.7. He was a young man Void of Understanding, and hence you have gone to the House of the Harlot, as an O [...] to the Slaughter, & a Fool to the Correction of the Stocks, I beseech you, to leave a Mark upon those Hellish Baudy-house; and upon all the other. Scandals that have-Ruin'd you. Shall I assist you in it? Behold, O Young People, that are now before the Lord; Here is one Young person that crys out, My Sabbath-breaking ha's Ruin'd me! Heres one crys Out, M [...] Drunkenness ha's Ruin'd me! Here's one crys out, My Company ha's undone me And they all cry out, My Prayerless Neglect of my God & my Soul, have brought me unto this. O take, the Warning, ye mad Youths: be Warned against all this madness and Flee Youthful [...] for ever! You see, you see what Youthful Madness bringeth miserable Sou [...] unto.
An Holy Rebuke to the Unclean Spirit.
Uttered on a Day when Two Persons were Executed for Murdering of their Bastard-Children.
TIS a Text, whereupon you may this Day, in this Congregation, behold a very doleful Commentary! You have before your Eyes, a Couple of Malefactors, whose Murderous Uncleanness, ha's now in their Youth brought upon them, a most miserable Death. May your Hearts now give a profitable Attention unto the Use that should be made of such a dismal Spectacle; and of the Text now Read, which has been dreadfully▪ fulfilled in the Spectacle. There are two Persons in this [Page 36] Assembly, who shall never another Sermon; their Unclean life, is within these few Hours to be Extinguished by the Justice of God; ere the Clock that just new Struck, and the Glass that now▪ runs, have done so, about five Times more, they are to be gone before God the Judge of all; and because they have been Fools, therefore their Souls before this Night, shall be Required of them. I Suppose, The Circumstances of These will oblige Them, to entertain the▪ Truths of God, this Afternoon, with a most singular Agony of Soul; but, I demand this from Allthe rest of You, that the Circumstances of These, do quicken you all to mind, What you shall be told, concerning the Lamentable Desolations, which an Unclean Life do's bring upon the Children of men. Breef [...]y, As Father Latymer once presented unto a great man, a New Testament, with this Inscription [...]mbossed▪ on the Cover of it, Wheremongers and Adulterers God shall Judge: Thus, I am to present, especially Young People, with a Bible this [...]ay, and show them this Line upon it, They Dy in Youth, whose Life is among [Page 37] the Unclean. There was, you know, a man whose Name was Job, and that man was Perfect and Upright, and one that feared God, and Shunned Evil. He was a Persored of Quality, who dwelt in Arabia the Happy▪ and indeed, he made it Happy, by his dwelling there. Horrid and Hideous Trials nevertheless befell this Excellent Person; who under these Trials, was Visited by some Comfortable Neighbours, that yet proved but miserable Comforters. There were Three more Aged men, and all of them, Venerable Saints, of God, who took their Turns, in dealing with Afflicted Job, about his Condition before the Lord. But at length is came unto the Turn of a Fourth, named El [...]hu, who stood somewhat longer than, the rest, in the Disputation; and among other Arguments, by that Eminent person handled, One in our Context is, The sad plight of Ungodly men, in the Black day, when the Vengeance of God shall overtake them for their Ungodliness: Especially when there is any thing beyond the Common measures of Impiety, in that ungodliness. There will come a Time, when the Wrath of God shall no longer forbear the Recompences, which belong [Page 38] to ungodly men; and in our Text, we have an Intimation, both When, and Why, such a Time shall come upon them. These ungodly Creatures are here called, [...]rites in this Book of Job; as they [...] justly also called Fools, in the Books [...] David and of Solomon: because every Sinner would be counted better than Indeed he is. Now,
First, If you would know, WHEN, the Displeasure of God shall break upon the Heads of ungodly Sinners, You are here informed, They Dy in Youth. It seems, That an Early Death, a Death in the Prime, and Spring of their Days, is that whereunto they make themselves Obnoxious. In the Original tis, Their Soul Dyeth; so that it is a Spiritual and an Eternal, as well as a Temporal Death, which is to come upon them In Youth:—Some Read it, In a Tempest, or With a Shaking: and thus, it notes their coming to a Death, which may be called Violent; some Storm or Stroke of the Divine Anger, shall Violently hurry them out of the World. And there are who so Translate it, They Dy Rearing; as if, their Death were to be [...] with such Rearing Distresses as Wretches upon the Gallows [Page 39] use to be Turned over with. Be sure, Tis a Woful Death, as well as an Early one, that abides those who give themselves up to the Courses of Remarkable ungodliness.
Secondly, If you would know WHY, these ungodly Sinners are thus, overwhelmed, with the Indignation of God, You are here advised, Their Life is among the Unclean. It may be rendered, Among the Sodomites: and it is possible, that here may be an Allusion to the Destruction, that came upon the Sodomites, when our Lord Jesus Christ, giving a Type of the Conflagration which He will shortly make upon this Earth▪ Rained from Heaven the Vengeance of Eternal Fire, upon the Cityes which He Spared not. q. d. They are for their Abominable Uncleanness, just like what the Young people in Sodom were; and therefore God shall in their Youth sieze them with Snares, Fire, and Brimstone, & an Horrible Tempest. You may see however, That Uncleanness is a most remarkable instance of Ungodliness: to say of one, He is Unclean, is to say, He is very Wicked. Receive then the Doctrine, which requires to be Lodged in your Meditations.
[Page 40] An Early and a Woful Death, is the Fruit of an Unclean and a Wicked. Life.
We have two Assertions here to be Advanced and mentioned.
Assertion. I.
