The Great Day of Judgment, Title page – Half title
THE GREAT DAY OF JUDGMENT, Handled In a SERMON Preached at the Aſſizes at New-Briſtol. Octob. 7. 1687.
By the Reverend and Learned SAMƲEL LEE. M. A. ſometimes Fellow of Wadham Colledge in Oxon.
Accompany'd With, Preparatory Meditations, … THE DAY OF JUDGMENT By Mr. COTTON-MATHER.
Boſton in New-England. Printed by Bartholomew Green, for Nicholas Buttolph, at the Corner of Gutteridg's Coffee-Houſe▪ 1692. Price Bound 1 s.
THE EPISTLE To the Worthy and Pious Auditory; before whom this Subject was treated upon. Grace and Peace in Chriſt Jeſus our Lord.
VVHereas by the Call and Invitation of ſome of your very much Honoured and Reſpected Society, …his Serious, Summons to the great day of Judgment; was proclaimed in your Ears, at Briſtol, near Mount-Hope in New England, at the Aſſ…ze, …here hold, on Friday Octob. 7. …687. Being alſo, moved to the Publication thereof, I do here humbly preſent it under divine Protection and Bleſſing to your Candid. Acceptation and Defence, who ſometime Compoſed the quire of a moſt attentive, benigne and ſo…emn Audience in the time of its delivery.
Honourable and Beloved, As theſe Papers tend (with your kind leave) to…re inkindle the the memorial of that dayes Soul awakening Subject: ſo let me (I pray in this proem) beg you to ruminate on a ſaying of an Em…nent Divine at Bury a Town of great note in Suffolk of old England [That Sermons are never done, Mr. Edmund Calany S…n.till they are Done] and let me add, If never Done, the hearers are undone for ever. Eſpecially in ſuch weighty & momentous Points as theſe, about the formidable, day of Judgment.
The tears of Auditors, ſaid Jerom (as J.M.) are the Jewels of Preachers; and if Sincere, Preſage a Crown of Eternal joyes to both. There are among many others in Divinity, three illuſtrious Doctrines,
(1.) Juſtification by Faith in Chriſt alone.
(2.) Sanctification by the Spirit.
(3.) Reſurrection to Glory.
In whoſe Compaſs and Boſome was our preſent Subject about the Ʋniverſal Judgment. As to which, Give me leave to preſent three things, and Cloſe with the Apoſtolical Prayer.
1. State your own Eternal State, while yet in the State of this Life. Matter not the day or Cenſures of mans Judgment. They'l Fluctuate in their love as the wind of their Paſſions,1 Cor. 4 3 Intereſts and Envious or falſe informations tur…s the fane of their Conſtructions: if they are not both wiſe and godly. And ſometimes haſtily Carp your innocence as if they had forgotten Pl…tarch and Senecas memorials about natures gift of two Ears before they determin matters in queſtion:Gal. 6.1. not pondering as they ought, in the Spirit of meekneſs the many Tentations the beſt of men are incident to,Tim. 3.2, their own freq…ent infirmities and others proud and invidious detractions and your own vertuous & Slander-Shaming Apologies. Taking little heed to the Fifteenth Pſalm, and how unworthily theſe blaſt others uſefulneſs & lay up Scourges for their own Conſciences in the day when God ſhall viſit them and give their abuſed Friends,Exod. 32.34. the greateſt favour at laſt,Prov. 18.…, 38.23. when his Neighbour Searches him out; and then thy Brothers Mote may ſwell to a Beam in thine eye, by the rubbing of others inflamed Cenſures upon thee, when thy turn comes We all need Contrition, Confeſſion, and Pardon.
2. Make Peace with God betimes and Expedite it. The …ands of times hour Glaſs never ſtop, and are more precious then the golden ones of Tagus. Do this work ſeaſonably, ſincerely, & ſpeedily, to fruſtrate the trouble of the New Repentance and prevent the divine Judgment. Delay not; leſt Tardy neglect;2 Cor. 11.31, 3…. quicken Goul-Confounding horrors, and Sudden wracks of Conſcience will draw out the funeral-Song of Epimetheus, O non putaram, Prov. 2….19.or that of the Fool in Solomon. Was I not in jeſt? and cry out in earneſt concerning laughter,Eccl. 2.2. Eccl. 9.6. that 'tis mad, and of mirth What doth it? but as the Crackling of thornes under a Pot: whoſe Prickles fly in his Eyes, & leave him in utter darkneſs, wringing his hands in the bloud of his heart, and ſtreaming out bitter groanes, that he did not think the Evening Shadows were ſo nigh. O Sirs, this tremendous work cryes aloud for the greateſt deliberation, the ſwifteſt Execution, and perſeverance without end. O Bleſſed Lord, help us out of the woful Tentations and intricate Labyrinths of delay, Aeſop.leſt when Death comes indeed, as in the ancient Apologue, it prove an other gueſs work than moſt are now aware of; You'l ſtand in need of more then all your Graces, Experiences, Reliances and Reſtaurations out of deep and dark deſertions. Yea and all little Enough and will prove ſcarce able to liſt you out of the dungeon of terror: unleſs the gracious Supplies of the Spirit come in upon a Spring tide from Heaven, and liſt up the Ark of Conſcience above the floud gates and Rocks of Confuſion.
