Several discourses of repentance by John Tillotson ; being the eighth volume published from the originals by Ralph Barker.

SERMON VII.* 1.1 The final Issue of Sin, an Ar∣gument for Repentance. The Third Sermon on this Text. (Book 7)

ROM. VI.21, 22.

What fruit had ye then in those things, whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become Servants to God, ye have your fruit un∣to Holiness, and the end Everlasting Life.

THESE words are a Compari∣son between an Holy and Virtuous and a Sinful and Vici∣ous Course of Life, and set before us

the manifest Inconveniences of the one,* 1.2 and the manifold Advantages of the other. I have enter'd into a Dis∣course upon the First of these Heads, viz. The manifest Inconveniences of a sinful and vicious Course: And the Text mentions these three.

I. That it is Unprofitable.

II. That the reflection upon it af∣terwards is matter of Shame. These Two I have spoken largely to. I shall now proceed to the

III. And last Inconvenience, which the Text mentions, of a sinful and vi∣cious Course of Life, viz. That the final Issue and Consequence of these things is very dismal and miserable; The end of those things is Death. No Fruit then when ye did these things; shame now that you come to reflect upon them; and Misery and Death at the last.

There are indeed almost innume∣rable Considerations and Arguments to discourage and deter men from sin; the Unreasonableness of it in it self; the

Injustice and Disloyalty, and Ingrati∣tude of it in respect to God; the ill Example of it to others; the Cruelty of it to our selves; the Shame and Dishonour that attends it; the Grief and Sorrow which it will cost us, if ever we be brought to a due Sense of it; the Trouble and Horror of a guilty Conscience, that will perpetu∣ally haunt us; but above all the miserable Event and sad Issue of a wicked Course of Life continued in, and finally unrepented of. The Temp∣tations to sin may be alluring enough, and look upon us with a smiling Countenance, and the Commission may afford us a short and imperfect Pleasure: but the Remembrance of it will certainly be bitter, and the End of it miserable.

And this Consideration is of all o∣thers the most apt to work upon the generality of men, especially upon the more obstinate and obdurate sort of sinners, and those whom no other Arguments will penetrate; that what∣ever the present Pleasure and Advan∣tage of sin may be, it will be Bitter∣ness and Misery in the end.

The two former Inconvenieces of a sinful Course, which I have lately discoursed of, viz. That sin is Un∣profitabte, and that it is Shameful, are very considerable, and ought to be great Arguments against it to every sinner, and considerate Man: and yet how light are they, and but as the very small dust upon the balance, in comparison of that insupportable weight of Misery which will op∣press the sinner at last! Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of Man that doth evil. This, this is the sting of all, that the end of these things is death.

It is very usual in Scripture to ex∣press the greatest Happiness, and the greatest Misery, by Life and Death; Life being the first and most desirable of all other Blessings, because it is the Foundation of them, and that which makes us capable of all the rest. Hence we find in Scripture, that all the Blessings of the Gospel are summ'd up in this one word, John 20.31. These things are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the

Christ, the Son of God, and that be∣lieving ye might have Life through his Name. 1 Joh. 4.9. In this was ma∣nifest the love of God towards us, be∣cause God sent his only begotten Son into the World, that we might live through him. So that under this Term or Notion of Life, the Scripture is wont to express all happiness to us, and more especially that eternal Life which is the great Promise of the Gospel. And this is Life by wa•• of Eminency; as if this frail and mor∣tal and miserable Life, which we live here in this World, did not de∣serve that Name.

And on the other Hand, all the E∣vils which are consequent upon sin, especially the dreadful and lasting Misery of another World, are called by the Name of Death, The end of these things is Death. So the Apostle, here in the Text, and 23. v. The wages of sin is Death, not only a Tem∣poral Death, but such a Death as is opposed to Eternal Life; The wages of sin is Death: but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So that Death here in the

Text is plainly intended to compre∣hend in it all those fearful and asto∣nishing Miseries, wherewith the wrath of God will pursue and afflict sinners in another World.

But what and how great this Mise∣ry is, I am not able to declare to you; it hath no more enter'd into the heart of man, than those great and glorious things which God hath laid up for them that love him: and as I would fain hope, that none of us here shall ever have the sad experience of it; so none but those who have felt it, are able to give a tolerable description of the intolerableness of it.

