the terror of them, what effect muft they have upon us? and with what patience could any man bear to think of plunging himself into this mifery, and by his own wilful fault and folly to endanger his coming into this place and state of torments? especially if we confider, in the

3. Third place, that the gofpel hath likewise declared, that there is no avoiding of this mifery, no hopes of impunity, if men go on and continue in their fins. The terms of the gofpel in this are peremptory, that except we repent, we shall perish; that without bolinefs no man fhall fee the Lord; that the unrighteous fhall not inherit the kingdom of God. And this is a very preffing confideration, and brings the matter to a fhort and plain issue. Either we must leave our fins, or die in them; either we must repent of them, or be judged for them; either we must forfake our fins, and break off that wicked course which we have lived in, or we must quit all hopes of heaven and happinefs, nay, we cannot escape the damnation of hell. The clear revelation of a future judgement is so presfing an argument to repentance, as no man can in reafon refiit, that hath not a mind to be miserable. Now (faith St Paul to the Athenians) he straightly chargeth all men every where to repent, because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness.

Men may cheat themfelves, or fuffer themselves to be deluded by others, about feveral means and devices of reconciling a wicked life with the hopes of heaven and eternal falvation; as by mingling fome pangs of forrow for fin, and fome hot fits of devotion with a finful life; which is only the interruption of a wicked course, without reformation and amendment of life but let no man deceive you with vain words, for our bleffed Saviour hath provided no other ways to fave men, but upon the terms of repentance and obedience.

4. This argument takes hold of the moft defperate and profligate finners, and ftill retains its force upon the minds of men, when almost all other confiderations fail, and have loft their efficacy upon

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us. Many men are gone fo far in an evil courfe, that neither fhame of their vices, nor the love of God and virtue, nor the hopes of heaven, are of any force with them, to reclaim them, and bring them to a better mind. But there is one handle yet left, whereby to lay hold of them, and that is their fear. This is a paffion that lies deep in our nature, being founded in felf-prefervation, and fticks fo clofely to us, that we cannot quit ourselves of it, nor thake it off. Men may put off ingenuity, and break through all obligations of gratitude. Men may harden their foreheads, and conquer all fenfe of fhame; but they can never perfectly ftifle and fubdue their fears; they can hardly fo extinguifh the fear of hell, but that fome fparks of that fire will ever and anon be flying about in their confciences, efpecially when they are made fober, and brought to themfelves by affliction, and by the prefent apprehenfions of death have a nearer fight of another world. And if it was fo hard for the Heathen to conquer thefe apprehenfions, how much harder muft it be to Chriftians, who have fo much greater affurance of these things, and to whom the wrath of God is fo clearly revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men ?

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5. No religion in the world ever urged this argu. ment upon men, with that force and advantage which Christianity does. The philofophy of the Heathen gave men no steady affurance of the thing; the moft knowing perfons among them were not agreed about a future ftate; the greatest part of them fpake but doubtfully concerning another life. And befides. the natural jealoufies and fufpicions. of mankind concerning thefe things, they had only fome fair probabilities of reafon, and the authority of their poets, who talked they knew not what about the Elyfian fields, and the infernal regions, and the three judges of hell; fo that the wifelt among them had hardly affurance enough in themfelves of the truth of the thing, to prefs it upon others with any great confi dence, and therefore it was not likely to have any great efficacy upon the generality of mankind.

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As for the Jewish religion; though that supposed and took for granted the rewards of another world, as a principle of natural religion; yet in the law of Mofes there was no particular and express revelation of the life of the world to come; and what was deduced from it, was by remote and obfcure confequence. Temporal promises and threatenings it had many and clear, and their eyes were so dazzled with these, that it is probable that the generality of them did but little confider a future ftate, till they fell into great temporal calamities under the Grecian and Roman empires, whereby they were almoft neceffarily awakened to the confideration and hopes of a better life, to relieve them under their prefent evils and fufferings; and yet even in that time they were divided into two great factions about this matter, the one affirming,, and the other as confidently denying, any life after this But the gospel hath brought life and immortality to light, as we are affured from heaven of the truth: and reality of another state, and a future judgement. The Son of God was fent into the world to preach this doctrine, and rose again from the dead, and was taken up into heaven, for a vifible demonftration to all mankind of another life after this, and confequent--ly of a future judgement, which no man ever doubted of that did firmly believe a future state.