3. Labour to provide againſt the formidable Thunders of Death, that the Sun-ſhines of the Evidences of glory may brighten the dark paſſages of the Grave. The beauty of grace firſt darted into thy Breaſt, in a beam from the Eye of the Electing Love of God, and ſhall never ceaſe the ſhining and warming influences till like new Stars that at laſt Concenter all their motions in the Sun: ſo ſhall the rayes of thy joyes be inboſomed in the Eternal Love of God. When thou haſt done this work,John 6.19▪ which the Father hath given thee to do: then that TO PHOBEROTATON, Ariſtotles grand King of Ter…ers ſhall ſling down his Crown with amazement at the foot of Chriſt:Heb. 3.14… 1▪ Cor. 15… 5…, 57. and that Dragon, who hath the power of death ſhall himſelf be ſlung to Death by the Croſs of Chriſt, firſt upon his illuſtrious Tomb at Mount Golgotha; or like the ſtandard of Conſtantine, carrying TO SEMEION, the Labarum or ſigne of the Son of man, Mat. 34▪3ſet upon the back-bone of the Serpent, as you may ſee it on the Reverſe of that Emperors Coin.Spelman. Aſpilogi…. P. 20 Ed. Lo…d. 1654 cu, uptem. Yea and a… holy Chriſtians are like the Roman Draconiſeri, the Dragoniers of the ancient Empire, carrying the Exuviae or caſe of the old Serpent in triumph, and yielding up their Spirits into the hands of a moſt faithful Creator: who once form'd us, and will ſhortly as faithfully Redeem us out of the duſt: and inform us a new with the ſame Immortal Souls to inherit the ſame Body in a State of Immortality, to Coinhabit the Temple of Heaven in an immortal State of Glory, ever beginning and never ending▪ When the day of the laſt Redemption, that great day of the feaſt, when the ruddy morning ſhall Climb the Eaſtern hills of Mount Olivet with its pleaſant Bluſhes to cure all the dark Solitudes and Sollicitudes of this Vally of Immortal Souls, by the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; before whom they Appear when …heir Bodies here are by Death made …ntenantable; and from whom they …hen Receive Order, Either to be Admitted among the Spirits of Juſt men made perfect, or to be Reſerved in Darkneſs unto the Judgment of the Great Day. That Separate Souls thus Exiſt …n an Inviſible World, is a thing whereof I know ſome, who have ſuch pal…able Evidences, that were the Scrip…ures wholly Silent, which Bleſſed by God, they are not, about it, yet they could no more Quſtion it, than they Queſtion their own Exiſtence in the World. But there is a more General Work of this kind, ſhortly to be done, …n a Vaſt Aſſembly of all mankind, unto …hat end Summoned by the Mighty God, and called from the Riſing of the Sun unto the Setting thereof. The Souls of men ſhall reaſſume a fit Portion of the Duſt, whereunto they were formerly United, by the Almighty God fetch'd out of the Various matter whereinto it has been Diſſolved and Diſperſed, but now become as were the Keel, where upon ſhall be Buil… Incorruptible Bodies: and ſome that ſhall then be found alive ſhall by … Tranſlation, have their Bodies made i… a like manner Spiritual. In their Bodies thus Raiſed, and Changed, they ſhal… ſtand before a Tribunal of our Lord Jeſus, deſcended from the Heavens into our Atmoſphere; and after a… Exact Examination of their Behaviours While God was upon Earth Trying o… them, they ſhall have One of theſe two Sentences pronounced upon them Either, Come, ye Bleſſed, Inherit the Kingdom; Or, Depart, ye Curſed, into Everlaſting Fire; Which will be accordingly Executed on them. Such … Day of Judgment is there to come upon the World! Amen ! Come; Lord Jeſus, come quickly. Indeed, about the Circumſtances of this moſt Illuſtriou… Day, tis more eaſy than lawful for us to Enquire into ſuch things as w… are not yet Able to A…ſwer; nor ha… the Lord Indulged our Curious and Critical Enquiries after Particularities which He ha's not Revealed. It ſeem Revealed▪ That this Laſt Day, will be a Long Day; It will be a Day of …ublick Hearing, and all Doings of all …eople muſt be called out;
