THE Beloved Apostle Iohn, writing to Gaius, in his Third Epistle, ver. 4. says, I have no greater joy, than to hear that my Children walk in the Truth. And truly, what greater ground of Joy & Comfort can there be to a Minister of the Gospel, who has his Heart set for the Conversion of Souls to God, than to see the Children of his People earnestly seeking and serving the Lord, according to the Truths of the Gospel? The Lambs in the Flock are a great Part of our Charge, and the Hopes of the Flock; and that they may be kept from wandring [Page 2] out of the path of Life, or when they have gone astray may be r [...]overed and brought into the Fold of Christ, is a very great part of the Work of the Evangelical Ministry. Hence the Apostle directs Titus, to exhort Young Men to be sober-minded, Tit. II 6. And hence, you find the Word of God so often addressed unto Young People, that they would remember their Creator in the days of their Youth; and so often setting Ex­amples before them of those that in their Youth turned unto God, and sought Him with their whole Heart; and so often the Commend given unto the Young Disciples, as the Beloved Disci­ples; all of it to encourage and perswade our Young People to become virtuous, sober, & Re­ligious betimes.

To this purpose serve the Words of my Text. For whatsoever Things were written aforetime are written for our Instruction.

IN This, and the following Chapter, we have an account of good Iosiah's Reign, succeeding the Reigns of a wicked Manasseh & Amon; and it is recorded of him, That he did that which was Right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his Father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left; For in the Eighth Year of his Reign, &c. Iosiah was but Eight Years old when he began to reign, as we see in ver. 1. and he began to seek after God in the Eighth Year of his Reign, as the text tells us, so that while he was yet but a very Young Man, in the Sixteenth Year of his Age, so soon as he came to Years of Discretion and Understanding, we find him be­ginning to seek the Lord. This is recorded of [Page 3] him to his Commendation, and was that which laid the Foundation of his great Serviceableness, in his more advanced Years. Herein he did but what was his Duty, what he owed to God, & his own Soul; and he reaped the Advantage of it afterwards, for his Reign was more peaceful and prosperous, than that of the wicked Kings that went before him, or any that came after him, and he lived not to see the Evil which God bro't upon Jerusalem. From the Words we may raise this DOCTRINE, viz.

DOCTRINE. THAT it is the Duty and Interest of Young Per­sons to seek the Lord, while they are yet Young.

In speaking to which I will

1. BRIEFLY shew what is imployed in seeking the Lord. And then,

2. WHY Young Persons should seek the Lord, while they are yet Young.

I. WHAT is implied in seeking the Lord. Tho' sometimes seeking the Lord is to be understood in a limitted & restrained sense, and so it means Prayer, and calling upon God; yet here it is evidently to be understood in a large and more extensive meaning; for 'tis mentioned as the Characteristick of Iosiah's Religious Temper and Disposition, & therefore includes in it the whole of Religion, even all that Duty which we owe to God, and our own Souls.

And accordingly,

1. SEEKING after God implies in it, a devout [Page 4] and reverent Respect to the Divine Being & Perfections. That which we seek after we have a respect and value for: we look upon it as certain, and worth our having. Now our respect and value for God turns upon the serious, decent, and awful Appre­hensions which we entertain in our Minds, of His Being, and adorable Perfections; that is to say, that our Hearts are ever kept under the strong and powerful Impressions of a fixed Belief, and Acknowledgment, that as He hath manifested Himself, so He is Infinite, Eternal and Unchan­geable, in His Being, Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Justice, Goodness, and Truth. This is to be lay'd in the Foundation of our Seeking after God. And thus should Young Persons maintain upon their Minds the awful Apprehensions of it, that veri­ly there is a God; a God that made the Heavens, the Earth and the Sea, and all things that there­in are; and therefore a God that made them, that has given Life & Breath to them, that upholds them in Life, and Preserves and Defends them, and Feeds and Cloaths them, and in whom it is that they live, and move, and have their Being. And because the Name of this God is Holy and Reverend, therefore they should be exceeding careful that they do not Injure, and Prophane, and Blaspheme, & take His Holy Name in vain; but should always think, and speak reverently of God, and maintain an holy Aw of God, His Name, Titles, Attributes, Worship, Word, and Works, upon their Hearts.

2 SEEKING after God implies in it, a sincere and hearty choice of the Lord for our God. That which we seek after, we make Choice of; our [Page 5] Affections are set upon it, and our Will embraces it, and determines for it. Thus Young Persons should seek after God, by a sincere and unfeign­ed Choice of the Lord for their God, dedicating themselves to Him, and resolving to be for the Lord, and for no other. Their Wills should close with Him, by a serious Choice of the Ever­living Jehovah, God Father, Son and Holy Spi­rit, for their God and Father, their Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Their Affections should close with this God, by loving Him with all their Heart, with all their Soul, with all their Mind, and with all their Stre [...]gth; and the earnest Desire of their Souls should be after God in Christ, that they may enjoy His Favour, which is better than Life; and that the Divine Image may be stamped upon them in Righteousness and true Holiness, the Dignity & Glory of their Nature. They should say with the Psalmist, Psal. lxiii.1. O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee; my Soul thirsteth for Thee; my Flesh longeth for Thee. They should choose an Interest in Christ, as the one thing needful, and prefer it above all the Enjoyments of this World. They should make Choice of that Good part which cannot be taken away from them, even a Portion in Heaven, which will be equal to the Nature & Duration, of their Immortal Souls; that when they come to Dye, and leave this World, they may go to the House not made with Hands, Eternal in the Heavens.

3. To seek after God implies in it, a diligent use of all proper Methods to obtain Him. That which we seek for, we are wont to search after [Page 6] it, to take pains to find it, and use all likely Methods to obtain it. And thus should Young Persons seek after God, in the diligent use of all appointed Means, and in improving all the proper Methods, by which God may become their God, and Portion for ever. And what are the proper Methods herefor? But the Exercise of those various Duties of Religion, Sobriety, the Fear of God, and Obedience to His Commands, which God Himself hath directed us to. Thus then they should seek after God, in a diligent Attendance upon all the Duties of Religion; by the Performance of the Duties of Natural Reli­gion, in their earnest Prayers to God, publick and private, in their Families, and in their Clo­sets, and in Praising of Him; and in all the Acts of Instituted Religion, remembring to keep Holy the Sabbath Day, seriously attending upon the Word & Ordinances of God in His House, coming under the Baptism of the Lord, and carefully living up to their Baptismal Engagements, and by preparing themselves for, and approaching to the Holy Table of the Lord, that they may re­ceive the Childrens Bread. Thus we find it re­corded of good Iosiah, that he took care of the Service of the House of God, and kept the Passover.

THUS Young Persons should seek the Lord, by an universal Obedience to His holy Command­ments, Psal. CXIX.9. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way, by taking heed thereto according to thy Word. They should diligently read, and hear the Word of God, and meditate upon it, and en­deavour to govern their Practice according to it. [Page 7] They should observe what that Word says, and take heed to obey and do it. They should im­prove it as a Lamp to their Feet, and a Light to their Path; make it the Rule of their walk, and according to the Directions thereof, live So­berly, Righteously and Godly in this present World, that they may not injure any in Word, or in Deed, but may be meek and humble, bene­ficent and kind, and full of all Goodness & Cha­rity to all about them. Thus Iosiah, when he had found the Book of the Law read therein, and formed his Practice according to it.

4. SEEKING after God implies in it, unfeigned Repentance of all Sin. When we are seeking after any thing, we endeavour to remove every thing out of the way that would hinder our finding it. Now Sin is the only thing that would hinder our obtaining the Favour of God; and therefore this must be put away, by unfeigned Repentance. Thus therefore Young Persons should seek after the Lord, by Repenting of all their Sins, and turning from them, with all their Heart & Soul. 'Tis a Direction given to Young Persons, Prov. I.23. Turn you at my Reproof. They should therefore look upon their past Sins with Abhor­rence and Detestation, and loath themselves in their own Eyes, and mourn and lament before the Lord because of them, and judge & condemn themselves, as unworthy of the least Mercy from God, and deserving of His highest Displeasure, for their manifold & aggravated Transgressions: they should resolve for the Time to come, to have nothing more to do with the unfruitful Works of Darkness, and be ever upon their Watch [Page 8] and Guard against Sin, and strenuously resist all Temptations thereto: they should make it their great Care to flee Youthful Lusts, to keep them­selves pure and unspotted from the World, and approve themselves blameless and unrebukable, as the Children of God, in the midst of a crook­ed and perverse Nation. These things are im­plied in seeking after God. I pass,

II. TO shew why Young Persons should thus seek the Lord, while they are yet Young.

And here,

1. GOD Himself requires of Young People, and Commands them thus to seek after Him. Hence is that, Eccl. XII.1. Remember thy Creator in the Days of thy Youth. q d. While thou art yet Young, remember there is a God, who made thee to serve and glorify Him; and remember to make it the main Business of thy Life to ans­wer the End of thy Creation, to love this God, to devote thy self to Him, to obey His Commands, and shun all that would be offensive to Him. Thus it is a Rule and Injunction given to Young Persons, 2 Tim. II.22. Flee Youthful Lusts: be very careful to guard against all the Vices that Youth is most inclined and addicted to. This sufficiently shews that God requires it of Young People to seek after Him. And has God com­manded Thee, and wilt thou dare to disobey Him! Has He not all imaginable Right to re­quire this of Thee? and art thou not under the most strong and powerful Obligations to do what He requires? Is He not thy God; the God that [Page 9] hath made thee? thy Father that hath bought thee, and established thee? And oughtest thou not to live in Obedience to Him from whom thou receivest thy very Being? Is He not the God that preserves thee, that daily takes care of thee, and supplies thy Wants, and redeemeth thy Life from Destruction? And shouldest thou not in gratitude to Him for all his Benefits to thee, be ready to yield Obedience to whatsoever He enjoyns thee? Is not all thy Hope of Eternal Life and Happiness founded upon His Infinite Grace and Mercy to thee? Canst thou expect to be saved without the Strength of His Arm, and the Wonders of His Grace appearing for thee? And wilt thou not then remember to hearken to His Voice, and diligently enquire after Him? Yea, cannot He punish thee, and make thee mise­rable in the place of Torment forever, if thou shouldst be disobedient to His Command? And knowing the Terrors of the Lord, wilt thou not be perswaded to become a willing and obedient Subject to Him? O that our Young People would be prevailed withal to consider the manifold Obligations lying upon them to obey the Heaven­ly Voice, and yield a ready Compliance with what the Lord their God requires of them.

2. THERE is the Example of many others who have sought after God while they were yet Young. The Sacred Scripture gives you many Instances of such as began betimes to seek after God. David did so, who could say, Psal. LXXI 9. Thou art my Hope, O God, thou art my Trust from my Youth. It was a Young Ioseph, who could say, when tempted to Uncleanness, Gen. XXXIX.9. [Page 10] How can I do this great Wickedness, and Sin against God. Moses had made his Choice of God while he was yet Young, of whom it is said, Heb▪ XI.24,— When he was come to years (of Discretion,) he re­fused to be called the son of Pharaoh's Daughter, chu­sing rather to suffer afflictions with the People of God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season; esteem­ing the reproach of Christ greater Riches, than the Treasures of Egypt, for he had respect unto the re­compence of Reward. Obadiah could say, as 1 Kin. XVIII.12. I thy Servant fear the Lord from my Youth. Of Iosiah 'tis here recorded that (in the Sixteenth Year of his Age) while he was yet Young he began to seek after the Lord. And we are told of Timothy, 2 Tim. III.15. That from a Child thou hast known the Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise to Salvation. Thus we have several Examples, upon sacred Record, and thro' the Mercy of the most High are not without some in our Days, of Young Persons seeking after the Lord: And what is the end of these Examples being set before you, but to shew you your Duty, and encourage you to it. O that a Principle of laudable Ambition might fire the Breasts of our Young People, that they may be excited to go and do likewise.

3. IT will be every way unspeakably to the Advantage of Young People to seek after the Lord.

Here,

1. THIS will be of all things most profitable to Thee. Persons in their Youth are striving to make to themselves an Interest in this World; they are plotting & contriving, they labour and toyl, that they may get something of this Worlds [Page 11] Good, and if possible lay up for a rainy Day▪ But alas! what are all the Gains of this World, compared with the Gains of serious Religion and Godliness? If thou will seek God, and serve Him, and Live a Sober and Religious Life, this will bring in the greatest Revenue to thee. This will secure a Sufficiency of the Good things of this Life in the Covenant promise of God: for Godliness has the promise of the Life that now is. 1 Tim. IV.8. And our Blessed Saviour hath as­sured thee, if thou wilt seek first the Kingdom of God, & His Righteousness, that all these things shall be added unto you. Mat. VI.33. So that in this way of Seeking and serving God, you will most of all promote your Temporal Interest and Advantage; having these Things secured in the promise to thee, which is more than any Wick­ed Man has.

BUT besides all of this, by your thus Seeking the Lord in your Youth, you will bring in the greater Spiritual profit and Gain to you. You have precious and immortal Souls in you, and the more their Interest is advanced, the greater will be the profit you will reap thereby to your­selves. Now by your seeking after God in your Youth, by being Religious betimes you will gain the inward Peace and Satisfaction of your own Minds, the Rejoycing & Testimony of your Con­sciences for you, which alone will be better un­to you than all this World, without it. Thus the Keeping the Commandments is its own Re­ward, Psal. XIX.11. In keeping them there is great Reward. This also will be a means to possess you with the Grace of God, the Merchandize [Page 12] whereof is better than Silver, & the Gain there­of than fine Gold; and the sooner you begin to seek after God, the more you may expect [...]o have your Graces increased; and by a due improve­ment of them, lay in a greater St [...]ck against a Time of Need. And over and above, this will secure to you the Everlasting Happiness of your Souls, and increase your Weight of Glory, by your early dedicating yourselves to the Service of God, and longer Continuance therein. And say now, what is all the Profit and Gain of this World compared with this? especially if for the sake of this World, you should neglect God, and loose your own Souls. Mat. XVI 26. What is a Man profited, if [...]e shall gain the whole World, and loose his own Soul? or what shall a Man give in Ex­change for his Soul?

2. IF thou wilt Seek after God while thou art yet Young, this will greatly tend to thy Ho­nour. Young Persons are apt eno' to think of making a Figure in the World; and they ought to be concerned for their Good Name, and be careful to gain a Reputation; a laudable Ambi­tion should put them upo [...] striving to excell; for we are told Prov. XXII.1. A Good Name is ra­ther to be chosen than great Riches; and loving Fa­vour rather than Silver and Gold. But, alas! how very much are young Persons prone to mistake the way to establish their Reputation? 'Tis not to gratify their Lusts, to follow their carnal Ap­petites, to allow themselves in fashionable vices; this is not the way to Excellency and Dignity; but this will tend to bring a Blot upon thy Name, to Brand thee with the mark of Infamy. [Page 13] How natural is it to observe upon the Conduct of Young Persons, and to say of a vitious Young Man, "there goes a profligate debauched Young Fellow; and his Name becomes a Stench in the Nostrils of all sober, vertuous, and thinking Peo­ple. But the true Way to get a Reputation, and gain Applause is to do those things that are Vertuous & praise worthy. Hence we are told, Prov. XII.26. The Righteous is more excellent than his Neighbour. This, O Young Man, will be the way to make thy Name as precious Oynt­ment, the Perfume of it will be grateful where­ever it comes. The better Part of Mankind will value, esteem, and honour thee; Good People will rejoyce to see thee, and say of thee, that is an Excellent Young Man; and even the Vain and Profligate, who hate the Practice of Virtue, and will openly laugh and sc [...]ff at thy Preciseness, will yet have an inward Esteem and Veneration for the truly Religious Young Man. So that thy Vertue and Religion will be the most likely way, literally to bring thee to Honour, by promoting thee to Places of Eminency and Dignity among Men. Hence the Wise Man says of that Wisdom which is the Fear of the Lord, Prov. IV.8. Ex­alt her and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to Honour when thou dost embrace her.