As a Wicked Life in general may be called, an Unclean one, so an Unclean, Life, in particular is a very Wicked one. It is true, That all Wickedness, is called Uncleanness, in those Oracles, of Truth, which never miscalled any thing. Thus, the Wicked Nature which we were all born into the World withal, ha's that said of it, in Job 14.4. It is an Unclean thing. Thus, the Wicked Person who do's Renounce God, ha's that said of him, in Eccl. 9.2. He is Unclean. All our Sinfulness, is call'd, A Filthiness of Flesh & Spirit. When a Child of God ha's asked, for a Deliverance from Sin, he so Expresses it, Wash me thoroughly from my Iniquity, and Cleanse me from my Sin. And a man that Lives in Sin against the God that made him, is denominated in Job 15.16. An Abominable and Filthy man. Why? Because the most Loathsome. Dirty, Nasty Object in the World, is not so Distastful unto us, as all Wickedness is unto our God, who is, Not a God that [Page 41] hath pleasure in Wickedness.
But then there is One peculiar sort of Wickedness, which the Term of Uncleanness is more strictly put upon; tis the Violation of that Chastity, which is Enjoyned upon us, by the Seventh Commandment, in the Holy, & Just, & Good, Laws of our God. And why is this Luxury called Uncleanness, but because of a Special Filthiness, and Ugliness, which this Vice is attended with? Indeed, such is the Wretchedness of the Corruption, in man, that it is hardly safe so much as to mention in his Hea [...]ing, the Several kinds of his Damnable Wickedness. It was the Apostolical Council, in Eph. 5.3. All Uncleanness, let it not be once Named among you. And accordingly, The Holy Spirit of God here in our Text, as well as else where, has used a Notable Antiphrasis, to describe the worst Uncleanness by. The word for, The Unclean, is The Holy; because tis not easy to find any word Convenient and Emphatical Enough, to set out the detestable Unholiness, that is in such Uncleanness. However, we may with some Scripture-Phrases indigitate the Chief of those Diabolical Pranks, that are Committed by those whose [Page 42] Life is among the Unclean. Breefly,
There is then a Cursed Self-Pollution, which is usually the first Pit of Uncleanness, where into they fall, that are, The Abhorred of the Lord. Wretches there are, that like Wicked Onan, do so Sacrifice their seed unto the Devil: and these are meant by those Effoeminate, concerning whom tis said, in 1 Cor. 6▪9,10. Be not Deceived, They shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God.
There is next, an Odious Fornication, which is a further Step, of that Uncleanness, where unto the Raging Lusts of men do carry them. Tis that, wherein Unwedded Persons, of both Sexes, do prostitute themselves; and it is reckoned among those Works of the Flesh, whereof we are assured in Gal.5. 20,21. They which do such Things, shall not Inherit the Kingdom.
If they that have been thus▪ Unclean, do come to Marry, it is well if the Unclean Spirit still haunt them not. The [...] are Inexpressible Uncleanness, in the Married Stare, which the word of [...] has Branded, in Col. 3.5. Under the [...] the of, Inordinate Affection; for which Things sale the Wrath of God comes upon the Children of Disobedience.
[Page 43] And sometimes, the Uncleanness grows into Adultery; Yea, Perhaps a doubled Adultery: wherein the Marriage-Covenant is fearfully broken by Sinful Creatures, that shake off the Yoke of God, imposed from the Beginning. The Iniquity so often Damned in the Word of God; but especially in Prov. 6. 29,32. Whosoever touches his Neighbours Wife, shall not be Innocent; whose Committeth Adultery with a Woman, Lacketh understanding; he that doeth it, destroyeth his own soul.
Sometimes also, There is an Incest perpetrated in that Uncleanness, whereto the Hellish Fires in the Hearts of men do carry them. They will needs invade that Comfortable, and Profitable, Order, which God has Established in Humane Society, as now increased, for the Propagation of mankind. It was the Edict of Heaven, in Lev. 18.6. None of you shall approach to any, that is near of kin to him. And to show, that such and such Degrees were not forbidden unto Israel alone the Lord adds, For in all these the Nations are Defiled, which I cast out before you.
Yea, which is horrible to be Spoken! such a Vile Uncleanness, do some among the debased Children of men, sink down [Page 44] into, that Sodomy and Buggery it self, ha's been among their Crimes. The Great God ha's had Occasion to issue out such precepts, as those, in Lev. 18.22,23—against such unutterable Abominations and Confusions. Alas, There is in Europe, a Land Professing the Christian Religion, where such Devillish Practices are, they say, very frequent; but flaming Fire from Heaven will shortly destroy that Accursed Land. Nay, And in this Land of Uprightness too there have been some that have thus Dealt Wickedly. And I have one very wonderful Example to tell you of it. In the Southern Parts of this Country, about the Year 1641. a Beast brought forth a Creature that had something of an Humane shape. This Monster had a [...]lemi [...]h in one Eye, just like what a loose Lew'd Fellow in the Town, was known to have. This greater Monster, being upon this Account Suspected, was Examined upon that suspicion, and upon his Examination Confessed his Guilt of most infandous Bestialities, for which he underwent a deserved Execution. You hear what the Acts of Uncleanness are; but I am to tell you, That there are Unclean Thoughts, [Page 45] which are Prohibited by the Lord our God; even as in Math. 5.28. A Looking upon a Woman to Last after her. And there are Unclean Words, which are also Prohibited; Even, as in Eph.5.4. Filthiness & Foolish Talking. In all of these things, there is Uncleanness. But what shall be said of this Uncleanness. In one Word, It is a Wickedness. Tis Rebuked every where the whole Bible over. Bat indeed, I need not Appeal unto the Bible, to prove the Wickedness of Uncleanness. The Natural Reason and Conscience in man, will testify unto it. Even an Abimelek, a Philistine, will pronounce it, A Great Sin. Until the Souls of men, come to be debauched, into the Vilest of Degeneracies, they cannot but see a World of Wickedness in this Uncleanness. Why, the plain Wrongs which all the Unclean do both to themselves, and others, are enough to make every sensible Person, say, God forbid, I should ever do such Wickedness! Wherefore, to pass on.