But by what the Scripture hath said of it in general, and in such Me∣taphors as are most level to our pre∣sent Capacity, it appears so full of Terror, that I am loth to attempt the Representation of it. There are so many other Arguments, that are more Humane and Natural, and more pro∣per to work upon the Reason and Ingenuity of Men; as the great Love and Kindness of God to us; the grie∣vous Sufferings of his Son for us; the

Unreasonableness and Shamefulness of sin; the present Benefit and Advan∣tage, the Peace and Pleasure of an Holy and Virtuous Life; and the migh∣ty Rewards promised to it in ano∣ther World, that one would think these should be abundantly sufficient to prevail with men to gain them to goodness, and that they need not be frighted into it, and to have the Law laid to them, as it was once given to the People of Israel, in thun∣der and lightning, in blackness, in dark∣ness and tempest, so as to make them exceedinly to fear and tremble. And it seems a very hard Case, that when we have to deal with men, sensible enough of their Interest in other Ca∣ses, and diligent enough to mind it, we cannot perswade them to accept of Happiness, without setting before them the Terrors of Eternal Darkness, and those amazing and endless Mi∣series, which will certainly be the Por∣tion of those who refuse so great an Happiness; this I say seems very hard, that men must be carried to the Gate of Hell, before they can be brought to set their faces towards Heaven, and

to think in good earnest of getting thither.

And yet it cannot be dissembled, that the Nature of men is so degenerate, as to stand in need of this Argument; and that men are so far engaged in an Evil Course, that they are not to be reclaimed from it by any other Consideration, but of the endless and unspeakable Misery of impenitent sin∣ners in another World. And there∣fore God, knowing how necessary this is, doth frequently make use of it; and our Blessed Saviour, than whom none was ever more mild and gentle, doth often set this Consideration be∣fore men to take them off from sin, and to bring them to do better. And this St. Paul tells us, Rom. 1.18. is one principal thing which renders the Gospel so powerful an Instrument for the reforming and saving of Man∣kind, because therein the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven, against all ungod∣liness and unrighteousness of men.

So that how harsh and unpleasant soever this Argument may be, the great stupidity and folly of some

men, and their inveterate obstinacy in an Evil Course makes it necessa∣ry for us to press it home, that those who will not be moved, and made sensible of the danger and in∣convenience of sin by gentler Argu∣ments, may be rous'd and awakened by the Terrors of Eternal Misery.

That the last Issue and Consequence of a wicked Life will be very Mise∣rable, the general Apprehension of Mankind concerning the fate of bad men in another World, and the so∣cret misgivings of mens Consciences, gives men too much ground to fear. Besides that the Justice of Divine Providence, which is not many times in this World so clear and manifest, does seem to require that there should be a time of Recompence, when the Virtue and Patience of good men should be Rewarded, and the Insolence and Obstinacy of bad men should be Punish'd. This cannot but appear very reasonable to any Man, that con∣siders the Nature of God, and is per∣swaded that he governs the World, and hath given Laws to Mankind, by the observance whereof they may be

Happy, and by the neglect and con∣tempt whereof they must be Misera∣ble.

But that there might remain no doubts upon the Minds of men, con∣cerning these matters, God hath been pleas'd to reveal this from Heaven, by a Person sent by him on purpose to declare it to the World; and to the truth of these Doctrines concern∣ing a future state and a day of Judg∣ment, and Recompences, God hath given Testimony by unquestionable Miracles wrought for the Confirma∣tion of them, and particularly by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead, whereby he hath given an assu∣rance unto all men, that he is the Per∣son ordained by God to Judge the World in righteousness, and to render to every Man according to his deeds; to them, who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal Life; but to them, who obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of Man that doth evil.

So that how quietly soever wicked Men may pass through this World, or out of it, (which they seldom do) Misery will certainly overtake their Sins at last; unspeakable and intole∣rable Misery, arising from the anguish of a guilty Conscience; from a lively Apprehension of their sad Loss; and from a quick sense of the sharp Pain which they labour under; and all this aggravated and set off with the Consi∣deration of past Pleasure, and the De∣spair of future Ease. Each of these is Misery enough, and all of them to∣gether do constitute and make up that dismal and forlorn State, which the Scripture calls Hell and Damnation.