BESIDES this will put the truest Mark of Ho­nour upon thee, as it will bring thee into a near Conformity to the Divine Likeness. This will raise thee above the Level of the Brute, & ren­der thee one of the precious Sons of Sion, and thou shalt be Honourable in the Eyes of thy God. And what greater Advancement canst thou De­sire? [Page 14] than to be one of the Children of the most High, to have the Eternal Son of God Himself encircle thy Brows with a radiant Crown, and seat thee with Himself on a Throne of unfading Glory. Yet so shall they be Honoured who thus devote themselves to the Service of God. John XII.26. If any Man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall my Servant be; if any Man serve me, him will my Father Honour.

3. THUS to seek the Lord, while thou art yet Young, will afford you the truest Joy and Plea­sure. This seems to be a very inticing Bait with Young Persons, who have their Hearts so much set upon their Pleasures; and therefore the great Adversary of Souls fails not to improve it to the best Advantage, on his side, to draw away the Minds of Young People from their Duty to God and their own Souls. They are ready to think that this and the other carnal Joy and sensual Pleasure must be gratified: and they are prone vainly to imagine that if they should become sober, and virtuous, they should be tied up to such strait Rules, as never more to know what Pleasure means. But stay, O Young Man, and think seriously a little; and then say which is the Way to have Pleasure. What are all the Pleasures thou art prone to be so fond of? At the best they are but of the lowest Kind, such as tend only to the gratifying of thy Body, and the lower Appetites. And wherein, after thy fullest Career in those low dreggy Pleasures, art thou better than the Beast, who is capable of them all, it may be in a higher degree of Sen­sation? What are all these to the Joy and Plea­sure [Page 15] of the Soul, which is to be found in the Ways of Wisdom? Her Ways are Ways of Plea­santness and all her Paths are Peace. Prov III.17. When thou hast tried all the Pleasures thou canst think of, in the Ways of Sin, thou wilt find none of them to be equal with the rational Satisfacti­on, arising from an Orderly walk: and yet these are greatly below the true refined Spiritual Plea­sures, resulting from a Life of true Religion and Godliness, the assurance of Gods Love, Peace of Conscience, Joy in the Holy Ghost.

BESIDES; all the Pleasures of Sin are followed sooner or later with the Lashes & Stings of an awakened and enraged Conscience. Thy guilty Conscience will one Day stare thee in the Face, and the dismal & ghastly Wounds, it will then give unto thy Soul, will abundantly over-ballance all the pretended Pleasures thou hast enjoyed, Prov. XXIII.32. At last it biteth like a Serpent, and stingeth like an Adder. Whereas the Pleasures of a Godly Life have no such horrid self-Reflecti­ons, are attended with no such remorse & horror; but afford a new Joy in the review of them.

NAY further all the Pleasures of Sin are but for a Season; as 'tis said of the Laughter of fools, Eccl. VII.6. 'Tis like the crackling of thorns under a pot: It may make a noise, but it is not lasting; and when it ends, will end either in a bitter Repentance, or in the amazing Horrors of of Eternal Fire. 'Tis said of him that indulges himself in sensual Pleasures, Prov. VII.22, 23. He goeth after her as an ox to the slaughter, as a fool to the correction of the stocks; till a dart strike thro' his liver, as a bird hasteneth to the snare, & knoweth [Page 16] not that it is for it's life. But the Pleasures of a life of serious Godliness are solid, substan­tial, & durable; they are true Pleasures, and lasting Joys. Tho' they may admit of an Inter­ruption, as to the actual Experience of them, at times; yet they will never leave thee, as long as thou art in the World; and when thou shalt be here no more, they will follow thee into the Eternal World, where thou shalt be swallowed up iwith endless and uninterrupted Joys; while the Wicked shall lie down in pure and endless Sorrow, Psal. XVI.11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of Ioy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

But,

4. To seek the Lord while thou art yet Young, is the way to save thy Immortal Soul forever. And what can be of greater Importance & Concern-to thee, than the Salvation of thy own Soul? What, I beseech thee, is needful for thee, if this is not? Dost thou think it needful to take care of thy Body, and provide for the comfortable Support of it? And is it not infinitely more needful that thy Soul be provided for? Is it needful for thee to comply with the inclination of thy Friends, and gratify thy Companions? And is it not infinitely more necessary to please thy Maker, and best Friend, that thou mayst be happy in his Favour? Whenever thou art tempted to do any thing contrary to the Law of God, upon the pretence of necessity, for thy Body, or thy Friend; think seriously with thy self, That but one thing is needful, and that is, that thou shouldst save thy precious Immortal Soul. Does [Page 17] not thy Soul lie wounded, bleeding, perishing▪ under the Power of Sin, the Energy of the De­vil, and the tremendous Wrath of an Angry and Almighty God? And will not you do all that you can to rescue it from this Misery, and pre­serve it from Eternal Perdition? Is it not abso­lutely necessary, and thy highest wisdom, that you should do so? Why, this is the Way to save thy Immortal Soul from all this Misery, and to render it compleatly Happy, to seek after GOD, to live Religiously, and walk in Obedience to the Divine Commandments, while thou art yet in thy Youth. For how canst thou hope to enjoy God, unless thou art faithful in His Ser­vice? or to see Him, if thou art not like Him? Without Holiness, no Man shall see the Lord. Heb. XII.14. How can you think of entring into the Kingdom of God, unless thou art new born? Has not our Saviour plainly said, Joh. III.3. Ve­rily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born a­gain, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Thou mayst call thy self a Christian, and say thou hast Faith, but without this all thy pretentions are vain; thy Faith is but a lifeless thing, while destitute of the works of Obedience to the Law of God. So that unless thou dost truly seek after, and serve God, repent of thy Sin, and lead a holy Life, thou wilt be miserable for ever. We are told, Rom. VIII.13. If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. If ye live in the service of Sin, ful­filling the desires of the Flesh and of the Mind, walking according to the course of the World, in gratifying your fleshly and carnal Appetites, ye shall die, & your Souls will be damned for ever, [Page 18] and it will be beyond the power of Heaven & Earth to save thee, if thou shouldst dye in thy Sins. For God will judge thee, and condemn thee for all thy evil ways; and who is he that shall shall deliver thee? Eccl. XI.9. Rejoyce, O young man, in thy youth, and let thine heart cheer thee, in the days of thy youth; and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. And what wilt thou do when God riseth up? what wilt thou answer Him when He visiteth, and calleth thee to an Account for all thy sinful and ungodly Courses? Verily, the Eternal Salvation or Damnation of thy Soul turns upon thy seeking and serving God; and there­fore thou oughtest to begin this now, in the days of thy Youth.

BUT I pass to make Improvement of this DOCTRINE.

USE. I. HENCE then, it must needs highly concern those that are far advanced in Years, to make speed & haste in their Seeking after God. If it be the Duty and Interest of Young People to seek the Lord, while they are yet Young; surely it must be your Duty and Interest, who have grey Hairs scattered here and there upon you. Alas; It is to be feared that there are many that have passed their Youth, that are got into advanced Age; yea, are there not some that have arrived even at Old Age? and yet unto this very Day, they have never truly, sincerely, heartily sought after God; but remain utter strangers to God, & Christ, and a Life of serious Religion, and Godliness: [Page 19] their Hearts are still in love with their Lust, their Language is profane, and impure, and their Actions are directly contrary to the holy Laws of God. And thinkest thou, O old Sinner, that thou shalt find favour with God, and be accepted to Mercy with Him, while thou art going on in thy Evil ways? O what will become of thee, when thou dyest? What a dreadful End will Death make of thee, if thou dost not truly seek the Lord, before thou liest down in the Grave? Has not thy Life been hitherto spent to the dishonour of God? Hast thou not been daily adding to the load of thy Guilt? that well mayst thou say, my Crimes are more than can be rec­koned up. Canst thou answer for one of thy innumerable Sins, when thou comest to stand before the Bar of God? And, what a poor inch of Time hast thou now left, to correct the Er­rors of thy past Life, to make thy Peace with God, and prepare for a dying Hour in? If God should say to thee, set thy House in Order, this Night thou shalt Dye; what would become of thee? Art thou ready to entertain such a Sum­mons? Or, art thou sure of any more than the present Time, to provide for it? At best; How few are the residue of thy Days, when thou hast, as it were, one foot already in the Grave? And does it not then highly concern thee, O old Sin­ner, to be up and doing, to use all Diligence to redeem the few remaining Minutes that may be left thee, that if possible thou mayst dispatch this great work, e'er Death overtakes thee? O set thy self hereunto in good earnest. If thou wilt be in good earnest in thy seeking after God, [Page 20] Old, and full of Sins as thou art, I may assure thee that there is room for thee to find Favour with God, and He will yet have Mercy on thee, (Matth. XX.6.) But then, because the greatest part of thy Time has been consumed in the ser­vice of Sin, thou needest to be so much the more fervent and importunate, in thy Prayers & Crys to God; so much the more deep, humble, bro­ken and thorough in thy Repentance; so much the more diligent in thy Watchfulness, Labours, and Activity in the Service of God, lest you should not have time eno' left to you, to do what the Lord thy God requires of you, that thou mayst be saved in the Day of the Lord. O that those of you that are advanced in Years, would seriously consider these things, and immediately set your selves to seek the Lord.

II. HENCE, Parents should be exceeding careful to instruct their Children in seeking after the Lord. If Young Persons should seek after the Lord, while they are yet Young, then they ought to be taught and instructed in their Youth, how, in what way, and by what means, they may become Religious and Virtuous. For they are not born with natural Dispositions to the Service of God, but the contrary; and they need to have their natural Temper and Inclination altered, and me­liorated by a good Education. And whom does this so nearly concern, as their Parents? whom the bonds of Nature oblige to be thoughtful of the welfare of their Children. This then teaches us, that it is the important Duty incum­bent upon Parents, to take all prudent Care and use all proper Methods, that their Children may [Page 21] become an instructed Seed. 'Tis not eno' that they are put to School to learn to read, and to furnish them with such Knowledge as may be of use to them in the Affairs of this World; but they should instruct them in such Knowledge as may have a happy influence to purify their Minds, and reform their Manners; that their Spiritual, and Eternal Interest may be promoted thereby. To this end, they should acquaint them with the Doctrines, and Duties of the Gospel, and set before them the Counsels, and Directions, and Warnings of the Word of God, and add their own Counsels and Charges upon them. Thus Solomon says, Prov. IV.3. I was my Fathers son, and he taught me. If Children be left to themselves, and no prudent care is taken to give them a virtuous Education, it is not to be wondred at, if they bring their Parents to shame.

BUT then how exceeding Careful should Pa­rents be, to set their Children a good Example, as well as instruct and Charge them. Examples will ordinarily have a more prevailing Influence upon them than Precept. If therefore you would have your Children seek and serve God; let them see you going before them in all the Duties of a Religious Life. If you would have them to live soberly, and righteously; let them see you setting them an Example of Sobriety in your Behaviour, and Righteousness and Mercy in all your Dealings. This will be the way for them to learn, from you, those things that are virtuous and praise-worthy; and having the principles of virtue rivited in them, by Precept [Page 22] and Example, when they are Young, they will be likely to act upon those Principles all their days after. Hence, Prov. XXII.6. Train up a Child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 'Tis said of Iosiah, in my Text, he began to seek after the God of David his Father. The Example of David, tho' at a great remove from an immediate Father, seems to have had a great Influence upon him, and he resolves the God of David, should be his God, and that he would walk in the ways of David; and so David becomes a Father to him. In a word, If you that are Parents, neglect to bring up your Children in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord, what a dreadful Account will you have to give to God another Day, when the Souls of your Children, perishing under the Wrath of God, shall cry against thee, and accuse your Neg­lect of them, as one great Reason, of their going down to the Place of Torment.

Lastly. O let our Young People be perswaded to seek the Lord, while they are yet in their Youth. It is a matter of unspeakable Grief to us, to see them walking in the vanity of their Minds, gra­tifying a Carnal corrupt Heart, and complying with the Suggestions of the grand Adversary, liable to the amazing Wrath and Curse of God both in this World, and in that which is to come; and therefore we earnestly call upon you to turn from your Evil ways to the living God. O that you would be prevailed upon seri­ously to be think yourselves, e'er 'tis too late, and early enquire after God.

[Page 23]Therefore,

1. LET the Conviction of your undone Estate by Nature, put you upon seeking after God in your Youth. Look into your own Heart, and wayes, and see what an impure and filthy thing thou art; how loathsome and abominable thy Sins have rendred thee to an infinitely Holy God. Call to mind the Wrath of God, which He has denounced, and will manifest in flaming Fire, up­on all Unrighteousness and Ungodliness of Men. Think how often you have broken, the holy and righteous Commandments of God, Young as you are; and that because of these things the Wrath of God comes upon the Children of Disobedience: and if you are found in your Sins you will be undone for ever. And let the Conviction of this your wretched, undone, miserable Estate, put you upon resolving to continue no longer in your Unregeneracy, at a distance from God, and a stranger to all true Happiness; but immediate­ly set upon the great Work of Repentance; go, and humble and abase your selves before God, lament and bewail your Sin and Folly, and say, wherein I have done Iniquity, I will do so no more. Now lay apart all Filthiness and surper­fluity of naughtiness, cleanse your selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and of Spirit, and perfect Holiness in the fear of God. Let a sense of your misery drive you to God, and put you upon the most earnest, and importunate Cries to Heaven, that God would be merciful to all your Unrighteousness and forgive all your Sins. Let not a day pass you, without your secret Devotions before the Lord, in which you wrestle with [Page 24] Him for the Blessing; and accept of, and plead the Infinite Merits of the Son of God, that you may be washed and purified, pardoned and justi­fied, and that your Souls may be saved in the Day of the Lord.

2. TAKE the Word of God for the Rule of your Walk. This gives you the fullest, and clearest Directions in your seeking after God. 'Tis a sure Word, and will enlighten your Eyes, and shew you the way in which you should go; 'tis a perfect Word, and there is no error in it, and you cannot miss your way while you heedfully attend to it; it is a sure Word and stedfast for ever, and will make you wise to Salvation. Receive then with meekness the ingrafted Word, that is able to save your Souls. Diligently at­tend to the Word Preached, which is the Power of God to the Salvation of them that believe; and neglect no Opportunity of sitting under the Instructions of Wisdom. Daily, and seriously read the Word of God, and make it the man of your Counsel. Be much in Meditation on the Word of God, hide it in your Hearts, that you may not offend against Him. Call to mind the precious Promises of it, and be encouraged to Holiness; think on the terrible Comminations contained in it, and dread falling into the Hands of the living God. And let it be your constant care to live up to what that Holy Word requires of you; in all Places, when you are abroad, as well as at home▪ at all Times, upon Week Days, as well as upon the Lord's Day; and in what­ever you do; and as well when no Eye seeth you, as well as when the Eye of your Parents [Page 25] and Friends are upon you. Thus take the Word of God for the Rule of your walk, and having begun well, let not your goodness be, as the Morning Cloud, and the Early Dew, which soon passeth away; but hold out to the End, that you may be Saved.