Cunctaque Cunctorum Cunctis Arcana patebunt,
So that things will not be Haſtily …uddled, and Suddenly Shuffled over. …ea, It ſeems, Revealed, That the …orning of This famous Day, will …ake up at leaſt a Thouſand Years, wherein our Lord will be managing His Davidical Kingdom, with a New Hea…en and a New Earth wherein ſhall …well Righteouſneſs, and Reigning before His Ancient People Gloriouſly; at the Cloſe whereof it ſeems to ſome that▪ The Reſt of the Dead Live again▪ & all t… Dead Small & Great ſtand before God. The Hour, when it ſhall be Commenced, and …he Spot, where it ſhall be Che…fly managed, ſeem not Revealed; nor a thouſand …hings more, that concern the proceedings of the Day. But whatever may be yet Unrevealed, it is abundantly Plain and Sure unto us, That the Son of man ſhall come in the Glory of His Father, with His Angels, and then, He ſhal… Reward every man According to hi… Works. This is Revealed, and it i… a Damnable Thing to Cheriſh an… Doubt of This, That we muſt a…l appea… before the Judgment-Seat of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt.
S. 3. The Judgment of the Great Day Or, a Day, wherein all men ſhall b… Raiſed and Changed into a State o… Immortality, and appear before the So… of Man within the Bounds of our Air to be Judged according unto wha… they Did, before they Dy…d; This is … thing which the People of God in al… …ges, have given their Aſſent unto Even in Old Times, long before th… Flood, the Church of God, made this a… Article of their Creed. We hav… ſome ſhort Notes of what was delivered by the Venerable Enoch abou… it, ſo long ago▪ in Jude 14. Behold …he Lord comes, to Execute Judgmen… upon all. Yea, This was a main Controverſy, between the Antediluvia… Saints, and the Impious, Impure Ge…tion of. Atheiſts, then upon th… Stage. The Godly did Aſſert, There …ali be a Day of Judgment, but the pro…ne did with Hard Speeches, Deride & …xplode the Belief of that awful Truth▪ We read in Gen. 4.8. Cain ſpake to Abel his Brother; the Hebrew Bibles …ſually leave a Blank at the end of his clauſe; and the ancient Jewiſh …argum…, preſume to put in the Diſ…urſe which they had; they ſay, that …he Quarrel between Cain and Abel …as upon this point; Abel ſaid, There … to be a Day of Judgment, and there is Judge, and there ſhall be another World▪ …nd the Godly ſhall be Rewarded, and the Wicked Pun…ſhed. But Cain ſaid, There, … no ſuch Thing; and as the Targum …f I. Ben. Ʋzziel adds, Et Propter ha…um Rerum Cauſam Contendebant Super…acies Agri. And methinks, the A…oſtle in the Beginning of his Eleventh▪ …hapter to the Hebrews, may ſeem to. …ountenance this Tradition. It ſeems▪ …s if Abraham alſo, ſaw this Day a…r off; inaſmuch as there are thoſe. …ho put his Plea for Sudom, into this▪ …ngliſh, in Gen. 18.25. W…ll not the Judge▪ … all the Earth, Execute: Judgment, … q d. Lord, Thou doſt intend hereafter, to appear for a Judgment upon a… the World, in ſuch Flames of Devouring Fire as thou art now going to deſtroy this miſerable Place withal; b… Entreated therefore to ſpare theſe Towns, until that Revolution come Indeed all Chriſtians have alwayes Agreed in this Acknowledgment, long before, as well as ever ſince the Daye… of Job, I know that my Redeemer Lives and that He ſhall: ſtand at the Eatte… Day upon the Earth; and though Worms Deſtroy this Body, yet in my Fleſt I ſhall ſee God. And even in that Confeſſion of Faith, which the Jews themſelves at this Day embrace, their Eleventh Fundamental Article is, the Eternal Judgment.