Assertion. II.
An Early, Death, and a Woful Death, is likely to beside them that Lead such a Life. We should a little Particularize, upon both Articles in this Proportion. I say then,
[Page 46] First. The Death of the Unclean, is like to be an Early Death. Of Uncleanness, we may say as the Wise man says of the Adulteress, in Prov. 6.26. It will bent for the Precious Life. The Life will be by that Sin, quickly prey'd upon. Tis the Commination of God, in Mal. 3.5. I will be a Swift Witness against the Adulterers. Truly, when our God Comes to Anim [...]dvert upon them that live in Uncleanness, He will make a Swift work of it. As our Lord says, I will Early Destroy all the wicked of the Land; Why, the Unclean of the Land, are some of the most Wicked in the Land. If you Enquire, Wherefore the Death of the Unclean must be an Early One? For Answer, This, Punishment is both Naturally and Morally Entail'd upon them. Uncleanness is a [...] thing that will Cruelly wast the Bodies of those that are addicted thereunto; as the Apostle saith, He that Committeth Fornication, Sinneth against his own Body. So may it be said of him that Committeth any other Uncleanness whatsoever. Tis said about Uncleanness, in Prov. 5.8,11. Remove thy way▪ far from her; Lest thou mourn at Last, when thy Flesh and thy Body are Consumed. It will bloodily Disturb [Page 47] the Frame our Bodies, and Exhaust and Poison the Spirits, in our Bodies, until an Incurable Consumption at Last, shall out us down, out of Time. It procures many Grievous Diseases: Hence come Gouts, Cramps, Palseyes, and Scorbutick Taints, upon the whole Mass with in us: Yea, There is a Grievous Disease that sometimes Invades Horses, and because that Men do now so much Play the Brui [...], that very Grievous [...] ease, is in a disguise come upon Men also, to Chastise their Bru [...]shness The Seventh Commandment well fellows the Sixth; Uncleanness has a Self Murder in it. [...]ut that which further [...]astens this misery of Uncleanness, is the Just Revenge of Almighty God upon it. It was the Almighty God upon it. It was the Admen [...]n, in Eccl. 7.17. Be not over much Wicked, Why shouldest thou Dy before thy Time? Now the Unclean are indeed Wicked Over much. Uncleanness is a most Villianous Abuse Offered unto that Plastick Spirit, by which Permeating the whole Creation, the Great God formeth all things. Well might the Lord then say, concerning this very Sin, Shall not my Soul Visit for such an Evil as this? Why, Tis an High Treason against the Majesty [Page 48] of Heaven; it is a Clipping of the Coin, that ha's the Image of the Great God upon it; and it is treated as a Capital Offence, accordingly. What is man himself, but the Picture of God? Yea, There is one man, who Lies in the very Bosom of God, and is God Himself Blessed forever. The Roman [...]mperour made it a Criminal Thing for any man to Carry his Picture into any Sordid places: but how then shall the Glorious God bear it, for a man to Smutty His Picture with all the Superfluities of Naughtiness? Or, will that Man, who is God, and in the Bosom of God, bear it, that by our Fault, it should be said, There is a man, that is a Beast? There's a man Wall▪ wing Like a Dog, & Like a Swine, in the most base Uncleannesses! We pretend all of us, to be the Members of the Lord Jesus Christ; Yea, but shall we make those Members, to become the Weapont of Unrighteousness? We are Built all of us, to be the Temples of the Holy Ghost: Yea, but shall we make these Temples, to become the Hig [...]sties of the Devil? Truly Death, and an Early Death, is but the Proper Wages of Such a Wickedness?
Secondly, The Death of the Unclean, [Page 49] is, like also to be a Woful Death. There are indeed Innumerable Woes, which they that Live in Uncleanness, are, while they Live, Exposed unto. Particularly, If they come to be settled in a Marriage, among their Neighbours: 'tis well, if they don't meet with sore Crosses, Vanities and Vexations, in their Marriage, to Correct them for the Uncleanness, in which while they were Single they indulged themselves. When David had been Unclean, this follow'd upon it, in 2 Sam. 12. 10,11. The Sword shall never depart from the House; Behold, I will Raise up Evil against thee, out of thine own House. But it is when thy come to Dy, that the Unclean see the Extremity of their Woes.
If you Enquire, Wherein the Death of the Unclean will be a Woful One? For Answer, It will Probably be in much Poverty, however in much Dishonour, that the Unclean must leave the World. Uncleanness, is that whereof we are told, in Prov.6.26. By means thereof, a man is brought unto a piece of Bread. It is Commonly by Fulness of Bread, that persons do Pamper themselves into Uncleanness; Yea, but by Uncleanness they come to be Scarce worth a Piece of Bread, when [Page 50] they go off the Stage. It brings a Secret, but a Certain I last, upon the Estates of men: Job said of it, It is a Fire that consumes to Destruction, and it would R [...]t out all my Increase. Uncleanness, is that also, whereof we are told in Prov. 6.33. A wound & a Dishonour shall he get, & his Reproach shall not be wiped away; that Committeth it. However Honourable a man may be otherwise, Uncleanness will soon lay his Honour in the Dust; there is a Hot in the Scutcheon, when Uncleanness has defiled it: Paul said of it, It is a Vile Affection.