3. GUARD against Evil Company. Company is pleasant; and our Social Nature renders it de­lightful to us to Converse together; and because there is a peculiar Charm in agreable Society and Conversation, therefore we are very apt to learn the Ways, and contract the Manners of those we converse with. Hence it is an old Ob­servation, that "A Man is known by his Com­pany." This makes it exceeding Dangerous to Associate with the Wicked; and there is scarce any thing more fatal and destructive to Young Persons, than bad Company: so that you had need to be upon your Guard against this snare. Hence is the Direction of the Wise Man, Prov. XXII.24, 25. Make no Friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man thou shalt not go; lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy Soul. How often have we seen many a hopeful Young person, that under the advantages of a Religious Education, has begun to seek the Lord, and walk in the paths of Virtue; who has had all his Principles of Virtue overthrown, and his bloom­ing Hopes niped in the Bud, by falling into the hands of bad Company? Their Evil Example, their Inticements and Solicitation, and their Flouts and Scoffs at all that is Serious and Reli­gious, has Poisoned him, and proved Pernicious to him. Wherefore guard yourselves strongly [Page 26] against the Infection; have no more Fellowship with the Workers of Iniquity, than the necessary Occasions and Business of Life obliges you to; take no Delight in their Friendship and Com­munion, walk not in the way of the Ungodly, stand not in the Path of Sinners, nor sit in the seat of the Scornful. And when at any Time you are obliged to be with them, keep thy Heart with all Diligence, watch over the Door of thy Lips, and make a Covenant with thy Eyes and Ears, and Hands, that they shall not learn by them to transgress. Think of the Words of Solomon, Prov. XIII.20. He that walketh with the wise shall be wise, but a Companion of Fools shall be destroyed. Remember you would not be willing to be Companions with them in their Misery, as well as in their Sins; and therefore be a Com­panion of all them that Fear God.

4. BEGIN to seek the Lord now immediately. Think, O Young Man, that Eternity, the Eternity of thy Happiness, or Misery, greatly depends up­on thy Improvement of the present Time: And will you then Delay in a matter of such infinite Concernment to you? O do what is to be done for thy Soul, and thy Eternal Welfare, now, now, while the Spirit of God is striving with thee; now, while the Offers of Grace & Mercy are made to thee; now, while God is waiting upon you, and affording you Life, and Health, and many precious Opportunities to make your Calling and Election sure. It was said to David, 1 Sam. XIX.11 If thou save not thy life to night, tomorrow thou shalt be slain: And thou knowest not, but if thou shouldest neglect to take care of [Page 27] the life of thy Soul, this very Night, before to morrow thou mayst be irrecoverably lost among the faln, and slain. O then set about this Work, this very Night, before thou sleepest; Behold, now is the Accepted Time, now is the Day of Salvation.

THAT I may press you to be in good earnest about this great and important Affair, suffer me a little particularly to Reason the Case with you.

Is it not most Fitting and Reasonable, that you should begin to seek the Lord while you are yet Young? Is not this the proper Opportunity, the peculiar season for it? And should you not be ambitious to do every thing in its season? Is it not Reasonable that you should do so. If you will not seek after the Lord in your Youth▪ when will you? All other Seasons are very unfit compared with this; as will be seen, if you consider the Disadvantages of Infancy and Old Age.

ON the One Hand, Infancy is no such proper season to seek the Lord in. The poor Infant is a helpless and thoughtless thing, he has as yet but an imperfect Beginning. The Organs of the Body are not as yet sufficiently Maturated for the Soul to manifest it self by, and exert its strength [...]nd vigour. Tho' the Young Thing, for some of the first Years of its Life, may have a working Fancy, and abundance of Notions, and imperfect Ideas, floating in the Brain; yet it is not able to make a right Judgment of things, for want of a stock of Knowledge, Experience, [Page 28] and Improvement. And hence it is not capable of knowing God, or it self a right. The Service of God is a Reasonable Service, and the Result of Choice; and hence, because the Infant state is as yet Ignorant of God, and for want of riper Years, is incapable of Distinguishing between Good and Evil, and determining the Choice of the will for God, and Religion; therefore none will suppose this to be a fit and proper season to seek the Lord in. Infancy is too Young, and wants Judgment to make a right Choice.

ON the other Hand; Old Age. is got into its declining state; the vigour of the Mind is great­ly impaired, thro' the decays of the Body; and there is but a little time to accomplish any man­ner of Business in; which makes it an improper season to begin any thing of Importance, when the strength is abated, and the Glass almost run out. It requires a great deal of Labour and Pains to seek after the Lord, in the Exercise of Repentance and New Obedience; it requires a due Application of the Mind, a diligent watch­fulness to Duty, and against all Sin; a vigorous Resisting and Subduing of Corrupt Inclinations, and Passions, and a gradual reducing of our Na­tural Man under the Power and Dominion of the Spiritual. Now, he that has lived to Old Age in the Service of Sin and Lust, not only has done nothing at all about this great Work, but is an utter stranger to it, and is grown Old in Aversi­on against it. And how improper a season then is it, to say no more, for such an one to begin so hard and difficult a Work, which is wholly new and strange to him, and when his strength is [Page 29] exhausted, and his Days expiring. However it may be possible for an Old Sinner to be Convert­ed, yet sure it is no proper seaso [...], not such as a wise Man would choose, to begin a Work, which he is unacquainted with, and has so little Time for.

SINCE therefore neither Infancy, nor Old Age are proper Seasons, but have their peculiar Dis­advantages attending of them, this plainly shews you that the time of Youth is the most fitting Opportunity to begin to seek after the Lord.

2. WILL it not be much more Hard & Difficult for you to seek after the Lord, if you shall slip the Season of Youth. When thy Youth is spen [...] and gone, will it not require greater Labour and Pains, and cost thee so much the more Sorrow and Anguish, to work out thy own Salvation, that if thou hadst began it while thou art yet Young▪ For do but consider; The longer thou walkest in the ways of Sin, the stronger hold, and the surer possession does it get of thee. The re­peated Acts of Sin strengthen the Habits; and so it will be more natural and easy to thee to hold on in thy wonted Course, and thy Lust will become the more uncontroulable, and its Power over thee more unconquerable. Hence, of Consequence, it must needs cost thee greater Labour and Pains to subdue those Lusts, and overcome those radicated Habits and Customes. It might be easy in Youth, while as yet the Soul has not contracted so strong an Aversion to the Will of God, and is not brought under the Power of any Evil Custom; it might be then more easy to seek & serve the Lord; but when [Page 30] thou hast for a long while indulged thy Natu­ral Appetite, slighted the Word of God, and ac­customed thy self in the ways of Sin; then thou wilt find it so hard and difficult to alter the Temper of thy Mind, and give over thy corrupt Pract [...]ces, that it will be next to Impossible for thee. Hence we are told, Jer. XIII.23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the Leopard his spots? Then may ye that have been accustomed to do Evil, learn to do well. Let him that is grown Old in Sin, say, if he does not find it the most hard and difficult thing to alter his old Practices, and change the bent of his Inclination, which has so long been devoted to the service of Sin. Besides, by such a long continuance in the ways of Sin, the Soul, which is Assimilated to them, contracts a liking to them, and takes so much the more Delight and Pleasure in them: and then how exceeding Difficult must it needs be, to eradicate out of the Soul, what it has so long been accustomed to, and what is so delightful and pleasing to its vitiated Appetites. Now then, if, after thou shouldest have spent the greater part of thy Days in the service of thy Lusts, thou shouldest begin to bethink thy self, and have some serious Purposes to al [...]er the course and tenour of thy life, to devote thy self to the Service of God, and take some care about the Salvation of thy Soul; think you, that it will not cost thee, more bitter Repenting tears, more distressing fears, and Anguish of Soul; lest thou shouldest not be sincere, lest it should be all too late for thee, and thou shouldest miss of the Sal­vation of thy Soul; than if thou hadst seriously [Page 31] engaged thy self in the Service of God, and thy Soul, while thou wast yet in thy Youth? Verily, you may reasonably expect it will. For thou wilt have more Sins to Repent of, greater Ag­gravations will then attend thy Crimes; and therefore they may well stare thee in the Face with the more ghastly Countenance, and strike thee with the greater Horror, and so render the Pangs of the New Birth so much the more ter­rible & agonising to thee O then by no means suffer thy self to be prevailed upon, to put off thy seeking after the Lord till thou hast got be­yond the Days of thy Youth, les [...] you bring up­on yourself the greater Difficulty, and the more encreased Sorrows.

3. AND will there not be infinite Hazard lest you never seek after the Lord, so as to find Mercy with Him, if you do it not in your Youth? Thy Neglect of the season of Youth will not only render thy Indisposition to the Work of Religion, the stronger, but it will render it extream haz­ardous, lest you should go on irreclaimably in your Evil Courses, till it is all too late for thee to think of the Service of God, and the Welfare of thy Soul. For if the proper season and op­portunity for this Work be neglected, the Dan­ger is very great, lest thou shouldest never have an other. It was the extream folly of Felix, that when Paul reasoned of Righteousness, Tem­perance, and Judgment to come, he said, Act. XXIV.25. Go thy way, for this Time; when I have a convenient season, I will send for thee. He received Conviction of the Irregularity of his ways, his Conscience smote him, and he feared [Page 32] the Judgment to c [...]me; and had he hearkened to those Convictions▪ and complied with them, it had been well for him; but he put them off for an other convenient season, which we don't know that ever he had, and so Perished in his Sin and Folly. Thus does it prove with many a Young person; while they are in their Youth, their Hearts are tender, Convictions are more easily excited and stirred up, and they are more apt to [...]eceive the Impressions of the Word and Spirit of God; they are often told, and they see something of the Necessity of their forsaking their Evil Courses, and turning unto God; and they sometimes, it [...] be often, come to some Purposes with themselves to amend their Ways and Doings; but they let slip the time and sea­son of Youth, before they put their Purposes in execution, hoping for another, and more conve­nient season, and so run the hazard of never having another Opportunity of making their Peace with God, and securing their own Salva­tion. And truly the Danger of this is extream­ly great.

FOR, to hint at two things,

1. Is it not exceeding hazardous, lest God give you up to penal Blindness of Mind, and Hard­ness of Heart? This is a most terrible Judgment of God; and what more likely to pull down this Judgment upon you, than to neglect to seek the Lord while you are yet Young? For they that go on in Sin, pass the time of their Youth, under the Gospel; they Sin against the clearest Light, against the loudest Calls, and Invitations of Mercy; they resist the most strong & forcible [Page 33] Convictions, Arguments, and Perswasions; they act counter to many Purposes and Resolutions for a Sober and a Godly Life; they slight and reject the present Offer of Mercy, upon the Pre­sumption, that when they have spent the chief of their Days and Strength in the service of Sin and Satan, it will then be time eno' for them to think of serving God. And now, what can be more provoking to the Lord than this is? Does not this make it to be exceeding hazard­ous, lest God in His Wrath utterly cast them off▪ lest the Holy Spirit of God wholly with­draw from them? and then Wo unto them, when I depart from them, saith the Lord. Awful are the Words, Isa. VI.9, 10. Hear ye indeed, and understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not; make the Heart of this people fat, and make their Ears heavy, and shut their Eyes; lest they see with their Eyes, and hear with their Ears, and understand with their Heart, and Convert, and be healed. Say now, if God should thus in Judgment, Seal any of you up under this Judicial Obduracy, how will it be possible for you then to be Saved? And yet this Hazard you run, if you do not seek the Lord, while in your Youth.

2. Is it not also exceeding hazardous, Lest Death overtake you, e'er you begin to seek the Lord, if you do it not in your Youth? Is not your time of Life very short at the most, and uncertain at the best? And is there not great danger then, lest by neglecting the present Op­portunity of your Youth, you should never have another season, to provide for your Eternal Hap­piness by a holy and a righteous Life? At the [Page 34] longest, the Life of Man is but short; and this makes it hazardous lest if you do not begin be­times, while you are yet Young to seek the Lord and walk in the ways of Religion and Vertue, that all the remainder of your Life will not be sufficient for the well and thorough Accomplish­ment of so great and difficult a Work, as that of a real and unfeigned Repentance, and a Course of holy Obedience. But then, the Danger rises higher, when you consider, that you hold your Lives at a very uncertain tenor, and may be cut off by innumerable, unseen Accidents and Cau­sualties, e'er you are aware; and so you may have none of that Time left unto you, to improve for your Eternal Interest, which you hope and presume will remain unto you, beyond the Days of Youth. When once Death has seized upon you, it will then be all too late, to think of al­tering your Course, and leading a New Life. The perishing Soul will then go down to Hell, while it was dallying, and putting off it's Repen­tance, and turning to God, and have an Eternity to reflect upon it self, with utmost horror and anguish, for its folly and madness, in procrasti­nating and putting off this great Concern; and then roar out, with inexpressible Agony, O all is too late! all's too late! there is now no more space left me for Repentance!

So that the Infinite Danger lest thou shouldst never secure an Interest in the Divine Favour, if thou neglectest to improve the Time of Youth for it, should be instead of all Arguments to thee, to prevail upon thee, now to seek the Lord. This is the force of our Saviour's reasoning, Joh. [Page 35] IX.4. I must work the Work of Him that sent me, while it is Day, the Night cometh when no man can work. When the Night of Death is come, and thou knowest not how soon it may come, then thou canst do nothing at all about working out your own Salvation. Thus also our Saviour said to the Inhabitants of Ierusalem, Joh. XII.35. Yet a little while is the Light with you, walk while ye have the Light, lest Darkness come upon you. Yet a little while, it will not be long, e'er Darkness and Death overtakes you; well then, walk while ye have the Light, now, while the Day light of Life and Mercy, lasts with you, and therefore now, while you are yet in your Youth, lest Dark­ness come suddenly upon you, and you stumble, and fall, and perish for ever.

4. To have done; Will not God be highly pleased with your Seeking after Him, while you are yet in your Youth? As God ever delights in His own Glory, so He cannot but be highly pleased with those that are forward to advance it. What Father is not wondrously gratified with the ready Obedience of his Young Son? Or Master, with the attentive Eye, and diligent Hand, of his young Servant? And who more pleasing to the great Lord of all, than he that early lists in his Service? or more welcome to Him, than those that from their Youth up, own, submit to, and obey Him? Hence we read, Prov. VIII.17. I love them that love me▪ and they that seek me early shall find me. Those that truly seek the Lord in their advanced Age, shall find Mercy with Him; but He has a more endeared Affection for them that do so in their early Days; they shall be sure to find [Page 36] Him, whatever others do; and he says of them, with pleasure, as Jer. II.2. I remember the Kind­ness of thy Youth. Who more dear to our Lord, and more highly beloved of Him, than the Apostle Iohn, who is supposed to be the youngest of His Disciples, and is described by this Character, the Disciple whom Iesus loved. If thou wilt set thy self to seek the Lord while thou art yet Young, this will render thee amiable & delight­ful in the eyes of all Good People; it will be the Joy and Satisfaction of your Ministers, who long after your Conversion; yea, it will make Joy among the Holy Angels of God: and more than so, God Himself will rejoyce over you, as over a returning Prodigal; most readily receive, and kindly welcome you, and say of you, as Jer. XXXI.20. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a plea­sant Child? Since I spake against Him, I do earnest­ly remember him still, therefore my Bowels are moved towards him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.

THIS Chapter contains a very remarka­ble piece of History; even that of our Blessed Lord raising Dead Lazarus to Life again; by which He gave an in­contestable Proof of His Mission and Doctrine. Lazarus was taken Sick, while our Lord was beyond Iordan, whither the two Sisters of Lazarus sent Messengers to Him, to acquaint Him with the sorrowful Tydings, of his Dying Condition, in Hopes that He would come and [Page 38] heal him. For Jesus loved Lazarus, and his two Sisters. But our Lord on purpose, delayed His going to Bethany, the Village where they dwelt, that He might have an opportunity to make a further display of His Divine Power, and give a convincing Proof to the Jews, that He was the true Messiah, by His raising of the Dead. After He had therefore spent two Days, in the Place where he was when the Messengers came to Him, He then set His Face to go into Iudea; nor could all the Opposition which His Disciples made a­gainst it, who reminded Him, that the Jews at Ierusalem, (which was with in two Miles of Bethany,) were bitter Enemies to Him, and sought His Life, hinder Him from taking that Journey, which He knew would be for the Glory of God. Assoon as Martha heard that the Lord drew near, she went out to meet Him, and acquaints Him that her Brother Lazarus was Dead, and tacitely Complains of His delaying His coming, and ex­presses her Faith in His Ability to have healed him, saying, Lord if Thou hadst been hear, my Bro­ther had not Died. Jesus tells her, that her Bro­ther shall Live again. Upon which she declares her Faith of the General Resurrection of the Dead, supposing that our Lord had spoken, of his rising again at the last Day. Jesus intimates to her His Power to Raise the Dead. To which she yields her Assent, saying, Yea, Lord, I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the World. After this Conference be­tween Iesus and Martha, she goes, according to our Lord's Direction, to her Sister Mary, and tells her Secretly, whispering in her Ear, for [Page 39] fear of the Jews that were present at the House, That the Master was come, and called for her; as soon as Mary heard that, she arose quickly and came unto Him. After some other Transactions had passed between them, at length our Lord came unto the Grave of Lazarus, and tho' he had lain in the Grave four Days, yet He cryed with a loud Voice, Lazarus come forth; and he that was Dead came forth, bound Hand and Foot with Grave clothes; upon which many of the Iews believed on Him.