To what the People of God; have thus Received as the Faith delivered unto the Saints, they have had the Scriptures of God, moſt abundantly given their Infallible Teſtimony. There is hardly any one part of the Old Teſtament, which has not Conſiderable Glances a… the Day of Iudgment; But in the New …eſtament, it is yet more plentifully inſiſted on. Very many of the Sermons Preached by our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, …nd all the Letters written by His A…ſtles, do ſet the Day of Iudgment before our Eyes. Yea, not only the Approach, but alſo the Proceſs of this wonderful Day, is diverſe times Expreſſed in theſe Lively Oracles. The Holy Spirit of God, hath Choſen to make one of the Eaſt Clauſes in the Bible, an Admonition unto us here…bout; the very laſt Lines of the laſt …dvice we have had from Heaven, are …o this purpoſe, The Lord Jeſus Chriſt▪ will ſhortly come to Iudge the World. And with the Aſſertions of Scripture, …oncerning this matter, the Apoſtle in … certain place tells us, the Accuſing… …nd the Excuſing…s of Conſcience, do join …heir Teſtimony thereunto …. The Ver…ict of Conſcience upon the Sinner is▪ …s Tertallian calls it; Futur… Judici… Prejudicium; a preſage of a future …udgment. It is true, the Dim Ruſ… …a…ale, which the Heathen had in their Notions about the Burning and the …udging of the World, might be much …ighted, at the Lamp of the Iſrae… … Sanctuary. But yet meer. Natural Conſcience, did uſe to warn the Rudeſt Pagans, of a Judgment, which God will at Laſt bring mankind into. Hence Felix the Governour, before Paul the Priſoner, Trembles at the Tidings of a Iudgment to come; he had a Preacher in his Boſome; that gave him a terrible Premo…ition of it. The very proceedings of the Last Iudgment are antedated in our Conſciences; and the Triumphs of Conſcience upon our Well-doing, the Horrours of Conſcience upon our Wickedneſs, the Inferences of Conſcience from the Intricate Things every Day happening in the World, are ſo many moſt penetrating Intimations of that Judgment, wherein we are to ſtand before the Lord. Now the certainty of that Notable Day, being a thing as clear and ſure as Day it ſelf, it becomes us to ſilence all the Cavils of Carnal Reaſon, againſt any o… its Unfathomable Circumſtances, by a… Faith acquieſcing in this Aſſurance of it, Thus ſaith the Lord. Indeed, wha… Paul ſays, about the firſt of the Tranſactions belonging to this Day of th… Lord, may I ſay about the whole Af…yr of the Day, Why ſhould it be Thought … thing Incredible with you? All the Cavils which our Unbelief ca… make …gainſt this Word of God, are Suffici…atly and Eternally taken off, with Demanding, Is any thing too hard for …e Lord? But ſome of the Cavils, that …ave ſeem'd Specious, will upon Second Thoughts be found ſo Abſurd, that …ven Common ſenſe it ſelf would hiſs …t them. Such is that Objection, Where will there be room for ſuch a Vaſt Multitude as Adam, with all his Chil…ren? The whole ſurface of the Earth …ould not hold them all? Ridiculous Ex…eption! Allow that this World ſhould …aſt no leſs than Ten-Thouſand Years, which it will not; Allow that there …re at once alive a Thouſand Millions of men, which there are not; Allow all …heſe to march off every Fifty years, with a New Generation riſing up in …heir ſtead; and allow each of theſe …ndividuals a place Five foot Square to …tand upon. I think theſe are Fair Al…owances. I would now pray the Ob…ector, if he have any skill at Arithmetick, to Compute, Whether a Spot of Ground, much leſs than England, which contains perhaps about Thirty M…llions of Acres, but about a Thouſandth Part of the Terraqueous Glob, and about the Three Hundred thirty third part of the Habitable Earth, would not hold them all. I ſay then, we have ſomething elſe to do, than to Cavil, the unexceptionable Doctrine of the Laſt Iudgment; it is our Intereſt and Buſineſs to Improve it, with deep Impreſſions thereof upon our Souls.