Again, The Unclean must Probabl [...] leave the World, with the Humiliation of seeing None, or however, but a Poor Posterity rising after them. Tis a frequent Thing, for that Great Blessing of Children, to be Deny'd where the Guild of much Uncleanness is Lying on the Soul. It was Threatned in Hos. 4. 10. They shall commit Whoredome, & shall not Increase. There was no Conception in the House of Abimelek, while Uncleanness was designed there. We read of one Committing Adultery, and Presently said our Lord Jesus upon it, I will kill her Children with Death. Tis no Uncommon [Page 51] Chastisement for Uncleanness, Write this Person Childless, saith the Lord. Or, if Children are not always▪ Deny'd, yet they are often Cursed, where much Uncleanness is cleaving to the Family. It was Threatned, in Hos. 2. 4. I will not have Mercy upon her Children, for they are the Children of Whoredomes. It ha's been Commonly said, Peccatum Seminis punietur in Sem [...]e: Men are very unhappy in their Seed, because of the Uncleanness which those men have used. The Sin of their Bodies, they pay for it in the Fruit of their Bodies. Their Uncleanness ha's this Consequence, that their Offspring are not only an Infirm Generation, but also they do themselves fall into the Like Iniquities that their Parents did before them; to bring the Gray Hairs of those Drooping Mourning Parents with Sorrow to the Grave.
But, Lastly, and Chiefly. There is an Horrible Death of Soul, with which the Death of the Unclean is to be Aggravated. The Second Death, is indeed a Woful One; but such, O such, will be the Death of the Unclean forever. We are assured Concerning such, in Rev. [...]1. 8. They shall have their Part, in the Lake [Page 52] which burns with Fire and Brimstone; which is the Second Death. Alas, There is a Judicial Cecity and Sottishness, which Uncleanness do's for a long while bring upon the Souls of men: we read▪ It takes away the Heart. Ay, But, when the Sinners come to Dy, Oh! Wha [...] Horror do's then distress their Forsaken Souls! They Tremble, as the Unclean Felix did; They Tremble, in the ForeThoughts of the Judgment to come; and they are horribly afraid of coming into that Judgment. Nay, But the Judgment cannot be avoided. And what will it be? Will the Thrice Holy God, Receive any of them, into His Everlasting Rest? No, No. We are Assured in Rev. 21.27. There shall in no Wise Enter into it any thing that defileth. But what then [...] Then Imagine this Day, that you see these Unclean Goats, Quaking, and Shaking, before the Tribunal of the Lord Jesus Christ, as they shall at the Last Day, with a Fearful Expectation of a Fiery Indignation to devour them. And now, Hear the Judgment! Why, The Unclean have Cherished an Infernal Fire in their own Bowels. For this Cause, the Judgment of God upon them, will [...] [Page 53] Depart, ye cursed into Everlasting Fire! The Unclean have Gratify'd the Devil, who is a Foul-Fiend, in their Filthinesses. For this cause the Judgment of God upon them, will be, Depart, ye Cursed, with the Devil and his Angels. The Unclean have done Bruitish Things with their Bodies in this World; they shall therefore be Raised with Ugly Bodies in the World to come; and in these Bodies, they shall be so Tormented as to cry out, O for a Drop of Water to cool my Tongue! It is said of the Unclean, in Hos. 7.4,6. They are as an Oven heated by the Baker, they have made ready their Heart as an Oven. Well, for this very cause, in the Day of the Lord, that shall Burn like an Oven, they shall fall under such a Formidable Doom as that, in Psal. 21.9. Thou shalt make them as a fiery Oven, in the Time of thine Anger; the Lord shall swallow them up in His Wrath, and the Fire shall devour them.
It Remains that these things have now their, APPLICATION
And I Behold, Who, Behold, What, is the Mortal [...] of the World! The most of men do now Dy in Youth; More Dy before Twenty, than after Sixty: [Page] Yea, tis now to no more than Se [...]on Years that a Life is by the Reckoning of the Law Abbreviated. But what is it that so drags us along to an Untimely Death? Truly, Tis Wickedness, and especially, tis Uncleanness; That is the Knife which cutts the Throats of Millions in every Generation. It was demanded, in Joh 21. 17. How is the Candle, of the Wicked put out? Our Lives are not permitted, of themselves to go out, but they are put out by Hasty Anticipations of Mortality. Whence is this? Tis our Wickedness that is the Extinguisher. Ah! SIN; He that sees it, may say upon it, and unto it, Have I found thee, O mine Enemy! SIN tis, that I do in the Name of the Great God, Indict this Day, for the Murdering of the World. It was That which at first Robb'd us of the Immortality, whereof our God made us Capable; and it is That which Continually further Weakens, and Shortens, and Forfeits our Lives. Every Sin is Mortal; there is none Venial. Wherefore, If any of you are going to meddle with any Wickedness, and especially with Uncleanness, I am to call upon you, Man, There is Death in▪ the [...]! I [...] thou Lovest thy Life; O do not that Abominable [Page 55] thing, which is hated by the Soul of the Lord! By Sinning against God, it is that men, do Run upon the Thick Bosses of His Buckler: Yea, but those Thick Bosses will be the Death of all that R [...]n upon them. And there are some Degrees of Sinning, which the Magistrates, the Vice-gerents of God, must also in his Name, inflict a Death upon. There are Particularly, some sorts of Turpitude, wherein if men Offend, the Officers of God in the World, are to Rid and Cleanse the World of these Offendors. Job said, If my Heart have been deceived by a Woman, this is an heinous Crime, yea, it is an Iniquity to be Punished by the Judges. And the Crime sometimes may become so unnaturally heinous, that nothing less than Death, should be the Punishment from the Judges for that Iniquity. But on the other hand, It is a Maxim of Wisdom, in Prov. 19. 23. The Fear of the Lord, tendeth to Life; and in Prov. 19. 26. The Fear of the Lord, prolongeth Dayes. No Elixir Like to that! Religion, t'will Establish those Good Terms between God and Us, that we shall not complain, Lord, we are Consumed by thine Anger! And Religion, will beget such a Calmness, a Serenity, a Satisfaction unto our Spirits, as [Page 56] will Contribute more than a little to their long Abode in their Clay-Tabernacles But after all, if a Religious man do Dy Betimes; as many old [...]lves Live, when Young Lambs Dy▪ What then? Suppose it be so.