IN the Words which I have read for my Text, I would observe two or three things; as (1.) The Persons here spoken of, namely, Martha, and Mary, the two Sisters of Lazarus. They were both of them Young Women, as is generally supposed; they dwelt with their Brother Laza­rus, keeping House together, and we find them entertaining our Lord, at a Feast provided for Him, Luke X. lat. This Mary particularly had been a very vitious Young Woman, being the same Mary Magdalene, out of whom it is said, Christ cast seven Devils; Mark XVI.9. But by the Grace of God, was brought to a Saving Con­version. (2.) We have the call of Christ given to Mary. This was handed to her by her Sister Martha, who came and said to her, the Master, (which was the style by which Jesus Christ was known among them,) is come, and calleth for thee. (3.) We have Mary's deportment upon this Call of the Master; as soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto Him. She instantly obey­ed the call, and made no delay to come to Him. Since it was the Master that called for her, she [Page 40] had no Hesitancy in her Mind whether she had best to comply with His call, for indeed she had an earnest desire to be with Him, and therefore lost no time, but arose quickly & came to Him.

FROM whence we may collect this General DOCTRINE.

DOCT. THAT when Iesus Christ calleth upon Young Persons, they should Arise quickly and come to Him.

UNDER this Doctrine, I shall endeavour to shew you,

I. THAT there are several Things which Iesus Christ in His Word calleth upon Young Persons for.

II. THAT when He so calleth them, they should Arise quickly and come to Him.

I. THERE are several Things which Iesus Christ in His Word calleth upon Young Persons for. It is remarkable, that the most of the Twelve Disci­ples of our Lord, fell under the Character of Young Men, when He called them to be His Disciples. They were in the Prime & Strength and Vigour of their Days. And as Christ Per­sonally called those Young Men while He was on Earth, to follow Him, so he now calls upon Young Persons, in His Holy Word, that they would come and list themselves in His Service, and be the followers of Him: He says therein, Unto you, O Men, I call, and my voice is unto the Sons [Page 41] of Men. His Call is particularly uttered to the Young among the People; He sendeth His Word, and His Messengers, rising early, and sending them, even from their most early Days, earnestly calling upon them, to hearken to His Instruction, and turn at His Reproof. And there are several Things which He calls upon them for.

As now,

1. IESUS CHRIST earnestly calls upon Young Persons, to Repent of, and Forsake all their Sins. When Christ called His Young Disciples, Peter and Andrew, Iames and Iohn, He Preached Re­pentance to them; and let them know this was one great thing He required of them. Mat. IV.17, 18. Every Sinner needs Repentance; and the Youngest here, that has lived long eno' to distinguish between Good and Evil, has been a very great Sinner. You were all Born Sinners, conceived in Sin, and shapen in Iniquity; and alas, how many have been the Youthful Vani­ties and Follies of every one of you; you have all gone astray from the Womb, and have been fulfilling the sinful Desires of the Flesh & of the Mind, and walking according to the course of this World, and under the Influence of the Prince of the power of this Air, the spirit that works in the Children of Disobedience. Now Jesus Christ calls upon every one of you to forsake this evil course, and truly repent of all your Sins. He sees that you need to be turned from your evil Ways, that you may live and not dye; and therefore in great Compassion and Tenderness to you, he calls upon you, saying, O do not this abominable thing that I hate. This was one [Page 42] great end of His coming into the World, to Call Sinners to Repentance, Mat. IX.13. His whole Gospel is calculated to this end and purpose; and when he discerns among the Youth, a Young Man void of understanding, He says, as Prov. VII.24, 25. Hearken unto me now, O ye Children, and attend to the words of my mouth; let not thy Heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. Where ever the Gospel is Preached, it com­mands all Men, and therefore Young Persons, every where to Repent. And He not only com­mands you to repent, but He uses many Argu­ments with Young Persons, and sets before them strong and powerful Motives, to prevail upon them to repent of all their Sins, and turn to God.

HE lets them know, that if they will not for­sake their Sins, they will unavoidably end in their Eternal Ruin and Destruction. He tells them, Except ye Repent, ye perish, Luk. XIII.3. that God will render tribulation & anguish to every soul of man that doth Evil, Rom. II.9. that the wicked shall go away into Everlasting Punishment, Matth. XXV.46. So He would fain awaken the Fears of Young Persons, while as yet they are not hardened in their Sins, that by the dread of Wrath and Judgment to come, they might be prevailed upon unfeignedly to Repent of all their Sins, and forsake them, lest they prove the De­struction of their Immortal Souls forever. And what more forceable to work upon the Minds of Young Persons, that are capable of the fearful Apprehensions of Misery, than to assure them that they will be mise [...]ble for ever, if they Repent not?

[Page 43]AND Jesus Christ assures them also, that if they will repent & forsake their Sins, they shall be happy forever. Act. III.19. Repent ye, that your Sins may be blotted out, when the Times of Refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord. If Young People will truly repent, then all their Sins shall be forgiven them, and the Time will come when they shall partake of the Everlasting Refreshments that flow from the presence of the Lord▪ and be happy with Him forever. And how strong is the motive fetched from Everlasting Happiness, to prevail upon such as are yet in their Youth, and are seeking after Happiness, to repent of their Sins. So that this is evidently one thing which Jesus Christ calls upon Young Persons for, namely to forsake all their Sins, to hate and abhor them, and shun the Path way thereof.

2. IESUS CHRIST earnestly calls upon Young Per­sons to come to Him, and Beleive in Him. Thus He called Mary to come to Him, and she did so; and that not only by coming Bodily into His Presence, (which was a Privilege she had, beyond what any of us can have now,) but she came to Him also, in the Outgoings of her Soul after Him, and her steady Faith and Trust in Him, be­lieving Him to be Christ the Lord, and ground­ing her Hopes of Comfort and Happiness upon Him. And thus Christ Jesus now calls upon Young Persons to come to Him, and put their Trust in Him, and believe in Him to the Salvation of their Souls. We find our Lord saying, Matth. XXIII.37. O Ierusalem, Ierusalem, — how often would I have gathered thy Children together, even as [Page 44] a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings, and ye would not. So He says to Young Persons now, come, repair under the shadow of my Wings; repose your Trust and Confidence in me; I will be your Defence and Safety. He says, Look unto me, and be ye saved, Isa. XLV.22. He says, Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and ye shall find rest to your Souls, Matth. XI.28. He says, Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out, Joh. VII.37. And are you not, Young as you are, heavy laden with the Burden of the Guilt of Sin upon you? Do you not want Rest for your Souls? Do you not need Salvation? Why Christ calls you to come to Him, that in Him you may be eased of your Burdens, and find Rest. This was the great Design of His Coming into the World, that the World thro' Him might believe, and that believing on Him, they might [...]ot perish, but have Everlasting Life. Christ offers Him­self as a Saviour to the Youngest of you; and if you will come to Him, and believe on Him, you shall be saved. Was it not needful that there should be a Mediator, to appease the Divine Anger, and reconcile an offended God to guilty Sinners? And is it not as needful that you should believe in this Mediator, and trust to Him, in order to the free Gift of God, even Justification to Life, coming upon you? Why, Jesus Christ is this Mediator, who has laid down His Life for His Sheep; and He calls upon every one of you, now to come to Him, to believe and Trust in Him alone for Salvation. When the Young Dis­ciples of our Lord came to Him, they own'd Him for their LORD, and in the Faith thereof [Page 45] put themselves under His Instruction & Govern­ment. Thus Christ calls upon Young Persons now, to receive Him, as a Teacher sent from God, and embrace His Doctrines, as indeed they are the Words of God, and not of Man. He calls upon you to Believe in Him as the great Head of His Church, and comply with all His holy Commands and Institutions. He calls upon you to Come to Him, and rely upon the Sacrifice of Atonement, which as your great high Priest He hath offered to His Eternal Father, the Vertue whereof He ever lives to plead on your behalf; and He assures you if you do so you shall live through Him, Joh. XI.26. Whosoever liveth, and Believeth in Me, shall never dye. In short, this is the great Gospel Command, That we should believe on the Name of His Son Iesus Christ, 1 Joh. III.23. So that this is evidently what Jesus Christ calls upon Young Persons for.

3. IESUS CHRIST earnestly calls upon Young Persons to become His Disciples. What is it to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ, But to take His Mark and Livery upon us, and to Follow Him? Thus He called the Two Young Brethren Iames and Iohn to follow Me, Mark I.19. And He now calls upon every Young Person, under the Gospel, be ye Followers of Him. He calls upon you to take His Mark and Livery upon you, and ap­pear visibly among His Disciples, that by wear­ing the distinguishing Badge of your Disciple­ship, it may be known, at least visibly, that you belong unto Him. He calls upon you to list in His Service while you are yet in your Youth, and be careful to yield a ready and constant O­bedience [Page 46] to all His Commands. For it is not eno' that you call Him Lord and Master, but you must do the Things which He command­eth; for his Servants ye are, to whom you yield yourselves Servants to obey. Many call Him Lord and Master, who take no care to Obey Him; and such He will not own for His another Day, (Mat. VII.21.) To be a Disciple of Christ, is to hear His Voice, and do His Will. Thus He directs the Young Man in the Gospel, Mat. XIX 17. If thou wilt enter into Life, keep the Commandments. To be a Disciple of Jesus Christ, is to follow His Example, to tread in His steps, and walk as He walked. Hence Christ said, of His Sheep, Joh. X.4. He goeth before them, and they follow Him, for they know His voice. You are therefore to be Followers of Jesus, in the Duties of Holi­ness, Piety, Meekness, Charity, and all those amiable Virtues and Graces, which were con­spicuous in His Life. He calls upon you, Mat. XI.29. Learn of Me; He tells you, He has given you an Example, that you should do as He has done; and 'tis your Duty, and your Honour to Imitate Him. Jesus Christ came into the World, not only to lay down His Life for Sinners, but to give the World an Example of pure and undefiled Religion, in true Devotion towards God, and Justice and Charity to Man: He came that He might Obey the Law of God, and shew us, by His Example, that the Duties of Religion were practicable; and thus He gives light to the World. And as the Captain of our Salva­tion, He co [...]mands us to follow Him, as ever we would partake of His great Salvation. He [Page 47] has left His Example upon Record, in the Sacred History of His Life, that so we might have it ever before us, and might be drawn, by the view thereof, to go & do likewise. This He requires of Young Persons, as well as other; and if you are careful to Live like Him, to walk as Christ walked in this World, then will He bring you at last to be with Him, where you shall see Him as He is, and be more like Him, being changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory.

I now come to say,

II. THAT when Christ so calls upon Young Per­sons, they should arise quickly and come to Him. Thus 'tis said of Mary here, that as soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came to Him.

HERE it will be needful,

1. To say, What is implyed in Young Persons arising quickly to come to Christ.

2. AND then, To prove that Young Persons should do so.

1. WHAT is implyed in Young Persons arising quickly to come to Christ at His Call?

1. IT implies that Young Persons should dili­gently hearken to the Voice of Christ, and attend to His Call. He cannot be supposed to arise quick­ly at his Masters Call, who is unattentive to his Voice. He that turns a deaf Ear to his Masters Call, and will not hear him, is far from bestir­ing himself, and yielding a quick and ready com­pliance with what his Master requires. Thus indeed, it is with many Young Persons; Christ Jesus has been calling upon them again, and [Page 48] again, but they hear Him not; they are like the deaf Adder, that stoppeth her Ear against the voice of the Charmer, and hear it not tho' he charm never so wisely. Whereas to arise quick­ly at the Call of Christ, is to hear Him, while He is yet speaking; to hearken dilligently to the least sound of His Voice. Christ says, Joh. X.3. The sheep hear His voice, and ver 4. They know His voice: Which denotes their Attention, that they readily distinguish His Voice from anothers; they hear the least whispers of it, in His Word, and by His Messengers. When Martha did but say secretly to Mary, whispering her in the Ear, the Master calleth, how readily does she hear? Thus Young Persons should have their Ears open to receive the Instructions of Wisdom; they should listen diligently to the Voice of Christ, waiting daily at the posts of Wisdoms Gates. They should be very attentive to hear what the Word of Christ says to them; and therefore dil­ligently read that holy Word, and hear it, and meditate upon it, that they may know what it is that Christ requires of them▪ If you neglect to Read, and to Hear the Word of Christ, you are not likely to be dilligent to attend to His Call: and if you do not attend [...] His Call, you will not [...] quickly and come to Him, and do what He [...]quires of you.

2. IT implies that Young Persons should Set themselves about the Work which Christ calls them to. You are to hear attentively, and then put in practice what you hear; this is to arise quickly at His Call. For 'tis not eno' to hear what Christ says, but you must do what Christ [Page 49] Commands. He that heareth not, when Christ speaks to him, is a wicked slothful Servant; but he that heareth, and will not do, is a rebel­lious one, and shall be beaten with many stripes. Hence is the Exhortation, Jam. I.22. Be ye Doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. It will prove a dreadful Delusion to him that thinks it eno' for him to hear the Call of Christ, and is not careful to do it. To arise quickly at the Call of Christ is to yield a ready Obedience to the Call. When Mary hears, the Master calleth her, she arose quickly, she immedi­ately came at the Call. When Christ called Iames and Iohn, 'tis said, Mat. IV.22. Immedi­ately they left the Ship, and their Father, and fol­lowed Him. They immediately left all Com­pany, tho' never so delightful to them, to com­ply with the Call of Christ. Thus when Christ calls upon Young Persons to repent of their Sins, they should arise quickly, and forsake all their former Lusts, and vain Imaginations, and imme­diately resolve against all Sin for the time to come. As soon as the Word of Christ affords you Conviction, that this or the other course is Sinful, you should from that very time carefully avoid that evil thing. And so when Christ calls upon Young Persons to Believe in Him, they should arise quickly, and credit the Reports of His Holy Word, and give up themselves to Him, in a Covenant never to be forgotten. Whatso­ever they find recorded in the Word of God, as an Article of their Faith, they should immedi­ately embrace it, and resign their reason up to to the belief and conduct of it. Thus when [Page 50] Jesus Christ calls upon Young Persons to become His Disciples, they should arise quickly, and enter themselves into His Service, yield a ready and willing Obedience to all His Command­ments, and from this time forth, set Him before them as the Copy they are determined to write after.

3. IT implies that Young Persons Should not make any Delay in their Obedience to the Call of Christ. They should set themselves instantly, about the Work Christ calls them to; and not stand dallying, and debating the Case, whether they had best or no. Mary was at no loss whe­ther she had best come at the Call of Christ; she did not stand, shall I, shall I; she neither dis­pu [...]ed His Authority, nor pretended she had something else to do first; but she readily owns Him for her Lord, and leaves every thing else to come to Him; so she arose quickly, without the least delay and came. And thus should Young Persons now arise quickly, and come at His Call. They should hear Him now, come to Him now, obey Him now, immediately, without any De­lay. They must not pretend vain Idle excuses against a present compliance with Him; but a­rise now, while the Master is calling to them; now, this present moment, without putting it off to another Time. He that delays, to set a­bout what his Master requires of him, is a sloth­ful Servant, & injures his Master. Prov. XXVI.6. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool, cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage. He is the good Servant, who when his Master says go, goes; when his Master says come, he comes; [Page 51] when his Master says do this, he does it, im­mediately without delay. Thus should Young Persons answer the call of Christ, quickly, with­out delay, and puting it off till an hereafter. Christ says to them, turn ye now at my reproof; to Day, if you will hear His voice, harden not your Hearts; he requires you to do, what you do about your Soul Concerns, with all imagina­ble speed; and you should arise quickly, and not delay; lest your delaying prove of fatal consequence to you.