I shall therefore briefly represent (for it is by no means desirable to dwell long upon so melancholy and frightful an Argument,)

First, The principal Ingredients which constitute this miserable State. And,

Secondly, The Aggravations of it.

First, The principal Ingredients which constitute this miserale State; and they are these three which I have mentioned.

I. The Anguish of a guilty Mind.

II. The lively Apprehensions of the invaluable Happiness which they have lost.

III. A quick Sense of the intolerable Pains which they lie under.

I. The Anguish of a guilty Consci∣ence. And this is natural; for there is a Worm that abides in a guilty Con∣science, and is continually gnawing it. This is that our Saviour calls the Worm that dyes not. And tho' God should inflict no positive Punishment upon Sinners, yet this is a Revenge which every Man's Mind would take upon him; for things are so order'd by God in the original Frame and Constitution of our Minds, that on the one hand Peace and Pleasure, Con∣tentment and Satisfaction do natural∣ly arise in our Minds from the Con∣science

of Well-doing, and spring up in the Soul of every good Man: And on the other hand, no Man knowing∣ly does an evil Action, but his guilty Conscience galls him for it, and the remembrance of it is full of Bitterness to him.

And this the Sinner feels in this World; he disguiseth and dissembleth his Trouble as much as he can, and shifts off these uneasie Thoughts by all the Diversions he can devise, and by this means palliates his Disease, and renders his Condition in some sort tolerable unto himself: but when he is alone, or cast upon the Bed of Sickness, and his Thoughts are let loose upon him, and he hath nothing to give them a Diversion, how does his Guilt ferment and work! and the Feaver, which lurkt before, does now shew it self, and is ready to burn him up; so that nothing can ap∣pear more dismal and ghastly, than such a Man does to himself.

And much more, when Sinners come into the other World, and are entred into the Regions of Darkness,

and the melancholy Shades, where Evil Spirits are continually wandring up and down; where they can meet with nothing either of Employment or Pleasure, to give the least Diversi∣on to their pensive Minds; where they shall find nothing to do, but to reflect upon, and bemoan themselves; where all the wicked Actions that e∣ver they committed shall come fresh into their Minds, and stare their Con∣sciences in the face. It is not to be imagined, what sad Scenes will then be present to their Imaginations, and what sharp Reflections their own guil∣ty Minds will make upon them, and what Swarms of Furies will possess them.

So soon as ever they are entered up∣on that State, they will then find themselves forsaken of all those Com∣forts which they once placed so much Happiness in; and they will have nothing to converse with, but their own uneasie selves, and those that are as miserable as themselves, and therefore uncapable of admini∣string any Comfort to one another. They will then have nothing to think

on, but what will trouble them; and every new Thought will be a new in∣crease of their Trouble. Their Guilt will make them restless, and the more restless they are, the more will their Minds be enraged; and there will be no end of their Vexation, because the Cause and Ground of it is perpetual. For there is no possible way to get rid of Guilt, but by Repentance; and there is no Encouragment, no Argu∣ment to Repentance, where there is no hope of Pardon. So that if God should hold his Hand, and leave Sin∣ners to themselves, and to the Lashes of their own Conscience, a more se∣vere and terrible Torment can hardly be imagin'd, than that which a guilty Mind would execute upon it self.

II. Another Ingredient into the Mi∣series of Sinners in another World, is the lively Apprehension of the invalu∣able Happiness which they have lost by their own Obstinacy and foolish Choice. In the next World wicked Men shall be for ever separated from God, who is the Fountain of Happi∣ness, and from all the Comforts of his Presence and Favour. This, our Sa∣viour

tells us, is the first part of that dreadful Sentence that shall be pas∣sed upon the wicked at the great Day; Depart from me; which Words, tho' they do not signifie any positive In∣fliction and Torment, yet they import the greatest Loss that can be imagined. And it is not so easie to determine which is the greatest of Evils, Loss or Pain. Indeed to a Creature that is only endowed with Sense, there can be no Misery but that of Pain and Suf∣fering: but to those who have Reason and Understanding, and are capable of knowing the value of things, and of reflecting upon themselves in the want of them, the greatest loss may be as grievous and hard to be born, as the greatest pain.