At hene si Moritur, Vita Perennis erit. The man is to Live in another and better World forever; Even for infinitely, more than Hundreds of Thousands; of Millions of Ages. His Life, in that World, after the Efflux of more Years, than the Stars in the Sky, than the Sands; on the Shore, than the Drops of Water in the Deepest Ocean, shall be no nearer to an End, than the first Minute it Commenced! Of Religion, I do then say with Moses, in Deut. 32. 47. Man, it is thy Life! A Bad man once cry'd out, Wh [...] shall Live? And a Good man after long answered the Problem so, The Just, he shall Live.
II. Behold, One Ground of the Mortality, which we dayly Behold upon the Rising Generation in our Land. What multitudes among us, do we see Dy in Youth! This Land is making the Lamentation that was made by the Church of old, The Lord ha's called an Assembly against me, to Crush my Young men, How many Scores of Young men have sometime [...] [Page 57] been lost from one Little Town, within two or three Years, by the Disastrous Plagues and Wars that have been upon us! And how many of our Young men that have Travelled into other Countrys, have there fallen under the Terrible Hand of God! Unto us may our God say, as He said unto Israel of old, Your, Young men have I Slain. But what for, I pray? Now, Methinks, the Wickedness, & Especially the Uncleanness too rise among our Young People, should be acknowledged, among the Causes of these Calamities. What said the Prophet in Isa. 9.17. The Lord shall have no Joy in their Young men, for every one is an evil door. So little Joy indeed ha's our God in our Young People, that He is every day saying over them, Indians, Do you come; Frenchmen do you come; Fevers, do you come; & cut off as many of those young People, as come in your way! Dreadful case! But, O Lord, what means the Heat of this thine Anger, against my poor miserable Generation? Truly, you see the Rise of all this Mischief. Tis because there are so many Evil Doers in this Generation. But of all the Evil-doers, among our Young people, there is one more frequent, or more fatal, than the Uncleanness, wherein so many of them do manifest [Page 58] their Wickedness. It is possible, that Old people, may by their Beastly Baseness help to pull down the Fury of a Provoked God upon the Land. It is here said The Hypocrites in Heart have their Life among the Unclean. Why, There may be Old Professors, Old Church-Members, that may be Old Hypocrites in this regard. They seem to be Religious, they will be much at Meetings, they Look devout at the Table of the Lord, they will be very Zealous and Precise about some little Niceties; Yea, but they are most Wanton Satyrs in Secret places; their Wantonness makes them Stink, before the Son of God, who will have the Churches to know, that He Searches the Hearts & Tryes the Reins of the Children of men. Such thing as these, are the Achans of the Land. But it is the Young people that are this way the most Extravagant. How few▪ Oh! how few can say as the Blessed Ezekiel did, Ah! Lord God, Behold my Soul ha's not been polluted from my Youth! No, I remember a strange passage which Erasmus's Confessor had in a Sermon against Adultery; If, said he, the Law of Stoning Adulterers to Death were now Execited, all the Stones of this Great Rocky [Page 59] mountain here, would not be enough to serve the Executions. Instead of that, I might say, If all the Young People, that have many ways, Polluted themselves, from their Youth up, were turned out of our Assemblies, we should have Thin Assemblies Left! And there are especially two of the most ungrateful Seasons, that Young People take to multiply those their Diabolical Pollutions. There is the Close of the Sabbath, and there is the Joy of the Harvest; these instead of being improved in Thankfulness to God, are Employ'd in spreading of Uncleanness through the Land. Yea, But for this very Cause it is, that God Almighty is by His Desolating Judgments apace turning of them out of our Assemblies. God from Heaven, is denouncing of that Wofulness upon us, in Jere. 6.11. I am full of the Fury of the Lord, I will pour it on the Assembly of the Young men together; and that in, Jere. 42.26. Her Young men, shall fall in her Streets. But I now tell you, Why such Things do come to pass? The Time was, that there were Unclean Young men among the people of God; Yea, even those Young men that were set a part for the Service of the Tabernacle, were, how Unclean! It was then said, The Sin of the Young men was very great before the Lord. [Page 60] And what comes of it, but this? The Lord Slew the Young; men with sweeping Desolations. Mark what I say, The Omnipresent God, He is a Witness to all the Unclean Things done by you in Secret places, which, as the Apostle says, T were a Shame to speak of. The All-seeing Eye of God is upon you, in all the Revels, and all the Riots, and all the Baudy Unclean Exorbitancies, wherein you, Work out all Filthiness with all Greediness. Yea, but the Jealous God immediately then says to the Angel of Death; Go Brand those Young Wretches, for Destruction; set a Mark upon them, that so the Beesom of Destruction of may sweep them away, among the Generation of my wrath. So tis, that so many of you come to Dy in Youth! Leave off then, O Young people, all these Evil wayes. Let me call upon you, as the Angel did upon Austin; Take up the Bible & Read! Take up the Bible & Read! And now turn, as Austin did, unto that place in the Bible, Rom. 13.11,12,13. It is High Time to Awake out of Sleep; cast off the Works of Darkness; Walk Honestly,—not in Chambering and Wentonness. Unclean Austin was thus Reclamed; Good God, That we may now see many an Unclean Sinner so!