BUT,

2. I am to shew, Why Young Persons should arise quickly, and come at the Call of Christ. And I shall mention but two Reasons, which will suf­ficiently prove that they ought to do so; Name­ly, It is the Master that calleth thee; And, It will be thy own Advantage to arise quickly and comply with the Call.

1. IT is the Master that calleth thee; And there­fore, O Young Man, thou oughtest quickly, without delay, to hearken to and Obey His Call. So 'tis said here, the Master calleth thee. The style of Master, infers Obedience; and Obe­dience becomes due from the first Moment of the Knowledge of the Command. Now Jesus Christ is this Master, who has an undoubted Right to thy Obedience; For He is thy Maker. Without Him was not any thing made, that is made▪ Joh. I.3. He is thy Master by Redeeming Love and Grace, and by thy Profession, and Covenant Dedication to Him in Baptism, which the most of you have been brought under the Bonds of▪ Act. II.36. Let all the House of Israel know a [...]s­suredly, [Page 52] that God hath made the same Iesus,— both Lord and Christ. And since He is thy Lord and Master; therefore thou oughtest immedi­ately to Obey His Call.

FOR,

1. HE is a Master that has Authority to Com­mand. His rightful Authority is absolute, indis­putable, and uncontroulable. For as the great Mediator, God & Man, He is constituted Head over all things: (Eph. I.22.) And consequently His Will is a Law, and the highest Reason of all things; and therefore ought to be imme­diately, and forever Obeyed. He is thy Lord, worship thou Him. Psal. XLV.11· This is the Worship due to Him, to hearken to His Voice, and comply with it, without delay. He is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, and where the Word of a King is, there is Power and Authori­ty to Command; and this is a strong Reason why you should yield a speedy Obedience to Him. Earthly Monarchs expect a ready Sub­mission to all their lawful Commands; and how much more then ought Jesus Christ to be obeyed immediately. Shall His Subjucts, Worms of the Dust, dispute His Authority? or is there any Room to Question your Duty, when He, who has an absolute Lordship over you, says, do this? No surely; when He calls upon Young Persons to come and give up themselves to Him, and walk in His ways, He adds, have not I command­ed thee? and should not the consideration of the supream Authority and Lordship of Christ over you, excite you to the most ready Obedience to Him?

[Page 53]2. HE is a Master that requires nothing but what is Iust and Right. When He calls upon Young Persons to put their Trust in Him, to believe His Word, and to obey His Precepts, there is no fear of any unlawfulness in the Command: so that there is no room to hessitate whether you ought to comply with it or no. For He is the faithful and true Witness, and speaketh the Truth in all things. The Herodians said to Him, and they spake truly, Mat. XXII.16. Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the Way of God in Truth. All that He requireth of thee is the re­sult of Infinite Wisdom and Verity; He hath made known all that He hath received of the Father, and hath not spoken in His own Name, but what the Father hath given Him in Com­mandment, that He hath spoken. And what the Apostles of our Lord have declared to us, they also have not spoken of themselves, but holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So that all that He requires you to Believe, is undoubtedly Certain and True, (tho' you may not be able to understand it,) be­cause it is the Word of a God that cannot Lye▪ and all that He requires you to Practise, is indis­putably Just & Equitable, because it is the Will of God that you should do it. For faithful and true is He that hath spoken it. And because there is the most undoubted Certainty of the Truth, and Equity, of what He has revealed, and re­quired of you, therefore when Jesus Christ calls upon you to Believe this and the other Revelati­on of the Gospel, you ought immediately to give Credit to it; and when He calls upon you to set [Page 54] upon the Practice of these and those Duties of Holiness, Righteousness, and Charity, you ought immediately to obey Him. For seeing that it is indisputable that you ought to Obey God, who cannot impose an Untruth, nor an unjust Com­mand upon you; and it is certain that what Je­sus Christ calls you to, is what God Himself re­quires of you, therefore there is no room left to dispute the point, upon presumption of the Call's being unlawful, whether you ought to obey it or no; but you ought to arise quickly, and do His Commandment.

3. IESUS CHRIST is a Powerful [...]ster, and therefore Young Persons ought immediately to hearken to His Call. He has all Power in His Hands; Joh. XVII.2. Thou hast given Him Power over all Flesh. He is styled the Mighty God, Isa. IX.6. Hence He is a Master that is able to en­force His Laws, to annex the Sanction, and see it executed. He is able, by His mighty Power, to destroy any Creature the next Moment, that shall dare to dispute any of His Commands, or deny Obedience to them. Yea, He can destroy Soul and Body in Hell; He says, Rev. I.18. I have the Keys of Hell and of Death. He can strike Dead, and Damn, the Rebel Creature, that re­fuses to come at His Call. Who can Disobey Him, and hope to go Unpunished? Who can deliver out of His Hands? When therefore Jesus Christ calleth upon Young Persons to come to Him, He ought immediately to be obeyed, because He is a Master that is able severely to Punish all Disobedience, And think, O Young Man, will it not be sufficiently provoking to Him, [Page 55] if you refuse to Answer Him, when He calleth? When He calls upon you to forsake your Sins▪ will you dare to incense His Wrath by going on still in your Trespasses? Are you stronger than He is? Can He not the next Moment, inflict the Deserved Punishment upon you, if you contemn His Authority, and will not be Obedient to His Voice? O how ought you to arise quickly and comply with his Call? When the Three Young Men of the Jewish Captivity refused to obey the Command of Nebuchadnezzar, 'tis said, Dan. III.13.— Then Nebuchadnezzar in his Rage and Fury, commanded them to be brought before him, and said to them, Is it true? Do ye not serve my gods? — If ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery Furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my Hands? And does not Jesus Christ, the Master, say to the same purpose, in His holy Word, If you will not Obey my Voice, I will cast you into Hell, where the Worm dies not, and the Fire is not quenched; and who can de­liver you out of My Hands. O then, let Young Persons be perswaded to Hearken to the Voice of the Master, and Obey His Call immediately, since He is able to destroy them without Reme­dy, if they do it not.

4. IESUS CHRIST is the Best Master, and therefore should you most readily hearken to and obey Him. He is full of tender Compassi­ons, Condescention and Goodness, in appearing a Saviour for Sinners, and laying down His Life for them; and this He has done for the Young­est that will come to Him. And how should [Page 56] this endear Him to thee, and make thee ready to arise quickly and come to Him? I beseech you, by the Mercies of God, that you present yourselves to Him, a living, a reasonable, a holy, and an acceptable Sacrifice. He is most Com­passionate to thee under all the Services He calls thee to: He can have Compassion on the Ignorant, and them that are out of the way, Heb. V.2. He will bear with thy weaknesses, overlook thy failings, forgive thy Sins, pass by thy Offences; and in whatsoever Service He calls thee to, will afford Help and Assistance to thee to perform it; that though of thy self thou canst do nothing, yet through Him strengthening of thee, thou mayest do all things. And what glorious Re­wards has He in store for all that come to Him? There is Joy, and Peace, Pleasure and Satisfacti­on, Quietness and Assurance, Grace and every Good thing, as a full Provision for thee, in the Time of thy Service; and Glory, Honour, Im­mortality, and Eternal Life, laid up at the end of thy Service to Him in this World. And now, what Master is their so Compassionate & Boun­tiful? Who canst thou serve Better? And there­fore how should the consideration hereof make thee willing to come at His Call, and immedi­ately, without any Delay, devote thy self to Him, and bind thy self over in thy Youth to be the Lords Covenant Servant forever? Thus the consideration of Jesus Christ, as the Master should be a strong Argument with Young People to arise quickly, and come at His Call. And,

2. IT will be the unspeakable Advantage of Young Persons, thus to arise quickly, and come to Christ. [Page 57] The Master Calleth thee; and what does He Call thee for? Will it not be thy own Advantage to yield an immediate Compliance with the Call? Verily it will: as will sufficiently appear from these two hints.

1. THE Sin which Christ calls thee to forsake will prove destructive to thee if thou dost not hearken to the Call. Jesus Christ calls upon Young Persons to forsake their Sins; and what is this but to call thee from Ruin and Misery? Who ever got a [...]y Good in the ways of Sin? tho' it pro­mise never so fair, it is all vanity, and lyes, and things wherein there is no profit. And what will the End thereof be, but Death? Rom. VI.21. So also, we are told of Sinners, Rom. III.16. Destruction and Misery are in their ways. This is the way thou art walking in, O Young Man, while thou art in the way of Sin: and this is the way that Jesus Christ calls thee to turn from. Will it not be thy unspeakable Advantage then to turn out of this destructive Path? And ought­est thou not then immediately to Hearken to the Voice of Christ, seeing thy own Safety is so much concerned in it? If thou wast travel­ling in the Dark, till you arrived at the very Brink of a Precipice, and a Friend called to thee to tell thee of thy Danger▪ and directed thee to a safe way, wouldst thou not immediately and thankfully hearken to him. Thou art going down to Eternal Destruction, while in thy Sin; thou art upon the Brink of the Pit, and know­est not, but if you take one Step more, if you continue one Day longer in thy sinful ways, thou mayst tumble down into Hell, and perish for [Page 58] ever: Jesus Christ is compassionately calling up­on thee to turn, and escape the Danger; and will you not immediately hearken to Him? Surely you owe this, not only to Christ, as He is your Master, but to your own Souls, to arise quickly, to make no delay, but set thy self un­to the work of unfeigned Repentance immedi­ately.

2. IF Young Persons will immediately come at the Call of Christ, they will be Happy for ever. Jesus Christ calls thee to come to Him, to Believe in Him, and Obey Him. And what is it to comply with the Call of Christ, but to secure thy own Happiness? The way He calls thee to walk in, is the way that leadeth to everlasting Rest, and Joy; for he that Believeth shall be s [...]ved, Mar. XVI.16. No Man can be saved without Faith in Christ, and Obedience to H [...]m: By Grace ye are saved, thro' Faith — it is the Gift of God,— who hath created us in Christ Iesus to Good Works▪ which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them, Eph. II.1, 10. While you are without Christ, you are without God, and without any good Hope of arriving at Salvation in an other World. But by Faith in Jesus Christ we have access with Boldness to the Throne of Grace here, and of Glory hereafter; and Jesus Christ is the Author of Eternal Salvation to all them that obey Him, Heb. V.9. So that if Young Persons do now imme­diately hearken to the Call of Christ, their E­verlasting Happiness is secure. And is not this a strong Reason why you should arise quickly, without any Delay, and hear His Voice, and put in practice all that He requires of you? O our [Page 59] Young People, Do not you need Happiness? Have you no Thirst of Soul after it? Is it not worth your striving and labouring for? And ought you not then immediately to accept of it, when it is freely offered to you? Would you spend any long time in Hesi [...]ancy and Delay▪ if any one should make the Offers of a large Estate to you? Would you not count it worth a ready Accep­tance? And is it not as Reasonable, and infinite­ly more so, that you should readily embrace the Offer of Jesus Christ, who calls you to come unto Him, that your Souls may live? Is not His [...]endered Heaven and Happiness infinitely more valuable than all this World? Well then, since it is so much to your own Advantage to come at the Call of Christ; since you will thereby es­cape all Misery and Destruction, and secure all that will render you Happy for ever, O, do not delay, do not put it off, but now the Master calleth thee, arise quickly, and come unto Him.

I proceed to make some Improvement of these Things.

USE. I. HENCE they are greatly to be Reprov­ed, who do not arise quickly, and come at the Call of Christ. Would a Master bear it, that his Ser­vant should refuse to come at his Call? or stand Idle, when he sets him about a Business that re­quires dispatch? And yet alas; so many a Young Person serve Jesus Christ the great Lord and Master! Tho' He calls them to come unto Him, to forsake their Sins, and lead [...]ew Lives, [...]et they turn a deaf Ear to His Call, they pu [...] [Page 60] Him off from Day to Day, and refuse to comply with His Command. He says, if I am a Master, where is my Fear? Will you not fear to pro­voke His Wrath? Is not His Anger to be dread­ed? O our Young People; Is not Jesus Christ calling upon you, one Sabbath after an other, how long ye simple ones, will ye love Simplicity, turn ye, at my Reproof? Have you not had Sermon after Sermon, Call after Call, to come to Him, and take Him for your Lord, and live in Obedience to Him as your Master? Have you not been often warned of the infinite Danger there is in your going on in your Sins? And yet alas; How few have believed the Reports of the Gospel? Do we not see that many of our Young people, (it is to be feared the greatest Part of them,) yet hug their Lusts, and will not let them go? Do we not see them to this Day, walking in the way of the foolish, neglecting their Duty to God, and their own Souls, and bringing Mischief and Ruin upon themselves? O that you would be at length prevailed upon to hear­ken to the Call of Christ; that you would now immediately set upon the Practice of the Duties of Religion, and delay no longer, lest your De­lays prove your undoing. There is many a Young Person, that sometimes has many Purposes to hearken to the Call of Christ; they have some sense of their Need of Him, and think to alter their Lives before they Die; but they put it off to an other Time; after they have first serv­ed themselves in their Worldly Interest, or have a little longer enjoyed the Gratifications of this or that carnal Appetite, then they will come to [Page 61] Christ, and serve Him, and secure their Eternal Interest. But think ser [...]ously with thy self, O Young Man; Is it reasonable that you should first serve Sin, and the World, and give the Re­mainder of your Time and Strength to God and Christ? Is it reasonable that the Interest of your Souls and Eternity, should be postponed to the little, and comparatively [...]fling, co [...]cerns of the Body? Art thou not then g [...]eatly to be reproved for thy Sin and Folly herein? Does not thy own Conscience condemn thee for an e­gregious Fool? Besides, has not Jesus Christ exercised a great deal of Patience towards thee already? He says, Rev. III.20. Behold, I stand at the Door, and knock. Has He not been so wait­ing upon thee Year after Year? And is it rea­sonable that you should abuse His Patience, and put Him off yet longer? Will not this greatly hazard His Patience being turned into Fury? May you not justly fear, if you delay any lon­ger, that He will wholly withdraw from you? And then what will become of you? O, it is a dreadful and amazing Sight, to see our Young People acting so foolish and mad a Part! And how wilt thou Answer it at last, that thou choosest to live in Rioting and Drunkenness, in Chamber­ing and Wantonness, making Provision for the Flesh to fulfil it in the Lusts thereof? Ah, fool­ish People, and unwise! Know it, that however you may Flatter your selves, the Time will come, (and you know not how soon,) unless you Repent, when God will set thy Sin in order be­fore thee; and then, because thou hatest In­struction, and cast the Word of God behind thy [Page 62] back, He will tear thee to Pieces, and there shall be none to deliver thee.