S. 4. Of ſuch an Aſpect are all Things in the Day of Judgment, as that the Apoſtle might well call it, The Terror of the Lord. But me thinks; there is nothing that gives more Dread unto a Soul awakened out of Sinful Slumbers, than that ETERNITY, wherein this Day Expires; that Eternal Iſſue, that Eternal Event, which depends upon the Day. The laſt Judgment fixes the Children of men, like ſo many Rocks, in the Ocean of Eternity. Men will then be Immortalized; and their State of Weal or W…, will be ſo inwrought into the very Beings of them, that Immortal Things …ay as eaſily ceaſe to Be, as for a …ighteous or Wicked man to paſs …nto another State, than what he is …hen Confirmed in. Tis a Paſſage in …hat Memorable and Perhaps Hiſtorical …arable, which decribes the State of …en, in the other World, that after …his Day, men have, A Great Guilf …xed, unto them; there is by the De…ree of God, ſuch a Vaſt Pit, about the Children of men, that they cannot paſ… put of the State wherein they are: The Nature of things will then require, …hat they be Ʋnalterable; the Children of men, will then be moſt Immediately Siezed, either by the Goodneſs or by the …uſtice of God; and becauſe our God Himſelf Changes not, therefore the ſtate of men becomes then Ʋnchangeable; nor will it ſtand with the Wiſdom of the moſt High, to alter the Sentence …hen Pronounced about the State of Weal or Wo, which will then belong unto us. At the Day of Judgment, all Righteous men ſhall be adjudg'd unto a State of Eternal Happineſs. Tis a Life Eternal, tis an Eternal Salvation tis an Eternal Inheritance, tis an Everlaſting Habitation, and they are Plea… ſures for ever more, of which the Believer ſhall be made Partaker. Afte… he ha's been in the manſions of th… Bleſſed, as many Millions of Ages a… there are Sun-beams in the Univerſe… he will ſtill continue there. Th… ſtately Pillars in Solomons Temple, wer… thence removed; but the Believe… ſhall now become a Pillar in the Temple of his God; from whence he ſhal… no ſooner go out, than the Temple i… ſelf …all Tumble down. A Deyo… Perſon at a …eaſ…, ſaid well, In Heaven there is Good Cheer, and Goo… Company; and ſo there is here: but in Heaven there is no Taking away. The …eſtial Satisfactions of the Believer, …ll never be diſquieted with ſuch a Thought as this, At the Long run, theſe things will have an end. God will not Repent of the Love which He has freely ſet upon him …nor will Chriſt ever Suffer one of His own Members to be Pluck'd away. But at the Day of Judgment, all Wicked men ſhall be adjudg'd unto a State of Eternal Mi…ry. Tis a Worm which Dyeth not, and … Fire which is not Quenched, where…ithal the Sinner ſhall be Cruciated; … is an Eternal Damnation, and it is … Everlaſting Deſtruction. Suppoſe an …eap of as many Little Poppey-ſeeds, … according to the old Ptolemaick …yſtem, would fill the whole Machin …f the World, and no more than one …f them in a Thouſand years fetch'd …way, but the Sinner in Anguiſh till …he heap were all waſted ſo; behold, …nd be amazed! All this Long while …ould be but as a Drop to the Ocean, …ompar'd with that, Forever! that …orrible Forever! whereto the Tor…ents of the Damned ſhall be Length…ned. Fifty two Cyphers, and One Fi…urt at the Head of them, would Com…rehend, as the Learned and Noble, …tto de Guerick affirms it, the Num…er of the Little Poppey-ſeeds in the prodigious Heap, newly mentioned; But I ſay then, ſuppoſe a Scroll as …arge as the Starry Heaven it ſelf, all …illed with Figures of Nine; and yet …o many Myriads of Ages, as would be therein deciphered, are Nothing to that Endleſs Duration, which the Torments of the Damned ſhall be made Exquiſite withal. It may be ſaid unto the ſinner, Are not thine Iniquities Infinite? A Sin Committed againſt an Infinite God, Expoſes, a man unto an Infinite Wrath. The ſinner makes himſelf a prey to an Infinite Vengeance; and the Exerciſes of that Vengeance muſt be Infinite, or they bear no Proportion to the Deſert of the ſinner; now, they cannot be Infinite for the Degree of them: of ſuch the ſinner would be Incapable; ſo then, they muſt be Infinite for the Durance of them; they muſt abide World without End. Lord, what Rocks are our Hearts, that they do no more Tremble at the Fore-thoughts of ſuch an ETERNAL JUDGMENT.