But,
[Page 61] III. Behold, what we are to do, that so an Early, and a Woful Death, may not Overtake us. Do that which the Apostle Directs in 2 Tim. 2. 22. Flee Youthful Lusts.
Let me now, with all due Solemnity Address all those who are yet in their Youth, with some Necessary Crho [...]tations unto those things, that may prevent their Dying in this their Youth. When Solomon was going to make the Report, of the Wickedness, and especially of the Uncleanness, practised in Jerusalem, he said, in Prov. 7. 7. I Discerned among the Youths, a Young Man void of Understanding, Such an one there was in the Snares of Death. Are there none of those Youths, no such Young Ones, void of Understanding, or, at least, none that are in a desperate Hazzard of becoming such, in this Great Congregation? It is with You, that we are now to Expostulate; and unto you, I say; Consider what you are doing, Consider where you are going; Hear the Compassionate Jesus now Sighing over you, O that they were wise, and that they would Consider their Latter End! Upon every Act of more Enormous Wickedness, and especially of Uncleanness; you may say, as in Isa 38. 12. I have out [...] my Life. You Ripe [...] in Sin apace, except you Bewayl and Forsake that Sin. You are Likely to Dy in Youth, if you do not now Turn in Youth, from the [Page 62] Sins that make you worthy to Dy. It has been Celebrated, as a property of our Nation; They are, [as Lucan said of Another] Prodiga Gens Animi, properare facillima morte [...].
Yea, But if we are forward enough to throw away our Lives, in a way of Courage, yet, Oh! Let us not be so in [...] way of Wickedness, and of Uncleaness. Young man, why so fast? If thou arrive at Hell, half an Hundred Years hence, one would think, That should be soon enough! But art thou mad upon going down to dwell in the Consuming Fire, and in the Everlasting Burnings; before the ordinary period of Humane Life? Foolish Youth! Who hath Bewitched thee? Consid [...] seriously, the direful Concomitants of the Death, which thou art in such a furious career unto: The Rattle Snake is Leaping apace towards thee, young man; and it will fasten a thousand Stings [...] thy Soul, when it shall shortly Coyl about [...]ee. Consider, the Anguish which [...] wilt feel in thy Heart, when thou art passing out of this World. How wilt thou Mourn at the Last, and then Gnash thy Teeth, What a Fool was I thus to destroy my own Life and Soul for ever! For a young man to be thus Cursed, Like a Sinner of an Hundred Years Old! Consider the Welcome which the Devils will give thee, at thy passing into the other World. How will those Fiends of [Page 63] Darkness then insult over thee? and say, What? Are you come hither! Young man, whence came you? what, from a place where you had the Gospel of God ever Sounding in your Ears! Do they then from such a place as that, make such haste unto this Place of Torment! And O Consider the Everlasting Regret, that will Torture thy Soul, when thou shalt have the Unclean Dragons of the Wilderness, about thee for ever.
Under the Influence of these Considerations, Let these Counsels be Acceptable with you.
First. Whatever you do, you must keep this Rule as your Life; Let not your Life, be among the Unclean. Have you fallen into the Quagmires of Uncleanness? O Get up, like true Sheep, immediately; get your selves Washed in the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Rinsed in the Saving Waters of Regeneration and Repentance; yea, Let the Fifty First Psalm for ever be the Tune of your Devotions. About this you have cause to be the more earnest, because there are very few Recovered out of this Iniquity. Says the Wiseman, in Prov. 2. 19. Few Return! even when they are quite worn out, their poisoned Souls will still be using Looks, and Words, that show them to be still Open Sepulchres. O Return, if possible, Return. And now, whenever and however you may [Page 64] be Urged any more unto Uncleanness, Repel the Temptations, as the pious young Joseph did, in Gen. 39. 9. How can I do this great Wickedness, and sin against God! If the Temptation grow yet more outragious, what if you should set your selves to Sing unto the Lord a proper Hymn, that may be a special Antidote against the Infestations of the Fiery Flying Serpents? It may be Musick may Compose and Allay the Royls in your Souls, and the Evil Spirit may withdraw, at the Harp of David.
[Such a Shield as this, has been sometimes held up against such Fiery Darts.