'Tis true, that sinners are now so immerst in the gross and sensual de∣lights of this World, that they have no apprehension of the Joys of Hea∣ven, and the Pleasures of God's pre∣sence, and of the Happiness that is to be enjoyed in Communion with him, and therefore they are not now ca∣pable of estimating the greatness of this loss. But this insensibleness of

wicked men continues no longer than this present state, which affords them variety of Objects of Pleasure and of Business to divert them and enter∣tain them: but when they come into the other World, they shall then have nothing else to think upon, but the sad Condition into which they have brought themselves, nothing to do but to pore and meditate upon their own Misfortune, when they shall lift up their Eyes, and with the rich Man in the Parable, in the midst of their Torments, look up to those who are in Abraham's bosom; and their Misery will be mightily increased by the Contemplation of that Happiness which others enjoy, and themselves have so foolishly for∣feited and fallen short of; insomuch that it would be happy for them, if that God, from whose presence they are banisht, that Heaven from which they have excluded themselves, and that everlasting Glory, which they have despised and neglected, might be for ever hid from their Eyes, and never come into their Minds.

III. This is not all, but besides the sad Apprehension of their Loss, they shall endure the sharpest Pains. These God hath threatned sinners withal, and they are in Scripture represented to us, by the most grievous and in∣tolerable Pains that in this World we are acquainted withal, as by the Pain of Burning. Hence the wicked are said to be cast into the Lake, which burns with fire and brimstone, and in∣to the fire which is not quenched; which whether it be literally to be understood or not, is certainly inten∣ded to signifie the most severe kind of Torment; but what that is, and in what manner it shall be inflicted, none know but they that feel it, and lie under it. The Scripture tells so much in general of it, as is enough to warn men to avoid it; that it is the effect of a mighty Displeasure, and of Anger armed with Omnipo∣tence, and consequently must needs be very terrible, more dreadful than we can now conceive, and probably greater than can be described by any of those Pains and Sufferings which now we are acquainted withal; for

who knows the power of God's anger, and the utmost of what Almighty Ju∣stice can do to Sinners? Who can Comprehend the vast significancy of those Expressions, Fear him, who af∣ter he hath killed, can destroy both bo∣dy and soul in Hell? and again, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God? One would think this were Misery enough, and needed no farther Aggravation; and yet it hath Two terrible ones, from the Con∣sideration of past Pleasures which Sin∣ners have enjoyed in this World, and from an utter Despair of future Ease and Remedy.

1. From the Consideration of the past Pleasures which Sinners have enjoy'd in this Life. This will make their Sufferings much more sharp and sensible; for as nothing com∣mends Pleasure more, and gives Hap∣piness a quicker taste and relish, than precedent Sufferings and Pain, there is not perhaps a greater Plea∣sure in the World, than the strange and sudden Ease which a Man finds after a sharp fit of the Stone or Cho∣lick, or after a Man is taken off the

Rack, and Nature which was in an Agony before is all at once set at per∣fect Ease: So on the other Hand, no∣thing exasperates Suffering more, and sets a keener Edge upon Misery, than to step into Afflictions and Pain im∣mediately out of a state of great Ease and Pleasure. This we find in the Parable was the great Aggravati∣on of the rich Man's Torment, that he had first received his good things, and was afterwards Tormented. We may do well to consider this, that those Pleasures of Sin which have now so much of Temptation in them, will in the next World be one of the chief Aggravations of our Tor∣ment.

2. The greatest Aggravation of this Misery will be, that it is attended with the Despair of any future Ease; and when Misery and Despair meet together, they make a Man compleat∣ly miserable. The duration of this Misery is exprest to us in Scripture, by such words as are us'd to signifie the longest and most interminable durati∣on. Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire. Matt. 25.41. Where the worm

dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Mark. 9.43. and 2 Thess. 1.7. It is there said, that those who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of his Son, shall be punisht with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his pow∣er. And in Rev. 20.10. That the wick∣ed shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And what can be ima∣gined beyond this? This is the per∣fection of Misery, to lie under the greatest Torment, and yet be in de∣spair of ever finding the least Ease.

And thus I have done with the First thing I propounded to speak to from this Text, viz. The manifest Inconveniences of a sinful and vici∣ous Course of Life; that it brings no present Benefit or Advantage to us; that the reflection upon it causeth Shame; and that it is fearful and mi∣serable in the last Issue and Conse∣quence of it. What fruit had you, &c.