II. O then, Let our Young People be perswaded, now quickly to comply wit [...] the [...] of Christ. What I say unto you, I say unto all; yet more espe­cially unto you, our Young People, The Master is come, and calleth for you; o [...] perswaded then to arise quickly, and [...] a [...] His Call. Be at length prevailed upon to [...]ve as Christ requires of you, Set upon the Duty of Prayer; be much in Reading and Hearing the Word of God; and live S [...]berly, Righteously, a [...]d Godly in this present World. To exci [...]e and move you here­to, I will leave with you a few considerations:

As,

1. THAT Iesus Christ is now Calling of you. Jesus Christ now Calls upon you in His Word and Ordinances, as He did Personally upon His Disciples of old. Thro' the Favour of the Most High, the Silver Trumpet of the Gospel is found­ing in Your Ears; you have the Joyful Tidings published to you, that to you there is born a Sa­viour. And how earnestly is Jesus Christ calling upon you in His Word, Hear & your Souls shall Live? how pathetically does He address you, O that thou wouldst know in this the Day thereof the Things that belong unto thy Peace, e'er they are hidden from thine Eyes? How forcibly does He woo and entreat you to become reconciled unto God? And is He not, herewithal, moving upon your Hearts with His Holy Spirit, exciting and stirring up the Convictions of your own Mind? Have you not often felt something of His power­ful Operation within you, convincing you of [Page 63] Sin and Misery, and the Necessity of abandoning your former sinful Courses, of the Necessity of your Faith in Christ, & your leading Holy Lives? Yea, have you not now, felt something of the Power of the Word of God upon your Hearts, by which you are awak [...]ed to some Sense of your miserable Co [...]dition out of Christ? And have you not been again and again, assured that you will be welcome to Christ, that He will not reject the greatest and vilest Sinner of you all, if at length you will come to Him? Thus have you been, and thus [...] you still, called upon to come to Christ; and therefore it is as yet a Day of Grace and Mercy with You, a Time of Love, and [...] Season wherein you may find Life. And ought not this Season [...]o be w [...]sely improved by You?

2. CONSIDER, You cannot reasonably expect that God and Christ should [...]ear you when you call, if you will n [...]t now speedily hearken to Him. If you will not arise quickly a [...]d come at the Call of Christ, how can you rea [...]onably expect that Christ should hear you speedily? When you are in Distress by Sick [...]ss and Pain, then it may be you are ready to Call upon God to appear for your Help, and beg as the Psalmist, Psal. LXXIX.8. Let thy Tender Mercies speedily prevent me; and Psal. XIII.3. Consider and hear me, O Lord my God, lighten mine Eyes, lest I Sleep the Sleep of Death. But how can you reasonably expect that God should ap­pear right early for your Help, and be nigh at Ha [...]d to heal you, when you are so backward to hearken to the Call of His Son? Why should you be speedily heard calling for Mercy, when you will not quickly hear your Call to Duty? [Page 64] Or when you are in Danger at Sea, by Storm and Tempest, how Natural is it for you to Cry out, as Psal. XL 13, 17. [...]e pleased, O Lord, to deli­ver me; O Lord, make haste to help me; make no tar­rying, O my God? And if you would have God to make no Delay to deliver you when you are in Danger, ought you not then to make no Delay in your Obedience to His Commands? Might He not Justly reward unto you according to your Ways, and deal with you as you do by Him? And would it be pleasing to you, for God and Christ to neglect to hear you, and Delay to Help you in the Time of your Straits? Why then will you Delay to hearken to His Voice, when He so ear­nestly calls upon you? Is this Reasonable? Well then, delay no longer, but hearken to the Call of Christ immediately, l [...]st He say, as Prov. I.24. Because I called, an [...] ye refused, I will laugh at your Calamity, and mock when your Fe [...]r cometh.

3. CONSIDER, If you will quickly hearken to the Call of Christ, thy Salvation is secured. If thou dost now immediately arise, and come to Christ as thy Lord, & give up thy self to Him, then thou wilt certainly find Mercy: all thy Sins shall be forgiven, and thy Soul saved; the covenant Pro­mise is thine, and th [...] needst to fear no Evil. But, O Young Man, if thou dost not now, quick­ly, immediately, obey this Call, you can have no Certainty of an other; for th [...] canst not boast thy self of a to morrow. Prov. XXVII.1. By to morrow, thou mayst be out of the reach of Mer­cy; and then in vain will be all thy Wishes, O that I had hearken'd to the Call of Christ while I had the Opportunity thereof! We are told, [Page 65] 2 Cor. VI.2. Behold, now, is the Accepted Time, now, is the Day of Salvation. If you embrace the present Opportunity, I can assure you, Christ will accept of you, the Peace will be made between God and You, He will freely forgive you all your Sins, tho' they have been many and great, not one of them all shall be remembred against you; But there is no Man can assure you of this Blessed Priviledge, if you defer till to Morrow; You can't tell but you may be in the Grave with the Dead, yea, in Hell with the Damned; and then tho' you seek the Blessing carefully, and with Tears, there will be no room for Repen­tance.

4. CONSIDER; The sooner you hearken to the Call of Christ, the more Service you will do, while in the World. If you arise quickly at the Call of Christ, now while you are Young, you will have the more Opportunity to do Service for God, and His People. He that neglects to comply with the Call of Christ, till his Life is almost spent; if he should be in good Earnest then in his com­ing to Him, he has but a little Time left, for him to do any thing for the Name of God, and the Benefit of His People. Whereas if you that are Young, will now, immediately list in the Service of Christ, you will have all the Remain­der of your Lives, (and if they should be length­ned out to the common Da [...]e, it will be a consi­derable Time,) to be employed for the Serving God, and your Ge [...]eration according to the Will of God: and so all about you, will fare the bet­ter [Page 66] for you As for those that remain in an un­converted Estate, they are generally a Burden to the Earth, hurtful in their Example, and expose the World to the Righteous Judgments of God; they bring no Glory to the Name of God, but Dishonour it; they are unprofitable to them­selves, and ordinarily are the pests of Humane Society. But the Holy, Good Man, serves his God, and his Generation; is obliging and kind, beneficent and charitable, is an encourager of all that is Good, and endeavours to promote the welfare of the Place and Neighbourhood where he lives; and he is a Blessing to the World, by his Examples, Counsels, and Prayers. Now the sooner you begin to hearken to the Call of Christ, and comply with the Terms, & perform the Duties of the Gospel, so much the more Glory will you be likely to bring to the Name of God, & so much the more Good will you do in the World. Thus by an immediate hearkning to the Call of Christ, will you become the greater Blessings to all about you. And what an Excitement should this be to you, to engage, without Delay, in the Service of God, and Religion, that by it you will become truly serviceable in the World, and every wise Man will call you Blessed.

5. CONSIDER, IF thou, O Young Man, wilt im­mediately hearken to the Call of Christ, thy own Glo­ry will be s [...] much the Greater. There are diffe­rent Degrees of Glory and Happiness in Heaven: Tho' every true Christian shall be Happy, and compleatly so; yet there are some that shall have higher Degrees of Happiness assigned to [Page 67] them than others; as some Vessels will hold more than others, tho' they are alike full. So the Apostle tells us, 1 Cor. XV.41, 42. There is one Glory of the Sun, and another Glory of the Moon, and an other Glory of the Stars; and one Star dif­fereth from an other Star in Glory: So also is the Resurrection of the Dead. In the Resurrection World, tho' all the Servants of Christ shall have their full Rewards bestowed upon them, yet those Rewards will differ as to degrees; he that hath gained Ten Pounds, shall be made a Ruler over Ten Cities, while he that has gained but Five, shall be made Ruler over but Five Cities. Men's Rewards in Heaven will be proportioned to their Serviceableness: the more Service they do, the greater will be their Glory. Now who are most likely to do most Service for Christ, but they that begin betimes: They that spend the Day Idly till the Eleventh Hour, it cannot be expected that they should do as much as those that entred in the Vineyard in the Morn­ing, and laboured in it all the Day. This then should encourage you now, immediately to hearken to the Call of Christ; that you may loose no more of your Time, but spend the whole Remainder of it as a wise and faithful Steward, that your Rewards may be the greater in Hea­ven.

6. IF you do not arise quickly at the Call of Christ, He may never Call you more. The Master is now calling of you, and He expects a ready Compli­ [...]nce with His Call, and will highly resent it if [Page 68] you put Him off with frivolous excuses and un­reasonable delays. Possibly, He may be so pro­voked, as wholly to withdraw, and never give you an Invitation more to come to Him. When the Spouse made excuses and delays, and did not readily arise, and open, to let Him in, her Lord withdrew Himself, and into what an Amaze was she plunged; Cant. V.6. My Soul failed, says she; I sought Him, but could not find Him, I called Him, but He gave me no Answer — I charge you if you find Him, tell Him, I am Sick of Love. What reason then have they that put Jesus Christ off from Time to Time, and have never once yet hearkened to His Call, after a long waiting upon them, to fear, that if they do not now, immediately, without any more sinful Delay, arise and open the Doors of their Souls, and give a due Entertainment to Him, that He will be provoked wholly to withdraw, and leave them, and give them up to the ways of their own Choosing, till they perish in an everlasting seperation from Him. While Jesus Christ is calling upon you, to come to Him, there is yet Hope concerning you, there is a possibility that you may obtain the Pardon of all your Sin, tho' they have been innumerably many, and exceed­ing great. There is room to Hope that you may yet escape the Wrath to come, and have a Title to the Blessedness of the Heavenly World as your Portion. But if you should not now hearken to His Call, how knowest thou but the Door of Grace, and Hope, and Life, may be for­ever shut upon thee? and then what a misera­ble [Page 69] Condition will you be in to all Eternity. Think, O Young Man, of those awful words, Luke XIII.25. — When once the Master of the House is risen up, and hath shut to the Door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the Door, say­ing, Lord! Lord! Open to us! He shall answer & say unto you, I know you not whence you are, — depart from me, all ye workers of Iniquity. The Door of Mercy now stands open, and Jesus Christ at it, is earnestly calling upon thee to come in, and receive Mercy; but if thou wilt not arise quick­ly and come at His Call, it may be He will be so provoked as to shut the Door upon thee, and in vain will it be for thee then to cry, Lord, Lord, open to me; thou wilt be utterly reject­ed of Him. And O! what wailing and gnash­ing of Teeth will then be thy Portion forever? Has not Christ been Calling upon thee, Sabbath after Sabbath? But it may be thou hast not many more Sabbaths to enjoy; wherefore now immediately hearken to his Call, come to Him, and secure the Blessing, lest it be too late.

O that our Young People might be awakened by these Considerations, to arise now, while the Master calleth them, and quickly, im­mediately apply themselves to the great Duties of Religion, humbly repent of all their Sins, and forsake them, earnestly call upon God, in the Name of Christ for Pardon and Grace, and give themselves up to God in Christ to be His Servants devoted to His Fear. I conclude, with the Words of the Apostle, Heb. IV. [Page 70] 7,—11. He limiteth a certain Day, saying— to Day, after so long a Time, — to Day, if ye will hear His Voice, harden not your Hearts. — Labour therefore to enter into that Rest, lest any Man fall after the same example of Un­belief.

THO' the Prophet Isaiah be justly styled, an Evangelical Prophet, for his many, and clear Discourses of the Gospel State, and Times; which he Prophe­cies of, to encourage the People of God, & sup­port their Minds, under the many Calamities they should meet withal, and to excite them to look with the more of Earnestness, and with the [Page 72] greater Preparedness for the Coming of the pro­mised Messiah; Yet we find him often denounc­ing the heavy Judgments of God against the Jew­ish Nation, for the many provoking Sins that were to be found among them: and particularly in this, with the Two foregoing Chapters, he gives them Warning from God, what would be the sad Fruit of their Evil Ways, if they would not timely repent of their Wickedness, and turn unto the Lord.

IN the Beginning of this Chapter he foretels, the Babylonish Captivity that was hastning upon Ierusalem, whom he here stiles Ariel, as Ezekiel does the Altar of Burnt Offering, (Ezek. XLIII.15.) as denoting, that their nearest visible Rela­tion to God▪ & their greatest Confidence in Him, should be no Security to them against the threat­ned Judgment, without a thorough Repentance, and Reformation.

BESIDES the Captivity that was approaching upon them, he [...]ets them know from God, that there were other desolating Judgments which God would inflict upon them, for their Incorri­gibleness in their Evil Ways; as in my Text, Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with Thun­der, and with Earthquake, and a great Noise, with Storm and Tempest, and the Flame of a devouring Fire.

HERE are Four terrible Judgments of God de­nounced against them, among which I shall se­lect that of the Earthquake, for the Subject of my present Discourse; it being what we are all of us under the frightful Impressions of, from the [Page 73] Trembling of our Earth, and the great Noise that has accompanied it, in the Days that are past.

POSSIBLY the Earthquake, here spoken of, may be that which happened in the Days of Uz­ziah, King of Iudah, of which the Prophet Amos speaks, Amos I.1. and the Prophet Zechariah speaking of the taking Ierusalem, by the Chaldeans, says, Zech. X [...]V.5. Ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the Earthquake in the Days of Uzziah King of Iudah.

ISAIAH prophesied in the Reign of this Uzzi­ah, as we may see in the Beginning of his pro­phesie; and it is recorded of Uzziah, that after he had greatly fortified and strengthned Ierusa­lem, his Heart was lifted up within him, and he would needs assume the Priests Office, & go him­self into the Temple to burn Incense, upon the Altar of Incense, which it was not lawful for a­ny but the Priest to do. Azariah, and Fourscore of the Priests withstood him, tho' a King; and when he attempted to force his Way to the Al­tar, in Opposition to the Priests, God smote him with Leprosie, & then they thrust him out, yea, he himself, convinced by the Judgment of God upon him of his Error, hasted to go out, as an unclean Person. The History whereof we have in, II. Chron. Ch. XXVI. At the same Time, as is supposed by some, the Earthquake happen­ed that is here spoken of: and accordingly I [...]se­phus the famous Jewish Historian tells us ‘ [...]hat when Uzziah grew Wroth, and in his Passion threatned to kill the Priests that withstood him, the Earth fell a Trembling, and the temple [Page 74] cleft in Twain, and the half of a Mountain, that stood to the Eastward, before the City, break and fell, and removed for the Space of four Furlongs, or half a Mile by which the Publick Ways were stopped up and Choaked, and the Kings Gardens of Pleasure were wholly ruined.’

THUS the Lord visited them with an Earthquake and a great Noise; it was not a thing that hap­pened by mere Chance and Accident, but it was from God, who sent it, as a Judgment upon them; the Direction thereof was from the Lord of Hosts.

FROM the Words I shall raise this Doctrinal Truth; viz.

DOCT. THAT when an Earthquake happens to any Place, it is the Lord of Hosts that visits the Place therewith.

IN speaking to this Doctrine, I shall

I. DISCOURSE a little upon the Nature of Earth­quakes, their Causes, and Effects. And then

II. SHEW that when Earthquakes happen, it is the Lord of Hosts that visits a Place therewith.

I. I am to Discourse a little upon the Nature of Earthquakes, their Causes, and Effects.

HERE we may consider Earthquakes as Meta­phorical, or Literal.