Such Thoughts as these leisurely and thoroughly prosecuted, will Nail thy Lust unto the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; and let [...]me tell thee, there is no way to Mortify a Lust, but by Hanging it, on that Blessed Cross]
But suppose a Disposition to Uncleanness, may be such a Grain in a mans. Temper, that it may be called, His own Iniquity; what shall we do then? Why then, there is a famous Prescription,
First, Pray much, and pray with him, Lord, Create in me a clean Heart. Then East as well as Pray; if you Fast, the Unclean Kind may go out: Fasting Spittle will [Page] kill a Boyl. Nextly, Read much the Sanctifying Truths of God: It is by Taking heed thereto, that, The Young man may cleanse his way: but shun all obscaene Books, as you would the Rags that had the Plague about them. Once more; Be not Idle, be not Slothful, have something at your Calling still to do. So you may come to say, as one usually too hard for the Devil did, The Devil never finds me at leisure for him. You know, when and how David fell! But permit me to add one Advice more; and that is; Call for a Chafing-Dish of Burning Coals A Chast Person sollicited unto Folly requested the young man, to do one thing for her, first; That was, To hold his hand one quarter of an Hour in a Chasing-Dish of Burning Coals for her sake. He refused this, as a very unreasonable Thing; but she then Replied, And how then can you ask me, for your sake, to throw my self Body and Soul, into the Fire of Hell, to Ly and Burn and Broil in that Fire throughout Eternal Ages! Is not that more unreasonable? Argue at such a Rate as that; perhaps one Fire will fetch out another? Even an Heathen of old, Chaffering: about an Unclean Bargain, could say, No, I won't Buy Sorrow at so dear a Rate. O Think, what a p [...]rensy 'tis, to cast a Soul into Eternal Fire, for the Dream of, The pleasures of Sin, which also are, But [Page 67] for a season. But unto all add this; wha [...] will all signifie, if you associate your selve among the Unclean? It was with reference to Uncleanness, that it is said in Prov. 6 17. Can a man take fire in his Bosome, and his Cloaths not be burnt? Why, if you take the Unclean, for your Companions, it you Drink with them, if you Dance with them, if you Game with them, and if you spend your Time, in their Nocturnal Frosicks, you take Fire in your Bosomes; your Souls will take Fire from such Incentives. Be not such a Beast as to run into the Fire; A Companion of such Fools will be destroyed.
But [...]ert▪ Among whom then, shall be your Life? The Rule is, let your Life be among them, that have the Fear of God within them. Don't think, That a Young Saint will make an Old Devil; but know, that if thy life be not among Young Saints, thou art like to go to the Devil before thou art Old Say, with the Psalmist in Psal. 119. 63. I am a Companion of all them, that fear thee, O Lord, and that keep Thy Precepts. There are young Persons, that lead a Godly, a Sober, a Righteous Life; Let your Life be among persons of such a Life! Let your Life be among the Young Josiahs, that Seek the Lord while they are yet young; among the Young Timothies, that from a Child have known the Holy Scriptures; among the young Obadiahs, that can say, I fear the Lord from my Youth. [Page 68] There are young persons, both Men and Maids, who sincerely and secretly give themselves up to the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, in the Covenant of His [...]rac [...]; and who then openly Lay hold on that Covenant among the People of God; May your Life be among such young ones! There are young persons, both Men and Maids, in this Town, who do not spend the Sabbath-Evening in such polluting Diversions, as too many do; but they then in Little Knots come together, to seek the Face of God, and Sing the Praise of God, and Repeat the Sermons of the foregoing Day; May your Life be among such young Ones! I am confident, you all wish, Let me die the Death of those Righteous young persons, and let my Last End be like Theirs! But I say to you, Let your Life be among them, or else your Death will be your Eternal Separation from them.
And [...] of all; Be at last prevailed withal, to take the Warnings of such as have D'd in Y [...]uth, because their Life has been among the Unclean. You have seen some, in their youth carried from the Living, by the Whirlwind of the Wrath, of God! Oh! may the Groans, the Cries, the Dolorous and the Dying Ejulations of those Young Transgressors, become Effectual Warnings into all of you that are yet alive. Let it be [Page 69] so, Lest, that come upon you, which is foretold, in Prov. 29. 1. He that being often Reproved, hardeneth his Neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without Remedy. The young persons that have sometimes Died in and for their Uncleanness among us; have you not heard their solemn Admonitions when their Trouble, their Darkness, and the, Dimness of their Anguish, has been upon them. When those forlorn Outcasts have stood just upon the Edges of an awful Eternity, how vehemently have they call'd upon all Survivers, to Beware of coming to the place to Torment after them! Oh! how they have Roar'd unto our young ones, Whatever you do, Sirs, do not Lead such Unclean, Profane, Prayerless Lives as we have done: How have they Roar'd, Whatever you do, make sure of a precious Christ, for an Immortal Soul, before it be too Late! Well, Take these Affectionate Warnings And among the rest, Give Ear unto the Dying Speeches of the young Woman, whose Execution you are to see this Afternoon. She has put into my Hand, and sign'd with her own, these Dying Expressions of her Distressed Soul; which it will not be unprofitable, for me to publish this Day among you.