I should now have proceeded to the Second Part of the Text, which re∣presents to us the manifold Advanta∣ges of an Holy and Virtuous Course

of Life; 22.v. But now being made free from sin, and become the servants of righteousness, ye have your fruit un∣to holiness, there's the present Advan∣tage of it; and the end everlasting life, there's the future Reward of it. But this is a large Argument, which will require a Discourse by it self, and therefore I shall not now enter upon it; but shall only make some reflecti∣ons upon what hath been said, con∣cerning the miserable Issue and Conse∣quence of a wicked Life impenitently persisted in.

And surely, if we firmly believe and seriously consider these things, we have no reason to be fond of a∣ny Vice; we can take no great Com∣fort or Contentment in a sinful Course. If we could for the seeming Ad∣vantage and short Pleasure of some sins, dispense with the Temporal Mis∣chiefs and Inconveniences of them, which yet I cannot see how any Pru∣dent and Considerate Man could do; if we could conquer Shame, and bear the Infamy and Reproach which at∣tends most sins, and could digest the upbraidings of our own Consciences,

so often as we call them to remem∣brance, and reflect seriously upon them; tho' for the gratifying an im∣portunate Inclination, and an impe∣tuous Appetite, all the Inconvenien∣ces of them might be born withal; yet methinks the very thought of the End and Issue of a wicked Life, that the end of these things is Death, that indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, far greater than we can now describe or imagine, shall be to every soul of Man that doth evil, should o∣ver-rule us. Tho' the violence of an irregular lust and desire are able to bear down all other Arguments, yet methinks the Eternal Interest of our precious and immortal Souls should still lie near our Hearts, and affect us very sensibly. Methinks the Conside∣ration of another World, and of all Eternity, and of that dismal fate which attends Impenitent Sinners af∣ter this Life, and the dreadful ha∣zard of being miserable for ever, should be more than enough to dis∣hearten any Man from a wicked life, and to bring him to a better Mind and Course.

And if the plain Representations of these things do not prevail with men to this purpose, it is a sign that ei∣ther they do not believe these things, or else that they do not consider them, one of these two must be the reason why any Man, notwithstanding these terrible threatnings of God's Word, does venture to continue in an Evil Course.

'Tis vehemently to be suspected, that men do not really believe these things, that they are not fully per∣swaded that there is another state af∣ter this Life, in which the righteous God will render to every Man according to his deeds; and therefore so much Wickedness as we see in the lives of men, so much Infidelity may reason∣ably be suspected to lie lurking in their Hearts. They may indeed seem∣ingly profess to believe these things; but he that would know what a Man inwardly and firmly believes, should attend rather to his Actions, than to his Verbal Professions: For if any Man lives so, as no Man that be∣lieves the Principles of the Christian

Religion in reason can live, there is too much reason to question whe∣ther that Man doth believe his Re∣ligion; he may say he does, but there is a far greater Evidence in the Case than Words; the Actions of the Man are by far the most credible Decla∣rations of the inward Sense and Per∣swasion of his Mind.

Did men firmly and heartily be∣lieve that there is a God that go∣verns the World, and regards the Actions of men, and that he hath ap∣pointed a day in which he will judge the World in righteousness, and that all Mankind shall appear before him in that day, and every Action that they have done in their whole lives shall be brought upon the Stage, and pass a strict Examination and Censure, and that those who have made Conscience of their Du∣ty to God and men, and have liv∣ed soberly, righteously, and godly in this present World, shall be unspeak∣ably and eternally Happy in the next; but those who have lived lewd, and licentious lives, and persisted in an Impenitent Course, shall be extream∣ly

and everlastingly miserable, with∣out Pity, and without Comfort, and without Remedy, and without Hope of ever being otherwise; I say, if men were fully and firmly perswa∣ded of these things, it is not Cre∣dible, it is hardly Possible that they should live such Prophane and Im∣pious, such Careless and Dissolute Lives, as we daily see a great part of Mankind do.