1. THERE are Metaphorical Earthquakes often spoken of in the sacred Scripture. This means those shaking Dispensations of Divine Providence, which God brings upon Nations, and Kingdoms, and Churches, by which their Political, or Eccle­siastical State is made to Totter, and sometimes is dissolved in the Frame of it, and they are turn­ed upside down, all things being thrown into Confusion among them. This the Psalmist seems [Page 75] to intend, when he says, Psal. XLVI.2, 3. There­fore will not we fear, th [...]' the Mountains be carried in­to the midst of the Sea; tho' the Waters thereof roar, and be troubled; tho' the mountains shake with the swel­ling thereof. By the Mountains, are meant the Princes, and great Men of a State; and by the Sea, is meant the Populace: tho' the Sea roars, tho' the People are in a Tumult, and the Noise of Divisions, Confusions, Seditions, Rebellions are to be heard among them; tho' the Mountains, the Princes and great Men are shaken out of their Places, and thrown down, by the prevailing Tu­mults of the People, yet will not we fear; God is our Refuge, &c. Thus the Prophet Isaiah says, Chap. II. ver. 13—The Day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon the Cedars of Lebanon that are high, & upon all the Hills that are lifted up, that is the Chief Men of the Nation — and the loftiness of Man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of Men shall be made low,— and they shall go into the holes of the Rocks, — for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the Earth. This does not intend a literal Earth­quake, but such Judgments as God in His Pro­vidence would bring upon them, whereby their State should be greatly shaken and dissolved. Thus again, the same Prophet foretells the De­solations which God would bring upon the Jews, and the Nations round about them, in these strains, Isa. XXIV.18.— The Foundations of the Earth d [...] shake, the Earth is ut [...]erly broken down, the Earth is clean dissolved▪ the Earth is moved exceedingly the Earth shall reel to & fro, like a Drunkard, & shall be removed like a Cottage. And the Prophet Haggai [Page 76] prophecying of the same Times, and Changes, says, Hag. II.6, 7. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, yet once, it is a little while, and I will s [...]ake the Heavens and the Earth, and the Sea, and the dry Land; and I will shake all Nations, and the Desire of all Nations shall come. Both of these Texts seem to be prophetick of one and the same thing, viz. the great Changes and Revolutions that should befall, not only the Jewish Nation, but all the Nations around them, before the coming of the promised Messiah, here stiled the desire of all Nations, and they were most sadly accompl [...]shed in the Concussions, and Desolations, brought upon the World, by Alexander, the Gre­cian, his Four Captains and their Successours, and then by the Romans making new Revolutions, and Changes, and Desolations in the Earth. Thus also our Blessed Saviour seems to intend Metophorical Earthquakes, when He mentions them as signs of His Coming, Mar. XIII.8. Nation shall rise up against Nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom, and there shall be Earthquakes in divers places. There shall be great Concussions of Na­tions and Kingdoms, by the Judgments of God upon them in their Wars and Tumults, and the like, before the Second Coming of our Lord, and as a Sign of the near approach of it. And thus to name no more, we are told that when the Spirit of Life should enter into the slain Wit­nesses, and they should ascend up to Heaven, as in a Cloud, that the same H [...]ur was there a great Earthquake, and the Tenth part of the City [...]ell, Rev. XI.13. Which seems only to be a Prediction of those mighty Concussions which should be given [Page 77] to the Antichristian Powers, at the time of the Resurrection of the slain Witnesses, whereby a Tenth part of the City, or possibly one of the Ten Kings that had given their Power to the Beast, shall utterly fall off from her, and renounce her Supremacy, and abhor her Tyranny and Per­secutions. And possibly wherever we read of Earthquakes, in the Revelations, they intend Revolutions, and Changes, in the State, or in the Church.

2. THERE are Literal and real Earthquakes; when the Earth itself is truly moved & shaken. Such I suppose to be spoken of in my Text, and such I intend in my Doctrine, and of these I mean more particularly to speak. And here by Earthquakes, is not to be understood the general and constant motion of the Earth, by which, as is supposed, it performed it's daily round, upon its own Axis, or its yearly one in its assigned Orbit; but I mean particular Shocks given to some Part or other of the Earth, by which the Surface of it, here, or there, is put into an un­usual and violent Motion; and that, either of Trembling, as a Person in a fit of the Ague; or a sort of progressive Motion, which is carried forward on the Surface of the Earth in an Un­dulating Manner, like the rolling Waves of the Sea; and sometimes, it may be, by a more di­rect motion from the Centre, by which the Earth heaves up, till it burst, and swallows what is near it, in the gaping Chasm. Of such literal Earthquakes I shall briefly hint at the Causes and Effects.

1. O [...] the Causes of an Earthquake; and [Page 78] these may be considered either as Natural or Supernatural. The Supernatural Cause is the immediate Hand of God, of which I shall speak under the Second General Head. The Natural Causes, or Secondary Means that bring about an Earthquake is what I shall take notice of under this Head. And I shall not enlarge, but only say; That it is very rational to suppose that there are Caverns and Hollownesses, some very large and extended, others of more contracted Dimensions, in the Body of our Earth, contain­ing Wind, or Water, or both in them. Lesser ones we find in our Digging of Wells, from whence we are supplied with Water. And hence we read, of the Fountains of the great Deep being broke up, Gen. VII.11. And Prov. VIII.28. He strengthned the Fountains of the Deep. And Job 28.4. The Flood breaketh out from the Inhabitant ^†.

IT is also undoubted, That there are Subter­raneous Fires in the Bowels of the Earth, since we have many Instances of their Eruption in di­verse Parts of the World.

Now these Subterraneous Fires approaching near to those Caverns, filled with Wind or Water, must necessarily give a vehement Agitation to them; as the fired Gun-powder does to the Wind in the Gun, and as the Fire under a Pot sets the Water a Boyling in it: and because the Wind and Water thus rarifyed and put into violent Motion, by the approaching Heat, naturally seeks a Vent, or Room to expand themselves, there­fore [Page 79] that Part of the Earth, which lies nearest to the Cavern, in which they are closely pent, is naturally and necessarily put into a strong and violent Motion to make Room for their Ex­pansion; and because of the Continuity of the Parts of the Earth, from the Surface to those Caverns, therefore the Surface of the Earth also is necessarily thrown into Motion▪ according to the Direction of the Stroke, or first Shock that is given to the Concave of the Vault below; and is either made to tremble, as the force of the Motion of the pent Wind, or Water is less vio­lent, or Cleaves and Rends asunder its Parts, as the Motion is more strong and vehement. In some such Method we may rationally suppose Earthquakes are generated of Natural Causes.

2. I shall hint at the Effects of Earthquakes; and they are so numerous that I may not enlarge upon them. Sometimes we find Houses greatly shaken by the force thereof, and [...]eel too and fro, or tremble like a Leaf shaken with the wind: while at the same Time, the Vessels up­on the Waters feel the Shock as tho' they were running upon a gravelly Bottom, and their sides quiver, as if some floating Rafts had s [...]ddenly rushed against them. And how often does Histo­ry give us an account, of Houses being overthrown from their Foundations, and the Inhabitants of whole Towns buried in the Ruins. A m [...]st sud­den, surprizing and awful Death! Sometimes we are told of Mountains & Hills that have been put into motion, by an Earthquake, and carryed at a great Distance from the place where they formerly stood. History acquaints us also, That [Page 80] the Channels of Water, the Rivers, have been diverted from their usual Course thereby, and a new path has been marked out for them. At o­ther Times the Earth has opened her Mouth, and whole Towns, and their Inhabitants have su [...]k down in the mighty Chasm, which has quickly closed upon them, and buried them in o [...]e [...]ommon Grave. Sometimes a mighty Roar­ing Noise has accompanied an Earthquake, and an amazing rumbling sound has been heard pas­si [...]g thro' a Land. And some have thought, that an Earthquake gives vent to certain venemous subterraneous Fumes, which have infected the Air, and produced pestilential Diseases, as the Natural Effects thereof.

AND how great are the Effects of an Earth­quake, both upon the Bodies, and Minds of Per­sons? Their Bodies are put into a fit of Trem­bling, a cold chilness seizes upon them, Faint­ness enters into their Bowels, the Joynts of their Loins are loosed, and their Knees are ready to smi [...]e one against another: and what Fear and Consternation suddenly rushes into their Minds? Astonishment taketh hold of them, they are even at their Witts End, and know not what to do, nor where to go; the apprehensions of a Sudden, U [...]usual Death, in their full Strength, and in so Terrible a manner, fills them with Amazement, and they c [...]y out, with the Psalmist, O Lord, our Flesh tremb [...]es for fe [...]r of The [...], and we are afraid [...] Iudgments. Thus it is said of them, in the T [...]me of an Earthquake. 1 Sam. XIV.15. There [...] trembling in the Host, in the Field, and among all the People; the Garrison, and the Spoilers, they [Page 81] also trembled, and the Earth quaked, so it was a ve­ry great Trembling. Thus much may suffice to have spoken to the Nature of Earthquakes, their Causes, and Effects. I pass to say.

II. THAT when Earthquakes happen, it is the Lord of Hosts that visiteth a Place therewith. They come not of themselves, nor by mere Chance and Accident, nor purely by the Force of second Cau­ses; but they are sent by the Lord of Hosts, who has the sole Direction and Government thereof. And this is Evident.

1. IN that sometimes God visits a place with an Earthquake from the more immediate Influenc [...] of His own Almighty Power. Tho' there may be sometimes Natural Causes of an Earthquake, yet there are some Earthquakes, that we may well say of them, that they have no Natural Cause, but God Himself, by His own immediate Hand, shakes the Earth, and it trembles, and is greatly moved. We have several Instances here­of upon Sacred Record.

THUS when Israel pass'd over the Red Sea, or the River Iordan, there seems to have been an Earthquake produced by the immediate Hand of God, which the Psalmist commemorates, Psal. CXIV. When Israel went out of Egypt,— the Sea saw it, and fled, Iordan was driven back; the Mountains skipped like Rams, the little Hills like Lambs. What ailed thee, O thou Sea, that thou fled­est? thou Iordan, that thou wast driven back? ye Mountains, that ye skipped like Rams? ye little Hills like Lambs? Tremble thou Earth, at the Presence of the Lord, at the Presence of the God of Iacob. To which Moses also may possibly allude, when he [Page 82] says, Exod. XV.12. Thou stretchedst out thy Right Hand, the Earth swallowed them. A very remark­able Insta [...]ce we have of this, in the Earthquake that swallowed up Corah, and his Companions. Num. XVI 30.—33. If the Lord make a new thing, and the Earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertaineth unto them, and they go down quick into the pit, then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. And it came to pass as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the Ground clave asunder that was under them, and the Earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their Houses, and all the Men that appertained unto Corah▪ & all their Goods; and they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the Pit, and the Earth closed upon them, & they perished from among the Congregation.

THUS when God gave the Law, upon Mount Sinai, 'tis said, Exod. XIX.18. Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in Fire, — and the whole Mount quaked greatly. This shaking of Sinai was from the more immediate Power of God, as the Psalmist observes, Psal. LXVIII▪7. O God, when thou wentest before thy People, the Earth shook — Sinai itself was moved at the presence of the God of Israel.

THUS the Earthquake that happened at the Crucifixion of our Lord, recorded, Mat. XXVII.51. and That at His Resurrection, mentioned, Mat. XXVIII.2. were evidently from the imme­diate Power of God, and not from the natural Operation of Second Causes.

AND to add no more; when Paul and Silas sang the Praises of God in Prison, at Mid [...]gh [...], [Page 83] we read, Act. XVI 26. Suddenly there was a great Earthquake. All of which shews, that sometimes God by His own immediate Almighty Power, in a Supernatural way, visits a Place with an Earth­quake. But,

2. WHATEVER be the Second Causes producing an Earthquake, still it is the Lord of Hosts that vi­sits a Place therewith. And this is evident,

1. IN that the Lord of Hosts has the absolute Government of all Second Causes. This is but a­greable to the Style, The Lord of Hosts; He is Lord of all the Hosts of Heaven and Earth; He has the Supremacy & Government of all things, whether Rational, or Irrational, Animate, or Inanimate; He is the Lord of them all, for He hath made them all; and He doth what He pleaseth, in Heaven, Earth, and Sea, and all Deep Places ^†. His Dominion extends to the Bowels, as well as to the Surface of the Earth. The Deepest Caverns, and whatsoever of Wind, or Water, or Fire may be lodged in those dark Receptacles, they are all at His Command. So that supposing there are Second Causes that are productive of Earthquakes, yet it is the Lord of Hosts that visits a Place therewith, because He has the absolute Government of those Second Causes. He endows them with their Power of Motion and Action, and He can increase and suspend ^* their Power as He pleases. He sup­ports them in the Exercise of their Power, and Attention to the Laws of Motion; and without the Concurrence of His Providence, Rule, and [Page 84] Government, they cannot exert themselves, but immediately loose all their Vertue, and Efficacy. So that as He holds the Winds in our Atmosphere in His Fist, so He does those in the deepest and most retired Caverns; as He stilleth the Raging of the visible Ocean, and sets Bounds thereto, so He does to the hidden Waters under the Earth; as He kindles or suspends the Influences of the Fire upon the Earth, so He does those in the Vaults below. Whence it is, that no Second Causes, which by their natural Virtue, and O­peration may be adapted as fit Means to bring on an Earthquake, can produce such an Effect, without His Almighty Arm, to set those Causes on work, to uphold them in their Operations, to give Efficacy to them, & accomplish the Affect by them. So that because God has the absolute Government of Second Causes, therefore when­ever an Earthquake befalls any Place; it is the Lord of Hosts that visits them therewith.

2. THE Lord of Hosts limits and sets Bounds to every Earthquake. This plainly follows upon the former Head; for because He has the abso­lute Government of Second Causes, therefore He limits and sets Bounds to their Operations, and Effects. And this He does to every Earth­quake. He limits it as to the Time of it; that a People shall be visited therewith at such a Time, and no other, even as He giveth the Snow, and the Rain from Heaven when He pleaseth. He limits them as their Ex [...]ep [...], that they shall shake this Town, or that City, or shall roam more extensively thro'out a whole Country, and He says to them, as He does to the [Page 85] proud Waves of the Sea, hitherto shall ye come, and no further ^†. He limits them as to their Duration, that they shall continue so many Mi­nutes, or Seconds, or so many Hours, or Days; that they shall give just so many Shocks to a Place, and return upon them so often, and no more. He limits them also as to their Measure and Degree, and sets Bounds to their Effects, and they are either stronger, or weaker, more or less hurtful and destructive, as seemeth good unto Him. In all these things God acts as a Sove­reign, establishes His own Counsel, and fulfilleth His own Pleasure, and it is out of the reach of Second Causes to disappoint, or controul Him ^‖.

3. THE Lord of Hosts accomplisheth His own Ends and Designs by Earthquakes. Tho' the na­tural Causes of an Earthquake are Inconscious, and know not their End▪ yet the Lord of Hosts over-rules and Governs them to accomplish those Ends and Designs which He aims at by them. Hence Iob said, Job. IX.4.— He is wise in Heart, —which removeth Mountains and they know not, which overturneth them in His Anger; which shaketh the Earth out of her place, and the Pillars thereof tremble. Sometimes God aims at the Manifes­tation of the Glory of His Majesty by them, and convince all the World that His Name al [...]ne is Jehovah; as by the Earthquake which was at the giving of the Law upon Mount Sinai. S [...]metimes God may send an Earthquake to give Confirmation to His Truths; as by those at the Crucifixion, and Resurrection of our Lord. [Page 86] Sometimes He may aim at the manifesting of His gracious and favourable Presence with His People; as when Peter and Iohn, were assembled together with the Disciples in Prayer; 'tis said, Act. IV.31. When they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. And sometimes God has caus'd an Earthquake in Mercy unto His Servants, that by it He might work won­drously for their Deliverance; as when Paul and Silas were Imprisoned, and fastned in the Stocks there, that there might be no way left for their Escape, we are told, Act. XVI.26. Suddenly there was a great Earthquake, so that the Foundations of the Prison were shaken, and imme­diately all the Doors were opened, and every ones Bands were loosed. Thus was Deliverance wrought for His Servants.

BUT most usually Earthquakes are sent in Judgment, and as a Punishment upon a Nation or People. Thus 'tis threatned as a Judgment upon Jerusalem in my Text. Hence also we find God threatning them, (which whether it be understood of a Literal or Metaphorical Earth­quake it amounts to the same thing,) Ezek. XXXVIII.19, 20. In my Iealousy, and in the Fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that Day there shall be a great Shaking in the land of Israel, so that —all the Men that are upon the face of the Earth shall shake at my Presence▪ & the Mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every Wall shall fall to the Ground. Thus also we are told Psal. XVIII.7. The Earth sh [...]ok & trembled, the Foundations of the Hills also moved & were shaken, because He was [Page 87] wroth. The Lord of Hosts visits a Place with an Earthquake to manifest His Displeasure at the Inhabitants thereof, & to let them see, and know that He is Angry; and by this He accomplishes His Designs of Judgment upon them. And who is there of us, that knows any thing of an Earth­quake, and has felt the Earth trembling under us, or our Houses rocked and tottering over our Heads, that does not with Fear and Trembling, look upon it as a sore and terrible Judgment of God.

BUT these things may suffice to Illustrate and Confirm the Doctrine, I pass now to make some Improvement of what has been said.

