the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

:

3. As your lofs is great, and the punishment ye are to undergo great, so both these will come upon you in one day and this is a terrible aggravation of your mifery. In a moment all the enjoyments of earth, all the gofpel privileges and all the hopes of future blifs which impenitent finners have, will evanish; and then, even then, at that very inftant, will God appear, with his face full of frowns, his heart full of fury, his hand full of power, and all directed toward finners. It is remarkable in the fentence at the last day, that with the fame breath, at the very fame inftant, they are bid depart God's prefence, Matth. xxv. 41. they are likewise sent into everlasting burnings.

4. As both will come at once, fo they both will come fuddenly and furprifingly. This extremely increafes your mifery. Sudden destruction, and furprising deftruction, is, on that very account, double deftruction. It may be faid that your damnation lingreth not, 2 Pet. ii. 4. As Christ comes quickly, Rev. xxii. 20. fo he comes in flaming fire to take vengenance on them that knew not God, and obey not the gospel. 2 Theff. i. 8. It is fudden, because it comes at a time when it is not expected. Many of you poffibly may be putting the evil day far away; and yet ye cannot tell how near it may be to fome of you. Who can tell, but fome who this day are here in God's prefence, may be in the pit before the next fabbath? But whether it be fo or not, we are fure it is not long to the time, when all of you who remain impenitent, fhall be fent down to the fides of the pit.It is fudden alfo, becaufe ufually this ruin comes when the quite contrary is expected; when they fay,

peace,

peace, peace, then fudden deftruction, 1 Theff. v. 3. When the fool was finging a requiem to his own foul for many years, then that very night all this mifery comes upon him, Luke xii. 20. And this was a great aggravation of his mifery. A blow given when the contrary is expected, is doubly stunning.

5. As all these things, all the loffes, all the torments we have been fpeaking of, come fuddenly and at once; fo they are all inevitable. Impenitent. finners cannot by any means escape them.

For,

1. God has engaged that finners fhall be punished. He will not at all acquit the wicked. He has past his word upon it, he fwears in his wrath that impenitent finners fhall not enter into his reft, Heb. iii. 18. Therefore they may expect that he will be as good as his word.

2. God cannot change; there is no variableness nor fhadow of turning with him, Jam. i. 17. He continues unalterably the fame. I am the Lord, I change not, therefore the fons of Jacob are not confumed, Mal. iii. 6. There is the clear fide of the cloud to his own people; and upon the other hand, it be may inferred, I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye who have continued impenitent fhall be turned into hell.

3. Ye are not able to ward off the blow. The apostle obferves, That the foolishness of God is wifer than man, and the weakness of God is stronger than man, 1 Cor. i. 25. The weakest effort of God against man, is enough utterly to ruine him. Lo, at the rebuke of his countenance we perish, Pfal. lxxx. 16. He can look upon one that is proud, and abafe him, and his eye can cast about rage and deftruction, Job xl. 11, 12, 13. If a look can ruine us, much more the breath of his noftrils:

By

By the breath of his noftrils we are confumed, and by the blast of him we perish, Job iv. 9. Now if ye be not able to ftand against his look, hist breath, the blaft of his noftrils, far lefs against his finger, which ruined Egypt by divers plagues; and yet much less against his fift, Ezek. xxii. 13. Whose heart can endure? Whofe hands can be ftrong, in the day when these hands that meafure the waters in the hollow of them, that span the heavens, comprehend the duft of the earth, and take up the ifles as a very little thing, fhall begin to crush, and fqueeze, and grip him? far lefs is any able to withstand, when God lays on the weight of his wrath, which preffeth them hard, as it did Heman; or when he runs upon them like a mighty giant, with his full force, as a man doth upon his enemy, Job xvi. 14. In this cafe, neither ye yourfelves nor any creature can help you; therefore your misery is inevitable.

6. As your mifery is inevitable, so it is eternal.. It is not for a day, or a year, or a month, or an age, nay, nor for millions of ages; but for ever. It is everlasting deftruction, everlasting burnings ye are to dwell with; the worm dies not, the fire goeth not out; the fmoke of your torment fhall afcend for ever and ever. If one ever will not do it, ye shall have more of them. Here indeed is mifery, exquisite mifery; and ye would do well to think on your escape.

We have now, for eight Lord's days, infifted upon this fubject: and may we not conclude with the prophet, Who hath believed our report? Who among you all, who have been our clofe hearers upon this fubject, are yet convinced of fin? I fear very few, if any. If there be but one foul among you all that is awakened to fee its fin and mifery,

the news we are next to bring, will be welcome to fuch, and we hope the Lord will grant them that which they long for.

But to the generality, who are yet fast asleep, and who are as infenfible as ever, we shall fay a few words: And, (1.) we fay to you, Have ye not heard what we have charged you with? And what answer ye to all? I am fure ye can answer nothing that is of weight. And if ye be not able to answer a man like yourselves, think how mute ye will be, when ye come before our great Lord and Mafter, feated upon the great white throne. (2.) What mean ye, O fleepers? Is it now time to be fleeping, when ye cannot tell but the next moment ye fhall fink irrecoverably into the immenfe ocean of the eternal and intolerable wrath of God? (3.) We cannot tell but this your ftupi dity may provoke God to that degree against you, that ye fhall never have a warning more. How terrible will your cafe be, if he thall fay, Never fruit grow upon these barren and unfruitful finners any more; or if this day he shall give death a commiffion, Go to yonder obftinate finners, whom I by my fervants have long been dealing with, in order to bring them to a conviCtion of their danger, arrest them, bring them immediately to me, and I fhall awaken them, but not to their advantage. How will your hearts ake, your ears tingle, and your fpirits fail, when ye hear the dreadful fentence pronounced, Mat.xxv. 41. Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels? Now, if ye would evite this, awake in time, and flee to Jefus Chrift: haften your escape, before the decree bring forth, before the day pafs as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you.

MAN'S

MAN'S RECOVERY

BY

FAITH in CHRIST;

O R,

The convinced Sinner's Cafe and Cure.

PART II.

ACTS xvi.

29 Then he called for a light, and fprang in, and fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 And brought them out, and faid, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they faid, Believe on the Lord Je fus Chrift, and thou shalt be faved, and thy house.

WR

THEN we began to difcourfe to 'you from Rom. iii. 23. we obferved, that there are three queftions in which man is principally concerned, What have I done? What shall I do to be faved? What shall I render to the Lord? He who knows how to anfwer these fatisfyingly, cannot mifs happiness, if he practife according to knowlege.

To the first we have returned answer at fome length. We have fhewn you what ye have done,

K 2

and