That Man that can be aw'd from his Duty, or tempted to Sin by a∣ny of the Pleasures or Terrors of this World, that for the present enjoy∣ment of his Lusts can be contented to venture his Soul, what greater E∣vidence than this can there be, that this Man does not believe the threat∣nings of the Gospel, and how fear∣ful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. That Man that can be willing to undergo an hard Service for several years, that he may be in a way to get an Estate, and be rich in this World; and yet will not be perswaded to restrain him∣self of his Liberty, or to deny his Pleasure, or to check his Appetite

or Lust, for the greatest Reward that God can promise, or the severest Pu∣nishment that he can threaten; can a∣ny Man reasonably think, that this Man is perswaded of any such Happi∣ness or Misery after this Life, as is plainly revealed in the Gospel, that verily there is a reward for the righte∣ous, and verily there is a God that judgeth the Earth? For what can he that believes not one syllable of the Bible, do worse than this comes to?

A strong and vigorous Faith, even in Temporal Cases, is a powerful Prin∣ciple of Action, especially if it be back'd and enforc'd with Arguments of fear. He that believes the reality of a thing, and that it is good for him, and that it may be attained, and that if he do attain it, it will make him very happy, and that without it he shall be extreamly miserable; such a Belief and Perswasion will put a Man upon difficult things, and make him to put forth a vigorous endeavour, and to use a mighty industry for the obtaining of that, concerning which he is thus perswaded.

And the Faith of the Gospel ought to be so much the more powerful, by how much the Objects of hope and fear, which it presents to us, are greater and more considerable. Did men fully believe the Happiness of Heaven, and the Torments of Hell, and were they as verily perswaded of the truth of them, as if they were before their Eyes, how insignificant would all the Terrors and Temptations of Sense be to draw them into Sin, and seduce them from their Duty.

But altho' it seems very strange, and almost incredible, that men should believe these things, and yet live wicked and impious lives; yet because I have no Mind, and God knows there's no need to increase the number of Infidels in this Age, I shall chuse rather to impute a great deal of the wickedness that is in the World, to the Inconsiderateness of men, than to their Unbelief. I will grant that they do in some sort believe these things, or at least that they do not disbelieve them; and then the great cause of mens ruin must be, that they

do not attend to the Consequence of this Belief, and how men ought to live that are thus perswaded. Men stifle their Reason, and suffer themselves to be hurried away by Sense, into the embraces of sensual Objects and things present, but do not consider what the end of these things will be, and what is like to become of them hereafter; for it is not to be imagined, but that that Man who shall calmly consider with himself what Sin is, the shortness of its Pleasure, and the Eternity of its Punishment, should seriously resolve upon a better Course of life.

And why do we not Consider these things, which are of so infinite Con∣cernment to us? What have we our Reason for, but to reflect upon our selves, and to mind what we do, and wisely to compare things together, and upon the whole matter to judge what makes most for our true and last∣ing Interest? to Consider our whole selves, our Souls as well as our Bodies; and our whole duration not only in this World, but in the other, not only with regard to Time, but to Eternity? to look before us to the last

Issue and Event of our Actions, and to the farthest Consequence of them, and to reckon upon what will be hereafter, as well as what is present; and if we suspect or hope or fear, especially if we have good reason to believe a fu∣ture state after Death, in which we shall be happy or miserable to all Eternity, ac∣cording as we manage and behave our selves in this World, to resolve to make it our greatest Design and Concernment while we are in this World, so to live and demean our selves, that we may be of the number of those that shall be accounted worthy to escape that Misery, and to obtain that happiness, which will last and continue for ever.

And if men, would but apply their Minds seriously to the Consideration of these things, they could not act so imprudently as they do, they would not live so by chance and without design, taking the Pleasure that comes next, and avoiding the present Evils which press upon them, without any regard to those that are future, and at a distance, tho' they be infinitely greater and more considerable: If men could have the Patience to debate and

argue these matters with themselves, they could not live so preposterously as they do, preferring their Bodies be∣fore their Souls, and the World before God, and the things which are Tempo∣ral before the things that are Eternal.

Did men verily and in good earnest believe but half of that to be true, which hath now been declared to you, concerning the miserable state of im∣penitent Sinners in another World, (and I am very sure, that the one half of that which is true concerning that state hath not been told you) I say did we in any measure believe what hath been so imperfectly represented, What manner of persons should we all be, in all ho∣ly conversation and godliness, waiting for, and hastening unto (that is making haste to make the best preparation we could for) the coming of the day of God!

I will conclude all with our Saviour's Exhortation to his Disciples, and to all others; Watch ye therefore and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand be∣fore the Son of Man: To whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Serm. 7.
• * 1.2

  Vol. 8.