The fum of all that I have said is this, The gofpel hath plainly declared to us, that the only way to falvation is by forfaking our fins, and living a holy and virtuous life; and the most effectual argument in the world to perfuade men to this, is the confideration of the infinite danger that a fiaful courfe expofeth men to, fince the wrath of God continually hangs over finners, and if they continue in their fins, will certainly fall upon them, and overwhelm them with misery, and he that is not moved by this argument, is loft to all intents and purposes.

All that now remains is, to urge this argument upon men, and from the ferious confideration of it, to perfuade them to repent, and reform their wicked. lives. And was there ever age wherein this was more:

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needful? when iniquity doth not only abound, but even rage among us; when infidelity and profaneInefs, and all manner of lewdnefs and vice, appears fo boldly and openly, and men commit the greatest abominations without blushing at them; when vice hath got fuch head, that it can hardly bear to be checked and controlled; and when, as the Roman hiftorian complains of his times, ad ea tempora, quibus nec vitia noftra, nec remedia, pati poffumus, perventum eft; things are come to that pafs, that we can neither bear our vices, nor the remedies of "them?" Our vices are grown to a prodigious and intolerable height, and yet men hardly have the patience to hear of them; and furely a disease is then dangerous indeed, when it cannot bear the feverity that is neceffary to a cure. But yet, notwithstanding this, we who are the meffengers of God to men, to warn them of their fin and danger, muft not keep filence, and fpare to tell them both of their fins, and of the judgement of God which hangs over them; that God will vifit for these things, and that his foul will be avenged on fuch a nation as this. At least we may have leave to warn others, who are not yet run to the fame excefs of riot, to fave themselves from this untoward generation. God's judgements are abroad in the earth, and call aloud upon us to learn righteoufnefs.

But this is but a fmall confideration, in comparison of the judgement of another world, which we who call ourselves Chriftians do profefs to believe, as one of the chief articles of our faith. The confideration of this fhould check and cool us in the heat of all our finful pleafures; and that bitter irony of Solomon fhould cut us to the heart, Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart chear thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the fight of thine eyes; but know that for all thefe things God will bring thee into judgement. Think often and seriously on that time, wherein the wrath of God, which is now revealed against fin, fhall be executed upon finners ; and if we believe this, we are ftrangely ftupid and obftinate, if we be not moved

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by it. The affurance of this made St Paul extreme ly importunate in exhorting men to avoid fo great danger, 2 Cor. v. 10. 11. We muft all appear before the judgement feat of Chrift, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or evil. Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, we perfuade men. And if this ought to move us to take fo great a care of others, much more of ourselves. The judgement to come is a very amazing confideration; it is a fearful thing to hear of it, but it will be much more terrible to fee it, efpecially to thofe whofe guilt must needs make them fo heartily concerned in the difmal confequences of it; and yet as fure as I ftand, and you fit here, this great and terrible day of the Lord will come, and who may abide his coming! what will we do, when that day fhall furprise us careless and unprepared ! what unfpeakable horror and amazement will then take hold of us! when lifting up our eyes to heaven, we shall fee the Son of man coming in the clouds of it, with power and great glory! when that powerful voice, which fhall pierce the ears of the dead, fhall ring through the world, Arife ye dead, and •come to judgement! when the mighty trumpet fhall found, and wake the fleepers of a thousand years, and fummon the difperfed parts of the bodies of all men that ever lived, to rally together and take their place, and the fouls and bodies of men which have been fo long ftrangers to one another, fhall meet and be united again, to receive the doom due to their deeds! what fear fhall then surprise finners, and how will they tremble at the prefence of the great Judge, and for the glory of his Majefty! how will their confciences fly in their faces, and their own hearts condemn them, for their wicked and ungodly lives, and even prevent that fentence which yet fhall certainly be paffed and executed upon them! But I will proceed no farther in this argument, which hath fo much of terror in it.

I will conclude my fermon, as Solomon doth his Ecclefiaftes, chap. xii. 13. 14. Let us hear the conclu