S. 5. To be Seriouſly, Conſtantly, Vigorouſly Preparing for the Day of Judgment, is indeed, The thing which our Hand finds to Do; and, O that we may to it with our Might! Now tis our Cordial Cloſure with the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and the Conſent of our Souls to the Goſpel-way of Salvation, by Him, in the New Covenant Exhibited, which is the Preparation, whereby alone, we may be Ready for the Terrible Day. It was the ſtudy and the Deſire of the Apoſtle, O that I may be found in Him! We are to give out ſelves unto the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, as unto our Prophet, and our Prieſt, and our King for ever; and now before Him, Judge our ſelves, for all our Sins, from which we would have Him to ſave us. Our Judge will then become our Friend; and we ſhall be ſafe in the Day, that ſhall Burn like an Oven, and Conſume all the Wicked of the Earth. When the Watery Flood, overwhelmed the old World, O how many Wiſhes had people then, for, An Ark! An Ark! to Shelter them? At the Day of Judgment there will be, what the Ancients called, a Dlluvium Ignis, or, Fiery Flood, upon the World; and O what a rate, will, A Chriſt! A Chriſt! be then Eſteemed at? May we Now make ſure of Him, by Faith in Him! If once that were done, we might, Rejoyce before the Lord, for He comes, He comes to Judge the Earth. Suppoſe that before to Morrow Morning, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt ſhould ſet the World on a Light Fire, and Melt the Pillars of Heaven, with the Brightneſs of His Appearing; Suppoſe that we ſhould, awaking at the next Midnight, hear ſuch fearful and rattling Thunder claps, & ſee ſuch hideous ſlaſhes of Lightning, as made Mount Sinai ſhake at the Giving of the Law; yet our Hearts might even Leap with Joy within us, at it, as John did within his Mother, when Jeſus came into the room. Only, when That is done, we are to Remember, that our Faith will have this Happy Symptom, to Juſtify it, That it will cauſe us to Abound in the Works of the Lord. May we then by a Spirit of Fore-ſight Conſider, how Comfortable in the Day of Judgment it will be unto us, to Look back and ſay, I once made it my Care, to be every Day, all the Day long at Work for God; And, When the Lord put His Talents into my Hands, I huſbanded them unto the beſt Advantage that I could; …nd▪ Here can I in this Great Aſſembly, point at Multitudes of Perſons, to whom I was not Ʋnſerviceable, when I had my Opportunities! And may we Do Accordingly. There will be a Day of Judgment; and the Plain Deduction from it is, What manner of Perſons, ought we to be, in all Holy Converſation, and Godlineſs!
S. 6. Tis to be added, That ſome of the moſt hopeful Preparations for the Day of Judgment, would be attain'd in our Solemn Anticipations of that moſt Great and Notable Day of the Lord. Let us afore hand Act over the Day of Judgment; not in a Play, Like thoſe Germans, who turned the parable of the Virgins into a Comedy, whereat a Prince then preſent, fell into an Aſtoniſhment that immediately ended his Dayes; but by Seriouſly bringing our ſelves Now to ſuch Trials as will then be paſs'd upon us. Tis among the Oracles of God, in 1 Cor. 11.31. If we would Judge our ſelves, we ſhould not be Judged; and ſurely, if we would now proceed Againſt our ſelves, with a moſt Exact, and Humble Judgment upon our own Miſcarriages, it would be the way for us to ſtand, in the Day when the Lord ſhall Mark Iniquities. If we are not Chriſtians, of Lean Souls within us, we ſometimes do ſet a part our Dayes, for Faſting with Prayer before the …ord; & thus we do ſometimes more particularly, when we are Perfuming of our ſelves for our Approches to the S…pper of the Great King; now, let ſuch Dayes, be ſo many little Dayes of Iudgment with us all. On ſuch a Day, let us Examine our ſelves by all the Ten Commandments of our God, and among other Things, Let us be Inquiſitive,
I. Have I not Grievouſly Forgotten the God that made me? And given unto the Fleſh, the World, and the Divel, the Homage, which is due to Him alone? Or let Creatures have the Affection, the Obedience, and the Dependance, which He alone may lay claim unto?
II. Have I not ſhamefully Neglected the Inſtitu…ions wherein the Lord Jeſus Chriſt ha's taught me to mentain Communion with Him? And Humoured the Superſtitions of a Vains Converſation?
III. Have I not Irreverently Treated the Names, A…tributes, Words, Work…, …nd Ordinances, whereby the Almighty God makes Himſelf known unto us? And been without awful Apprehenſions of His Majeſty, under His Various Diſpenſations?
IV. Have I not been Carnal, Careleſs, Weary, in the Ordinary Sabbaths of God? and been Indiſpoſed unto the Extraordinary ones?
V. Have I not been Perverſe and Haughty towards my Superiours; Unkind & Fooliſh towards my Inferiours? Envious towards my Equals? and miſerably Selfiſh in my Conduct of my ſelf?
