our retreat will grow more dangerous and difficult; that by our delays we make work for a fadder and longer repentance, than that which we do now, fo ftudioufly decline. Let us confider likewise, that our life is concerned in the cafe; that except we repent and turn, we fhall die; and that the evil day may overtake us while we are deliberating whether we should avoid it or not; that vice is fo far from being mortified by age, that, by every day's continuance in it, we increase the power of it; and fo much strength as we add to our disease, we certainly take from ourselves: and this is a double weakening of us, when we do not only lofe our own ftrength, but the enemy gets it, and employs it against us. The deceitfulness of fin appears in nothing more than in keeping men off from this neceffary work, and perfuading them to hazard all, upon the unreasonable hopes of the mercy of God, and the uncertain refolution of a future repentance. I do not think there are any here but do either believe, or at least are vehemently afraid, that there is another life after this; and that a wicked life, without repentance, muft unavoidably make them miferable in another world; and that to caft off all to a death-bed repentance, puts things upon a mighty hazard. And they have a great deal of reason to think fo: for, alas! how unfit are most men at fuch a time for fo great and ferious a work as repentance is, when they are unfit for the smallest matters? and how hard is it for any man then to be affured of the truth and reality of his repentance, when there is no fufficient opportunity to make trial of the fincerity of it? I deny not the poffibility of the thing: but it is much to be feared, that the repentance of a dying finner is ufually but like the forrow of a malefactor, when he is ready to be turned off: he is not troubled that he hath offended the law; but he is troubled that he must die. For when death is ready to feize upon the finner, and he feels himself dropping into destruction, no wonder if then the man's ftomach come down, and he be contented to be faved; and, feeing he muft ftay no longer in this world, be defirous to go to heaven rather than hell; and, in order to that, be ready to give fome testimonies of his repentance: no wonder if, when the rack is before him, par this extort confeffion from him; and if, in hopes of a don, he make many large promifes of amendment, and freely declare his refolution of a new and better life. But then it is the hardest thing in the world, to judge whether any thing of all this that is done under fo great a fear and force, be real. For a fick man, as he hath loft an appetite to the most pleasant meats and drinks, fo likewife his finful pleasures, and fleshly lufts, are at the fame time naufeous to him: and for the very fame reafon; for fickness having altered the temper of his body, he hath not at that time any guft or relish for these things. And now he is refolved against fin, juft as a man that hath no ftomach is refolved against meat. But if the fit were over, and death would but raife his fiege, and remove his quarters a little farther from him; it is to be feared that his former appetite would foon return to him, and that he would fin with the fame eagerness he did before. Besides, how can we expect that God fhould accept of our repentance at fuch a time, when we are confcious to ourselves that we did refolve to put off our repentance till we could fin no longer? Can we think it fit for any man to fay thus to God in a dying hour: "Lord, now the world leaves me, I come to thee. I pray thee give me eternal life, who could never af"ford to give thee one good day of my life. Grant "that I may live with thee, and enjoy thee for ever, "who could never endure to think upon thee. I must "confefs that I could never be perfuaded to leave my "fins out of love to thee; but now I repent of them for "fear of thee. I am confcious to myself that I would "never do any thing for thy fake; but yet I hope thy good"nefs is fuch, that thou wilt forgive all the ungodliness "and unrighteousness of my life, and accept of this for"ced fubmiffion which I now make to thee. I pray thee do "" not at last frustrate and difappoint me in this defign "which I have laid, of finning while I live, and getting << to heaven when I die?" Surely no man can think it fit to fay thus to God; and yet I am afraid this is the true interpretation of many a man's repentance, who hath deferred it till he comes to die. I do not speak this to difcourage repentance, even at that time. It is always the best thing we can do. But I would by all means means difcourage men from putting off so neceffary a work till then. It is true indeed, when it is come to this, and a finner finds himself going out of the world, if he have been fo foolish, and fo cruel to himself, as to put things upon this last hazard, repentance is now the only thing that is left for him to do. This is his last remedy, and the only refuge he has to fly to; and this is that which the Minister in this cafe ought by all means to put the man upon, and earnestly to perfuade him to. But when we fpeak to men in other circumftances, that are well, and in health, we dare not for all the world encourage them to venture their fouls upon fuch an uncertainty. For, to fpeak the best of it, it is a very dangerous remedy; efpecially when men have defignedly