USE. I. DOES the Lord of Hosts sometimes visit a Place with Earthquakes, See then and adore the Mighty Power of our God. Who is a God like unto Him, or who hath an Arm like God? Is any Man in Strength so great, or can the united Force of all Mankind, produce such an amazing Effect, as the Shaking the Pillars of the Earth, and making them to Tremble? Alas! How weak & feeble is all their Strength? But the Lord of Hosts is able to shake the Earth out of its Place when He pleaseth. He need but touch the Mountains, and they smoke, and the Hills, and they are moved at His Presence. He that by a Words speaking gave Being to the Earth, and put it into its natural Motion, can easily by an other Word of Command, give an unusual and Extraordinary Motion to it.

How should the Consideration hereof raise in [Page 88] our Minds, the most High, and adoring Thoughts of the Almighty Power of God?

How should this Thought fill us with an holy Fear and Reverence of Him? Fear before Him all the Earth. He can shake all the Earth; and shall not the Heart of Man tremble at His mighty Power? What Sinner so great and mighty as to stand before this All-powerful God? Who ever hardened themselves against Him, and prospered? Wilt thou then provoke the Lord to Jealousy? Are you Stronger than He? Can He not in a Moment, when you least think of it, and are sleeping securely in your Beds, shake your Houses down over your Heads, and crush you to pieces? Or can He not cause the Earth to open her Mouth, and swallow you up, that you should go down quick into the Pit? And will you not then Fear to Sin against Him, and provoke Him to Anger? O, let the Dread of the most High fall upon you, and His Excel­lency make you afraid.

ON the other hand; What a Foundation is here for our Hope, and Trust in the Lord of Host, who is able to do more for us than we can ask or think? He has all the Hosts of Hea­ven and Earth at Command, and can accomplish what Mercy He pleaseth for them that put their Trust in Him. He can work Salvation as well as Destruction, without the help of Second Causes, by the Strength of His own Arm; and can save by Many or by Few, or without any. How should the Thought of the Almighty Power of God displayed in an Earthquake, lead us to the most steady Trust and Dependance on [Page 89] Him, who is able to Wound, or to Heal, to save alive, or to Destroy; and who can, in wondrous, and unexpected ways, fulfil all the Mercy, He has promised to them that Love and Serve Him? Thus the Earthquake which we have felt, should teach us to adore the Almighty Power of our God, to ascribe Greatness unto Him who is known, by His Name JA [...], and by His wonder­ful Works among the Children of Men.

2. THIS should teach us, to admire the Goodness and Mercy of God to us, in Sparing of us in the Time of an Earthquake. If it is the Lord of Hosts that Rules and Governs the Earthquake, and sets Bounds and Limits thereto, then unto Him do we owe the Glory of all the Preservations, of our selves, and our Habitations, when the Earth has been shaking under us. For it were easy with Him to have enlarged His Commission, and to have destroyed us, and our Dwellings together. Had the Earthquake, that so lately has passed under us, been but a little Stronger, or of longer continuance, who can say, how soon it might have levelled our Houses with the Ground, and have buried us alive in the mighty ruines? But thro' the tender Mercy of our God we are spared: and not unto us, O Lord, not un­to us, but unto Thy Name alone be all the Glory. How distinguishingly good, has our God been to us herein? That when He has bro't such Deso­lation upon so many parts of the World by ter­rible Earthquakes, as in Italy, & Sicily, and near­er hand in Iamaica upon the 7th of Iune, 1692, yet He has been graciously pleased to spare Thee, [Page 90] O New-England. Think not, that it was be­cause we did not deserve to be destroyed there­by, as well as other places; for there are crying Abominations to be found among us. As our Blessed Saviour said, Luke XIII.4. Those Eigh­teen upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell, and slew, think ye that they were Sinners above all the Men in Ieru­salem, I tell you nay; but except ye repent ye shall all likewise▪ Perish. Let then the sense of this distinguishing Goodness of God abide upon our Hearts, & influence us to make suitable Returns to the Lord our Preserver, and lead us to Repen­tance.

And therefore,

Lastly; OH! Let every Soul now be perswaded to hearken to the Voice of God, in the awful Providence, that He has been passing before us in. There is a Voice of God in all His Providences; but there is a pecu­liar loud Voice in such awful Providences, as that of being visited with an Earthquake, God has been visiting us with this tremendous Judgment this Week. How terrible and surprising was the first sudden shock thereof, the Last Lords-Day-Night, a little before Eleven, when the most of us were in our Beds, and were awaked with a most hideous Roaring, and terrified with the rocking of our Houses, the rattling of our Win­dows & Doors, and the Earth shaking under us? Into what a Maze and Fright were we thrown? How did our Flesh quiver, and our Joynts trem­ble, and our Hearts melt within us, because thereof? and how often has the shock been re­peated, ever since, both Day and Night, tho' in lesser Rumblings? every one of which seemed [Page 91] a new to startle and confound us. And this has happened, not to a particular Town or Place, but so far as we can learn, to the whole Land, which has more or less felt the Trembling. And what is the Language of this sore Judgment? but that of the Prophet of old, Amos IV.12. Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Wherefore,

1. LET us all set upon unfeined Repentance, and Reformation of all that is amiss among us. What is the procuring Cause of the Divine Judgments? but Sin; which provokes the Lord to Anger. And what is the special Voice of this Judg­ment? but, Repent, Repent, O every one of you▪ Therefore the Prophet Isaiah, when he is de­nouncing this, and other Judgments, from God upon the Jews; says, Isai. XXVII.9. By this shall the Iniquity of Iacob be purged, and the Fruit thereof is to take away Sin. This is what God ex­pects, when He is coming so near unto us in Judgment, that every One should set himself to the Amending of One, that Iniquity may not prove our Ruin. O let us all then, do what we can to reform our Lives, and amend our Evil Ways. Think how your Sins stared you in the Face, when the tremendous Judgment of God surrounded you; and now unfeignedly put away those Evils from you, that they may not pull down the Divine Vengeance upon your Heads. Here suffer me plainly to mention some Sins, which I look upon very much to be the crying Sins of the Land, and of this Town in particu­lar▪

[Page 92]First; Is not the Cry of Injustice exceeding great among us? Is it not too apparent, that a Worldly Spirit possesses the most of Men, and even of the high professors of Religion? Inso­much that generally Men will stick at nothing, which the Civil Law cannot take hold of them [...]or, to grasp, and gripe, and oppress, and de­fraud, and Couzen, and impose upon one ano­ther, that they may enrich themselves. False Weights! false Measures! false Wares! O how common, almost every where, are they to be found among us? Thus every one seeks his own, and not his Neighbours Profit and Advantage; few, or none walking by the Gold­en Rule, of doing as he would be done by. O let the cry hereof be no more heard among us; but let every Man thoroughly reform One.

Again; Is there not a Flood of Drunkenness prevailing among us; This was one of the Sins for which God denounced his sore Judgments, in my Text, and Context, as we may see, Isai. XXVIII.1, 7. Wo to the Drunkards of Ephraim: — they have Erred thro' Wine, and thro' st [...]ng Drink are they out of the Way; — all Tables are full of Vomit and Filthiness, so that there is no place clean. And alass! 'tis in vain to attempt to hide it; Drunkenness, and Error thro' strong Drink is become o [...]e of the crying Sins of this Land, and of this Town in a special manner. The multiplying of T [...]pling Houses, the amaz­ing Con [...]mp [...]ion of strong Drink, the Reeling and Stagge [...]ing of many Persons, the Stammer­ing of their Tongues, and the violence of the [Page 93] Passions of many more, are too plain Evidences against us. Well m [...]y God make our Earth to reel and stagger under us, when we are so given to reel and stagger upon it. I beseech you, as you love you [...] Lives, as you love your Souls, let there be a [...]peedy Reformation.

Again; ARE there not abominable Unclean­nesses among us? This seems to be pointed at in my Context, when 'tis said, Isai. XXIX.15. Their Works are in the Dark, & they say, who seeth us? who knoweth us? Their Secret Uncleannesses were among their Works of Darkness. And is it not so among our selves? How many Instances of it multiply upon us? Have there not been in­cestuous Marriages among us? as well as adul­terous ones? And how common is it for young Persons to have known one another before their Marriage together? These Things are Polluti­ons to the Town, and Land, and greatly Provoke the H [...]ly God, that He might well spew us out of His Mouth. O that the loud Call of Providence might be hearkened to, and that such things might be no more found among us.

Finally; How barefaced, and open is the Pro­fa [...]ity of this People? This also was a prevail­ing Evil [...] Iudah, and therefore, tis here said, ver. 23. They shall Sanctify my Name, and Sancti­fy the Holy One of Iacob, and shall fear the God of Israel: Implying that they had not Sanctifyed [...] His N [...]m [...]. And alas! What [...] Profanations of the Name of God are to [...] among us, in the hideous, Cursing, and [Page 94] Swearing, that is become almost the common Language of too many among us? And how openly do we see Persons Profaning the Sabbath of the Lord, in their Sports, and Diversions, es­pecially on the Lord's-Day Evening? Do we not see them walking in droves to serve the Devil, after they have been pretending to serve God? I am credibly informed, That the last Lord's-Day Evening was very remarkable for the Pro­fanity of it; and that many of our People were caught, both abroad, and in their Houses, in the very Act of their Sinning, when the terrible Judgment of God came and shook the Earth un­der them, and their Houses over them. Verily the Profanation of the Lord's-Day is a crying Abomination; and because you will not let the Sabbath of the Lord enjoy its Rest, therefore God is so disresting you, and upon that very Day, as He has remarkably done the Summer past. I earnestly entreat you, That these Evils may be reformed; and that those, whose Busi­ness 'tis to help forward a Reformation, would in good Earnest apply themselves hereunto.

AND to our external Reformation, be exceed­ing careful to add a hearty and unfeigned Re­pentance, in a Godly Sorrow for your past Sins, and in subduing Iniquity in your Hearts, as well as in your Lives. Does not your Heart within you tremble at the Earthquake? and will you then dare to hug any thing there, that shall expose you to the Divine Anger?

[Page 95]2. NOW earnestly set your selves to seek the Lord. This is the Language of the awful Pro­vidence of God, seek ye the Lord, while He may be found; call ye upon Him, while He is near, Isai. LV 6. Seek the Lord, in a constant Observa­tion of all His holy Commandments; by a di­ligent Attendance upon His Worship and Or­dinances. Seek the Lord, by living and walk­ing in the Fear of the Lord all the Day long; maintaining a holy Awe and Reverence of Him upon your Hearts continually. Seek the Lord, in the Exercise of all the Social Vertues, of Righteousness, Mercy, Love, Gentleness, Pati­ence, Long-suffering, Meekness, and Charity. And seek the Lord, by your earnest Prayers, calling upon the Name of the Lord your God, that He would appear for your Help, and grant you His Salvation. When Ionah's Marriners were in a Storm, they said to him, Jon. I.6. What meanest thou, O Sleeper, arise and call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And will you be so sleepy and stupid, when God is sending an Earthquake a­mong you, as not to arise and call upon Him, that you may not perish? O let there not be one Prayerless Person, not one Prayerless Fa­mily, from this Time forward to be found a­mong us; but let your Fears drive you upon your Knees, and make you serious, earnest, im­portunate in your Supplications, Night and Day, unto the Lord of Hosts, that you perish not.

[Page 96]To have done,

3. NOW be exceeding careful what Bottom you stand upon. You see the common Earth, on which you tread, is but an uncertain Founda­tion, it totters under you, and may open its mouth to devour you, and all your Substance. And will you then be so unwise, as to found all your Hopes and Expectations upon the Things of this World, which may all be con­sumed in a Moment? O be perswaded now to make sure of that Good Part, which cannot be taken away from you, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain with you.

AND see to the Foundations of your Hope for Eternity. If you had perished in the late Earthquake, O what would have become of the greatest Part of you, thro'out Eternal Ages? Had you any comfortable Grounds to Hope, that your Sins were Pardoned, and that your Souls would have been saved? Or, did not your Sins fly in your Face, and your Conscien­ces terrify you, and tell you plainly that God was Angry with you? What would you then have given, for an Interest in the Sin-pardoning Blood of Jesus Christ? What would you then have given, to have had the comfortable Hopes of going to Heaven? O let this loud Call and Alarm of Providence, mind you of the ap­proaching Judgment, and quicken you, to give all Diligence to make your Calling and E­lection sure, by working out your own Salva­tion [Page 97] with Fear and Trembling. Let it drive you to Christ, the Rock of Ages, the Everlasting Strength, that abideth sure, and stedfast; and whosover is built upon Him shall not be asham­ed, nor confounded, World without End. Our Blessed Saviour has assured us, Mat. VII.24. Whosoever heareth my sayings, and doth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, that built his House upon a Rock; and the Rain descended, and the Floods came, and the Winds blew, and beat upon that House, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a Rock. That Rock is Christ. If you are in Him, you are safe from all Storms, and Tem­pests, and Earthquakes; none of them all shall be able to overthrow your Hope of Eternal Life; because He will preserve all that are founded upon Him, thro' all the Revolutions of Time, and thro' the Horrors of Death itself, to His Kingdom and Glory If you are built upon Him, and have a Title [...]o Heaven, thro' the Merits of His Blood, [...] need [...] not Fear, tho' the Mountains be [...] the midst of the Sea, tho' the Earth [...]ake, [...]d the Pil­lars thereof Tremble; b [...] you may safely, and comfortably leave it with God, to take His own Time, and Way, to f [...]ch you out of this, to that Be [...]ter World, whe [...] is your Hope▪ and your Treasure▪ Well the [...] make sure of this, as the one thing needful, that Christ be in you the Hope of Glory. This will be the best Preservative against the Fear of Death, be­cause a suitable Preparation for it; and then the Dissolution of the Earthly House of this [Page 98] Tabernacle, tho' attended with the Terrors of the Earth dissolving under you, will be but the fetching of you away to the Building of God, the House not made with Hands, Eternal in the Heavens.

O Let the loud call of Divine Providence be unto you a strong Motive, and Excitement to all of this. And now seriously consider the manner of God's Dealings with us, and the many Terrors He has been passing before us in, the Summer past. He has visited us with the roaring Thunder, and the flashing Lightning, in an unusual and awful manner; and come very near to us, in the Effects of the Explosion, par­ticularly on the second of Iuly last. He has visited us also with the Storm and the Tempest, with such an Hurricane of Wind, as our Fa­thers have hardly known before us, and we felt some of the sad Effects of it to our Cost, the Sixteenth of September last in the Evening. And now He has been visiting of us with the Earthquake, and a great Noise, upon the Twenty ninth of October, and several Days following ^†. O let the Twenty ninth of October be a Night much remembred by us, and never be forgotten. Those things have all of them happened upon, [Page 99] or near to the Sabbath, ^‖ to mind us of our Sabbath Sins, and excite us to Sabbath Duties. And if we will not be reformed by these things, who knows what a Flame of devouring Fire the Lord may next kindle among us; or what other sore, and desolating Judgments He hath reserved in store for us. Remember the awful Words, Lev. XXVI.27, 28. If ye will not for all this Hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; then I will walk contrary unto you also, in Fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your Sins.

[Since the Writing of this, the Noise of the Earthquake has been heard often, as, Nov. 9. at 20 m. after 10. The 11th. it was h [...]ard twice last Night, about 11. and just about Day. The Twelfth again. The 14th. last Night. The 19th. at 9 h. 20 m. A. M. The 20th it was heard strong. The 27th. about 9 h. 20. m. A M. Dec. 6th. heard last Night. The 7th. heard again last Night. The 8th. between 10 & 11. to Day It was considerably loud. The 12th it was heard about 50 m. after 8 this Evening.

It is said that it has been heard every Day more or less, upon some part or other of Merrimack-River: But these are the Times of it's being heard among us. Nor do I know of it's being heard since the 12 Instant.]

Marblehead, Dec. 23.