VI. Have I not impaired my own Health by Intemperancies? or been towards others, Paſſionate, Revengeful, and Contentious?
VII. Have I not been Ʋnchaſt, in my Acts, my Thoughts, my Words? or been a Companion of the Fools that are ſo?
VIII. Have I not by Fraud or Force wronged my Neighbour? nor been too Prodigal when I ſhould not have ſpent; but when I ſhould have ſpent, then too Niggardly?
IX. Have I not uttered, or fomented, what ha's been Contrary unto Truth? nor given Countenance to a Falſe Report?
X. Have I not been Diſcontent with my own Condition? or, harboured in my Heart a Roving and a Craving Lust, after an undue Alteration of it?
XI. Have not I deſpiſed the Offers of the Lord Jeſus in the New Covenant, and the Wonderful Proviſion therein made for Unhappy Sinners? And permitted my Earthly Affayrs to keep me at a Diſtance from the Lord Redeemer, who ha's been Waiting to give me, Repentance and Remiſſion of Sins?
XII. Is not the Fountain of all theſe Bitter and Curſed Streams, the Corrupt Nature which I have derived from my firſt Parents; a Nature, filled with a depraved Prejudice againſt what is, Holy, and Juſt, and Good?
Upon the Diſcovery of our Guilt in Theſe, and ſuch Articles, Let us now Judge our ſelves as Worthy of Everlaſting Deſtruction from the Preſence of the Lord. And if the Iudgment, which we now paſs upon our ſelves, be attended with the Self Abhorrencies, and Self-Condemnations, and New-Reſolutions, of a true Repentance, it will Prevent our coming under the like Iudgment on the Day of our Appearance before the moſt High Tribunal. But indeed, the Evening of Every Day, is alſo to be reckoned a fit Opportunity for us, to call our ſelves unto an Account about our whole Behaviours in the Day; It becomes us with Self-judging Hearts, every Night before we Sleep, to make a Proceſs, like what would be in the Day of Iudgment; and this as not knowing, but that before we Wake out of that Sleep, a Come away to Judgment! may Surprize us. Nightly Recollections have been Commended by Sober Pagans, and ſhould not be Omitted by Pious Chriſtians: but, when we have Conſidered, What ha's been Gods Providence towards my ſelf in the foregoing Day? We may do well alſo to Conſider, What ha's been my Behaviour towards God, in the Day? We may now particularly take an Account,
Q. 1. Have I Lived this Day, under a Deep ſenſe of Mortality and Eternity?
Q. 2. Have I Devoutly Read the Word of God this Day; and Seriouſly ſought the Face of God, both in my Retirement, and with my Family?
Q. 3. Have I had many Ejaculations this Day, both in a way of Petition, and in a way of Thankſgiving unto God?
Q. 4 Have I had moſt affectionate Meditations upon Heavenly Things this Day; & have I made Earthly Things to occaſion ſome of my Profitable Reflections?
Q. 5. Have I been careful of my Diſcourſe this Day, & Spoken with a Tongue B…idled by the Fear of the Lord?
Q. 6. Have I been Diligent in my Calling this Day, and avoided all Needleſs Expence of my Precious and Golden, Minutes, in Diverſions?
Q 7. Have I this Day Endeavoured all Uſefulneſs unto thoſe to whom I am Related, or with whom I have been Concerned?
Q. 8. Have I this Day Control…'d and Conquer'd my Maſter Sin? and ha's my Watchfulneſs iſſued in my Victory over my own Iniquity?
Q. 9 Am I in a fit State and Frame to appear before the Judgment-Seat of God, if I ſhould before To Morrow Mornning be Summoned thereunto? And therefore, Do I ſtill chooſe the Great God as my beſt Good, and my laſt End: and the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, as my Prophet, my Prieſt, my King? And is it my Deſire to be Employ'd as a Witneſs for His Truths and Wayes for ever?
Did we not let any Day paſs us without ſuch Repreſentations of the Laſt Day unto our minds, we ſhould be Alwayes Ready. Reader, let us Aſpire after ſuch a Continual Readineſs!
S. 7. But none of the leaſt Exerciſes in our Preparation for the Day of Judgment, would be our Meditation of it; Or, Our Looking for the Glorious Appearance of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. He was an Holy man, among the Ancients, who could ſay, Wherever I am, and Whatever I do, Methinks I have the Sound of the Laſt Trumpet in my Ears, ARISE YE DEAD, AND COME TO JUDGMENT. We ſhould Labour to get a Proper & a Lively Character of the Day, when God ſhall Judge the Secrets of men; and often Raiſe it in our minds. It was ſaid, Wo to them that put far away the Evil Day. Truly, The Day of Judgment will be an Evil day indeed, unto them that put it far away. Thoughts upon the Day of Judgment, ſhould continually Lodge in our Hearts; and however we are imploy'd we ſhould think, What ſhall I do, when God riſes up? and when He Viſits, what ſhall I anſwer Him?