contrived to rob God of the service of their best days, and to put him off with a few unprofitable fighs and tears at the hour of death. I defire to have as large apprehenfions of the mercy of God as any man; but, withal, I am very fure that he is the hardest to be impofed upon of any one in the world. And no man that hath any worthy apprehenfions of the Deity, can imagine him to be fo eafy, as to forgive men upon the leaft word and intimation of their minds, and to have fuch a fondness for offenders as would reflect upon the prudence of any magiftrate and governor upon earth. God grant that I may fincerely endeavour to live a holy and virtuous life, and may have the comfort of that when I come to die ; and that I may never be fo unwife as to venture all my hopes of a bleffed eternity upon a death-bed repentance. : I will conclude all with those excellent sayings of the fon of Sirach, Ecclus v. 6. 7. xvi. 11. 12. & xviii. 21. 22. Say not, God's mercy is great, and he will be pacified for the multitude of my fins. For mercy and wrath are with him; he is mighty to forgive, and to pour out dif pleafure and as his mercy is great, fo are his corrections alfo. Therefore make no tarrying to turn to the Lord, and put not off from day to day for fuddenly fhall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in thy fecurity thou shalt be deftroyed. Humble thyfelf before thou be fick, and in the time of fins fhew repentance. Let nothing hinder thee to pay thy wows in due time, and defer not till death to be justified. SER SERMON XI. 189 The hazard of being faved in the church of Rome. I COR. iii. 15. But he himself fhall be faved; yet fo, as by fire. T HE context is thus: According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wife masterbuilder I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, Jefus Chrift. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, filver, precious stones, wood, hay, Stubble; every man's work fhall be made manifeft. For the day fhall declare it, because it fhall be re vealed by fire; and the fire fhall try every man's work, of what fort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work fhall be burnt, he shall fuffer loss: but he himself fhall be faved; yet fo, as by fire. In these words the Apostle fpeaks of a fort of perfons, who held indeed the foundation of Christianity, but built upon it fuch doctrines or practices as would not bear the trial; which he expreffes to us by wood, hay, and ftubble, which are not proof against the fire. Such a perfon, the Apostle tells us, hath brought himself into a very dangerous ftate, though he would not deny the poffibility of his falvation: He himself shall be faved; yet so, as by fire. That by fire here is not meant the fire of purgatory, as fome pretend, who would be glad of any fhadow of a text of fcripture to countenance their own dreams, I fhall neither trouble you nor myself to manifeft; fince the particle of fimilitude 's plainly fhews, that the Apostle did not intend an escape out of the fire literally, but like to that which men make out of a house or town that that is on fire: especially fince very learned perfons of the church of Rome do acknowledge, that purgatory cannot be concluded from this text: nay, all that Eftius contends for from this place, is, that it cannot be concluded from hence that there is no purgatory; which we never pretended, but only that this text doth not prove it. It is very well known, that this is a proverbial phrase, ufed not only in fcripture, but in profane authors, to fignify a narrow escape out of a great danger: He shall be faved; yet fo, as by fire; dwupòs, out of the fire. Just as divdaros is used, 1 Pet. iii. 20. where the Apostle, fpeaking of the eight perfons of Noah's family who efcaped the flood, dewdnoav di v♪atos, they escaped out of the water. So here this phrafe is to be rendered in the text, He himself fall efcape; yet fo, as out of the fire. The like expreffion you have, Amos iv. II. I have plucked them as a firebrand out of the fire. And Jude, y 23. Others fave with fear, plucking them out of the fire. All which expreffions fignify the greatness of the danger, and the difficulty of efcaping it; "as one who, when "his houfe at midnight is fet on fire, and being fud"denly waked, leaps out of his bed, and runs naked "out of the doors, taking nothing that is within along "with him, but employing his whole care to fave his body from the flames; " as St. Chryfoftom upon another occafion expreffeth it. And fo the Roman orator, who it is likely did not think of purgatory, ufeth this phrafe: Quo ex judicio, velut ex incendio, nudus effugit, Tully: From which judgment or fentence he escaped "naked, as it were out of a burning." And one of the Greek orators tells us, That "to fave a man out of "the fire, was a common proverbial fpeech," Ariftides. 46 From the words thus explained, the obfervation that naturally arifeth is this, That men may hold all the fundamentals of Christian religion, and yet may fuperadd other things, whereby they may greatly endanger their falvation. What thofe things were which fome among the Corinthians built upon the foundation of Christianity, whereby they endangered their falvation, we may probably conjecture by what the Apoftle reproves in this epiftle, as the tolerating of inceftuous marriages, communicating in idol-feafts, &c.; and especially |