Epitome ugaiainonton logon, or, A taste of the truth as it is in Jesus consisting of ten questions and answers, and a brief exposition upon the same : whereunto are added ten generall directions ... intended chiefly for the benefit of my countreymen, kindred, and acquaintance in Lancashire / composed by John Jackson, M.A.

10. Quest. What will become of you, at the hour of death, and at the day of judgement, if you beleeve in Christ and shew forth your faith by a god••y life?

Answ I living and dying in the faith, my soul shall goe to heaven, and be with Christ, (a) my body to the earth, untill the day of judge∣ment, and then it shall be raised again, united to my soul, and so, I shall be ever with the Lord in glory (b) .

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hath of his good pleasure prepared an heavenly kingdome for his elect from the foun∣dation of the world: (c) so, as that if you have the faith of Gods elect, when, where, or how you die, you will die in the Lord, and so be blessed: (d) for your soul shall go to God that gave it, and be with Christ: (e) your bo∣dy indeed shall go to the earth from whence it came, but it shall be in mercy as to a resting place; (f) And when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangell, and with the trump of God, Then your dead body among the dead in Christ shall be raised again, united to your soul, made like to the glorious body of Christ now in heaven, and so you shall be ever with the Lord in glory; (g) seeing him face to face as he is, and partaking of those joyes for ever∣more that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard of, nor heart conceived (h) .

But know, and take notice, that as God hath prepared for his an inheritance eternall in the heavens: So he hath out of his infinite justice prepared eternall torments for all sorts

of ignorant, impenitent, unbeleeving reprobate sinners; [i] so as that, if you should live, and die wilfully in ignorance not knowing God, or desperately in unbelief, not obeying the G••spel, or presumptuously, in professing and faining to have faith, and yet living either o∣penly prophanely, meerly civilly, and morally, or secretly formally, and hypocritically: then, though you be a Christian by name, and a be∣leever by profession, yet you will thereby de∣clare your self to be a reprobate indeed: [i] and so be cursed here, and hereafter: Here in all conditions and relations; [k] Hereafter both in soul and body for ever, For as soon as your last breath goes out of your nostrils, so soon will your soul be in torments: [l] and though your body shall go to the earth untill the day of judgement, yet it shall be in wrath; and shall be by the power of Christ as an offen∣ded Judge, raised again in dishonour, [m] united to your soul: and so you shall be judged by Christ and the elect [n] to go into ever∣lasting torments prepared for the devil and his angels. [o] Behold I have set before you, life and death, heaven and hell, salvation and damnation, and as it were two eternities, eter∣nall blisse, and eternall curse: If you know God, obey the Gospel, beleeve in Christ, and live to him, you shall have (through free mercy) life, and heaven, and salvation, and everlasting joyes: [p] If on the contrary you be wilfully ignorant of God, [q] or desperately depart from God through unbelief, [r] or presume that you do beleeve, and yet neither shew forth your faith by works of holinesse to God, nor

works of righteousnesse to men, [s] Then you will die in your sins, [t] and will be (through the just justice of God) cast into hell, [u] and punished for ever, not onely with pain of losse of the glorious presence of God the Father, Son, and holy Ghost, of holy Angels, of sanctified Saints, and of heaven it self, and the joyes thereof: [x] But also, with the pain of sence in suffering the torments of the damned in hell, where you shall see nothing but darknes, devils, and damned creatures: Where you shall here nothing but the blasphemies, and dreadfull curses, and yellings of your self, and fellow-cursed creatures: where you shall taste and feel nothing but hellish torments un-by-any-phancy-conceivable both in soul and body for ever, and ever, and ever. [y] O eternity! eternity! eternity! Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. [z] And think of the fear∣full effects of unbelief so, as to take heed of it, [a] even as of hell it self: accounting it a worse, and a more wofull thing to commit sin against God, and to crucifie Christ afresh through unbelief: then to be vexed with the miseries of hell; And remember that you have an immortall soul, a soul that must be as an Angel in heaven, [b] or as a devil in hell after this life: [c] a soul that is better then a whole world, [d] which God hath given you for this very end that you might seek his glory and the salvation of it, by beleeving in his Son; For this is the work of God (that he chiefly re∣quires of you while you live) that you beleeve on him whom he hath sent. [e] O then so∣lemnly