Now for the Aſſiſtence and Nouriſhment of our Private Meditations upon, The Day of God, we are happily Supply'd with the Publiſhed Meditations of many Worthy Pious Learned Writers, upon that Important Subject; and I pray, that we may not be Unthankful, or Unfruitful under ſuch Advantages. The Carnal Jewes, when they Read the Book of Eccleſiaſtes, have the laſt Verſe but one [which has in it, Fear God and keep His Commandments] Printed over again, at the Cloſe of all, becauſe they would not have the Remembrance & impreſſion of the Laſt Verſe [which has in it, God ſhall bring every Work into Judgment] to be too ſtrong upon them; whereas if men would Think more of the Latter, they would probably Do more of the Former. God forbid, that we ſhould any of us have any Indiſpoſition to ſuch Meditations on the Day of Judgment, as are Laid before us, in the Books of ſome that are Longing for the Day. Dear New-England! Thy Little Preſſes too, do now afford more than two or three Savoury Treatiſes upon the Day, which will not bundle ſuch Books for the Fire, that ſhall then Burn up the Hay & Stubble, of Innumerable Volumns; No, Such are ſome of the Books that ſhall be Opened for a Witneſs againſt. Impenitents! In thee, is Reprinted the Zealous Thomas Vincents Diſcourſe, On our Lords certain & ſudden Appearance to Judgment. In thee, is Printed, a Sermon on, The Day of Judgment, whoſe Author is the Father of him that now addreſſes thee. In thee, is now Printed, the Reverend Samuel Lee's, Aſſize-Sermon, of Warning to the Great Day of Judgment; Left among us, as his Mantle, by that Elias, when he went away for Europe. Theſe, beſides other Books, has New-England, had, for the Loudening of that Midnight Cry among us, Behold, the Bridegroom comes. And indeed, if upon the paſſing away of the ſecond Wo, the Third comes quickly, which brings on, The Time of the Dead, that they ſhould be Judged, we that now ſee the Second Wo coming a pace unto its Period, ſhould count no Awakenings too many, to rowſe us out of that profound Sleep, wherein the World ſhall be faſt, When the Son of man comes. I am verily perſwaded, The Judge is at the Door; I do without any heſitation venture to ſay, The Great Day of the Lord is Near, it is Near, and it haſtens Greatly. O That our Minds may be as deeply Engaged in Thinking on the Second coming of our Lord, as the Saints of old were in Thinking on His Firſt; and that the Books by which we may Ʋnderſtand, much of what concerns that matter, may have a due Entertainment and Efficacy with us. A Perſon of ſome Quality having Waſted much Time, at Unlawful Games, could not Sleep the Night following, & mentioned unto an Inquiſitive Friend, the Ground of it; Yeſterday caſting my Eye into a Book that I ſaw open, I read the Word ETERN…TY, and this Word has broke my very Heart within me. Truly, we that have ſo many Books about, ETERNAL JUDGMENT, have our Hearts harder than the Nether Milſtone, if at the ſight of that Word ETERNAL JUDGNENT they do not break. But it is unto the God of Grace, that we are now to bow our Knees, with Petitions for, Mercy in the Day of the Lord.
A SUMMONS Or WARNING to the Great Day of JUDGMENT, In a SERMON Preach'd at the Aſſizes at Briſtol in New-England. Octob. 7. 1687. now ſome-what Amplified and Fitted to the Service of others.
Luke 21.36 Watch and Pray alwa…es, that ye may be accounted worthy to Eſcape all thoſe things, that ſhall come to paſs and to ſtand before the Son of man.
A-kempts de Imit. Chriſti. l. 1. c. 24. Vere non pot…s duo gaudia habere: bic dil…cta… in mando & poſtea reg…are cum Chriſto.
Verily thou canſt not expect two joyes: To be ſolaced in this World and afterward to Reign with Chriſt.
By SAMƲEL LEE. M. A. and ſometimes Fellow of Wad…am Coll. in Oxon.
BOSTON, Printed by B. Green, for N. Buttolph, at the Corner of Gutteridg … Coffee-Houſe. 1692. Price Bound …