[Page 70] I Am a Miserable Sinner; and I have Justly Provoked the Holy God to leave me unto that Folly of my own Heart, for which I am now Condemned to Dy. I cannot but see much of the Anger of God against me, in the Circumstances; of my Woful Death; He hath Fulfilled upon me, that Word of His, Evil Pursueth Sinners. I therefore desire, Humbly to Confess my many Sins before God, and the World: but most particularly my Blood-Guiltiness. Before the Birth of my Twin-Infants, I too much Parlyed with the Temptations of the Devil, to Smother my Wickedness by Murthering of them: At length, when they were Born, I was not unsensible, that at least, One of them was alive; but such a Wretch was I, as to use a Murderous Carriage towards them, in the place where I lay, on purpose to Dispatch them out of the World. I acknowledge that I have been more Hard-Hearted than the Sea-Monsters: and yet for the Pardon of these my Sins, I would Fly to the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the only Fountain set open for Sin and Uncleanness I know not how better to Glorify God, for giving me such an Opportunity as I have had to make sure of His Mercy, than by advising & entreating the Rising Generation here, to take Warning by my Example; and I will therefore tell the Sins, that have brought me to my [Page 71] shameful End. I do Warn all People, and especially, Young People, against the Sin of Uncleanness in particular; 'tis that Sin, that hath been my Ruine; well had it been for me, if I had answered all Temptations to that Sin, as Joseph did, How shall I do this Wickedness and Sin against God? But, I see, Bad Company is that, which leads to that, & all other Sins; and I therefore beg all that Love their Souls to be familiar with none but such as fear God. I believe, the chief thing that hath, brought me, into my present Condition, is my Disobedience to my Parents: I despised all their Godly Counsils and Reproofs; and I was always of an Haughty and Stubborn Spirit. So that now I am bebecome a dreadful Instance of the Curse of God belonging to Disobedient Children. I must Beway I this also, that although I was Baptised, yet when I grow up, I forgot the Bonds that were laid upon me to be the Lords, Had I given my self to God, as soon as I was capable to consider that I had been in Baptism, set apart for him, How happy had I been! It was my Delay to Repent of my former Sins, that Provoked God to leave me unto the Crimes, for which I am now to Dy. Had I Seriously Repented of my Uncleanness the First Time I fell into it, I do Suppose, I had not been left unto what followed. Let all take it from me; they▪ little think, what [Page 72] they do, when they put off turning from Sin to God▪ and Resist the Strivings of the Holy Spirit. I fear, 'tis for this, that I have been given up to such Hardness of Heart, not only since my long Imprisonment, but also since my Just Condemnation. I now know not what will become of my Distressed, perishing Soul. but I would humbly Commit it unto the Mercy of God in Jesus Christ; Amen
Every Clause of this Writing, has more than Once or Twice been Distinctly Owned by this Dying Soul, before Various Witnesses. Indeed, I Fear, I Fear! This is not All that she should have Acknowledged. However as far as they go, may the Lord God now Sanctify these Warnings, to all the Young Ones, for whom they are intended!
§ And now, unto you that are presently to Dy, an Early and a Woful Death, because of your Life among the Unclean [as well as unto the other Poor Creature, that for the very same Crime, stands here in the same Condemnation with you] I have but One Word more to speak.
I Question whether ever any Prisoner in this World, enjoy'd such means of Grace as you have done since your Imprisonment; & it may be there never was a Prisoner more Hard-Hearted, and more Unfruitful, than you [Page 73] have been under those means for a long while together. Many Hours would not serve to Recite the Instructions and Awakenings that have been inculcated upon you, since you were first Apprehended; and you have now but a few Minutes left you, to make Sure of that Great Salvation which has in all been tendred you. But Miserable Soul, How canst thou Escape, if thou neglected that Great Salvation? However, there is One Word, wherewith I am to acquaint you after all; 'tis in Zech. 13. 1. There shall be a Fountain Opened for Sin, and for Uncleanness. Your Sin has been Uncleanness, Repeated Uncleanness, Impudent Uncleanness, Murderous Uncleanness: You must, like the Leper, Cry out, Unclean! Unclean! But behold; there is a Fountain set Open for you. Only be it known unto thee, that all thy known Sins must be Vomited out by thy Penitent Confession of them, when thou comest unto that Open Fountain. And Oh! How should this Dissolve your Adamantine Heart into the most Penitent Confession, when that altho' you have shed the Blood of your own Children, to cover your Uncleanness, yet the Son of God, is willing to Wash your Soul, in his own most Invaluable Blood? Come then I beseech you, unto that, Open Fountain; Come with Importunate entreaties that the Blood [Page 74] of the Lord Jesus Christ, may Wash away all your sins; and that you may be Sanctify'd as well as Justified, by this Blood of the New-Covenant. Because you have been a Blocdy Wretch, therefore 'tis that now you must not Live out half your Days; The Primitive Christians, I find sometimes using these words, We count it a sort of Murder to disturb Conception; and what shall we count it then to Kill Infants already Born into the World? Why, Thou Elizabeth, (and thy Black Fellow-Sufferer there!) has been such a Bloody Murderer. But Oh! See to it, that you be not a Deceitful One; you say, That sin becomes Bitter, and that Christ becomes Precious, to your Soul; O be concerned that you be not Ruined by this thing. A Deceitful heart hath turned her aside, she D [...]es with a Lye in her Right Hand! Altho' Solomon speaking of them that have been Rescued from the entanglements of Uncleanness, could say One man among a Thousand have I found, but a Woman among all those have I not found; yet, why may'st not thou, what ails that Unconquerable Heart of thine, that thou mayest not be such a Saved Woman? What shall I say? tho' thou hast gone a Whoring, yet Return unto me saith the Lord. Say then! Within a few Minutes thou shalt be standing before the Judgment-Seat of God, from [Page 75] whence there was never made the offer of a Saviour,; But I am now once more to Renew that Offer in thine hearing. Say, thou Forsaken Soul! The Lord of Heaven Himself, do's from Heaven yet once more ask of thee; Shall be thy Lord-Redeemer? Shall I bestow on thee Wisdome, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption? Dost thou Consent, Poor Soul, Canst thou Consent? Behold, this is the last time of asking. The Lord of Glory does now, after all thy Abominations, put this upon thee; Shall I give unto thee, both Repentance and Remission of Sins? Shall I bring thee into a state of Reconciliation with God? If thou dost Refuse, thou shalt never hear one Kind Word from the Lord Jesus more; thou shalt hear nothing but the Thunder of his Wrath Cursing of thee in the Bottom of Hell, till the very Heavens be no more! If thou dost Comply, there is then yet Hope in the Latter End; thou art then yet a Prisoner of Hope!
Oh that we may now see thee Washing the Feet of Our Lord with thy Tears, and with a moved [Page 76] Melted, Broken Soul. Clasping [...]bout those His Glorious Feet, untill He shall say, Her Sins which were many are Forgiven her!