set upon this work of God while it is called to day, for the night cometh when no man can work; [f] and by how much the more you have neglected it for time past: by so much the more be diligent in it for time to come; For this end study Christ and the whole mystery of Christ from his divine nature unto his incarnation, and so to his exaltation; (g) The more you know of Christ the more you will be incouraged to beleeve in him; (h) The more you beleeve in Christ the more you will be enabled to live to him; (i) And the more you know of Christ the more you will be provided for against doubts, desertions, temptations, the troubles of the world, and the depths of sin, and Satan; (k) Therefore I counsell you to studie the great mystery of god∣linesse: God manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of Angels, preached unto the Gentiles, beleeved on in the world, received up to glory. (l) And improve Jesus Christ, and not only Christ, and the spirituall meaning of his conception, birth, natures, offices, life, death, resurrection, ascention, and intercession at Gods right hand for ever: But also the most powerfull ministery, holiest company, best books, all means of grace, all Sermons, all Sab∣baths, both the Sacraments and all holy duties at all times in all places both in publique and in private, for the furthering of your self to give glory unto God by beleeving; (m) Happy were you that ever you were born, if you should exercise your self in the duty or work of be∣leeving all your daies, if you could but thereby attain the faith of Gods elect! (n)

Notes

• (a)

  Eccl. 12.7. Phil. 1 23.
• (b)

  1 Thes. 4.16, 17.
• God hath prepared a kingdom for beleevers.
• (c)

  Mat. 25.34.
• (d)

  Rev. 14.13.
• (e)

  Luk. 23.43.
• (f)

  Isa. 57.2. The blessed estate of be∣leevers.
• (g)

  1 Thes. 4.16, 17. Phil. 3.21. 1 Ioh. 3.2.
• (h)

  1 Cor. 2.9. There are unconceiva∣ble torments prepared for unbeleev••••••
• [i]

  Mat. 25.41. Rev. 21.8. Profane mo∣rall, and for∣mal Christi∣ans declare themselves to be unbe∣leevers and reprobates.
• [i]

  Tit. 1.16. 1 Ioh. 3.10. Act. 15.9. The cursed estate of un∣beleevers.
• [k]

  Deut. 28.15. to 68. Ioh. 3 36.
• [l]

  Luk. 16.23
• [m]

  Luk. 5.28, 29
• [n]

  Mat. 25.31, 32, 33, to 46. Mat 19.28.
• [o]

  Mat. 25.41.
• Note
• [p]

  Ioh. 17.3. Ioh. 3.16 26. Ps 16.11.
• [q]

  2 Thes 1 8
• [r]

  Heb, 10, 38, 39.
• [s]

  Iam. 2.26.
• [t]

  Ioh. 8.24.
• [u]

  Rev. 21.8. Vnbeleevers shall be pu∣nished with pain of losse
• [x]

  Mat. 25.•• 41. Luk. 13.27, 28
• Vnbeleevers shallbe pu∣nished with pain of sence.
• [y]

  Mat. 24.51. Mat. 25.41.
• [z]

  Ps. 50.22.
• [a]

  Heb. 3.12, 19. Consider how preci∣ous your soul is, and for whatend God gave it you.
• [b]

  Mat. 22.30.
• [c]

  Mat. 25.41.
• [d]

  Mat. 16.26. The chief work God requires of you, is, that you should beleeve in his Son.
• [e]

  Ioh. 6.26. 1 Ioh. 3.23.
• [f]

  Ioh, 9.4. How you are to improve Christ and all means to further you in beleeving
• (g)

  Cor. 2 2.
• (h)

  Ioh. 4 10. Rom. 10.14. Ioh. 17 3. 1 Tim. 1.15
• (i)

  Ioh. 6.57. Phil. 4 13.
• (k)

  Rom. 8.31, to 39. Ioh. 16, 33.
• (l)

  1 Tim 3.16.
• (m)

  Ioh 6.28 29.
• (n)

  Ps. 2.12. Ioh. 3.16.