Lessons of Caution to Young Sinners, Sermon

Lessons of Caution to Young Sinners · Sermon

p. 1A Leſſon of Caution TO YOUNG SINNERS.

JOB XXXVI. 14, and 18.

They die in Youth, and their Life is among the Unclean. Becauſe there is Wrath, beware leſt He take thee away with his Stroke: then a great Ranſom cannot deliver thee.

THE Text is very awful and affecting; deſerves the ſerious Tho'ts of all, but eſpecially challenges a more intenſe Conſideration from our Young People. He that hath an Ear to hear, let him hear. Let theſe ſayings ſink down into your Ears, and be written on your Hearts. By diſcourſing on the Text, may I be ſo happy, by the Bleſſing of GOD, as to prevent the fulfilling of it among our Young People! Of whom I ſee ſo numerous a Concourſe on the preſent ſolemn Occaſion.

They are the words of Elihu, who having undertaken to ſpeak on God's behalf, in Vindication of his dealings with Job, firſt gives him (as in the preceeding Context) a brief account of p. 2the various methods of Providence towards the Children of Men, ſuted to their different Tempers and Carriages towards God; and then gives him agreable Counſels and Admonitions thereupon. Elihu obſerves to him the deſign of God in bringing Men under the Bonds of Affliction; that it is with a view to their ſpiritual Benefit, for the good of their Souls, ver. 8, 9, 10.—In the next place he obſerves the different Iſſue of a right Improvement of Divine Corrections, and of Impenitence under the Hand of God, ver. 11, 12. He further amplifies on the Caſe of impenitent Sinners, in the two next Verſes, ver. 13, 14.

And then, after having made ſome particular Remarks on Job's caſe, he proceeds to give him that ſolemn Caution, in the 18th. verſe, not to make light of God's Wrath, but to fear leſt he ſhould fall a Sacrifice to the Divine Vengeance. Even good Men have enough amiſs in 'em, to expoſe them to God's Wrath, if He ſhould enter into Judgment with them. It was therefore a proper and ſeaſonable Caution: and if ſo holy and good a Man, as Job, needed ſuch a Caution, ſurely impenitent Sinners much more have need of this ſolemn Warning. It is a Word more eſpecially fit to addreſs ſecure Sinners withal: tho' 'tis alſo applicable to all others, good as well as bad; young and old.

'Tis the proper Uſe and Application of the Hint given in the 14th verſe, concerning the miſerable End of Impenitents: and therefore I've connected theſe two Verſes, for the Subject of my preſent Diſcourſe. They die in Youth, and their Life is among the Unclean: Becauſe there is Wrath, &c.

I ſhall ſpeak to the Words under theſe Three diſtinct Heads.

p. 31. Mankind are ſometimes taken out of the World by an early Death, even in the days of their Youth.

2. Of thoſe, who die in Youth, many there be, whoſe Life is among the Unclean.

3. Theſe Reflections ſhould awaken all, and particularly young People, to a Fear and Concern, leſt God in his Wrath ſhould take them away with a ſtroke, leaving them no Hope of Relief.

DOCT. I. Mankind are often taken out of the World by an Early and untimely Death.—It's the Caſe of many, They die in Youth, a premature Death.

I am aware, That ſome take Youth here in a figurative ſenſe, and underſtand the Text to mean, They die in Ignorance and Folly. For he that has not yet learn'd to live as he ought, ſeems to die prematurely: and he that dies prematurely, ſeems to die as an Infant, that can't diſcern its right hand and its left. The old Man, that is a late Penitent, dies a very Child: and the Impenitent, though he may have been an hundred Years in the World, yet he has not truly lived ſo much as one day, if he at laſt dies in his Sins.

But others take the Word in a proper ſenſe, as intending the Age of Youth, the Morning of Life. Nor ſee I any Occaſion to depart from the literal Conſtruction.

It is an obvious Truth, that Multitudes are taken out of the World by an early Death. There are Multitudes, who periſh in the Womb, and never ſee the Light: Multitudes that die in Infancy; having breath'd a few days or months, they expire and vaniſh: Multitudes, that die in Childhood and Youth. Many are taken away in the p. 4midſt of their Days; and many attain not to this; they ſcarce live out half their Days.

The longeſt Liver in theſe times may be ſaid to die in Youth, if compared with thoſe in the firſt Ages of the World. Many in primitive times attain'd to nigh a Thouſand Years. But there has ſince been a wonderful Abbreviation of the Life of Man;—of which no Philoſophical Account has yet been given, to the ſatisfaction of rational Inquirers: but we are oblig'd to content ourſelves with Theological Reaſons, and muſt reſolve this myſterious Event into the ſovereign Pleaſure and Providence of God.—From Moſes's time the extent of human Life in general has been but about Seventy or Eighty Years. Pſal. 90. 10. This is the common Boundary, which few exceed, and Multitudes fall ſhort of.

Vaſt Numbers (as I ſaid) are taken away in the midſt of their Days, and yet more in the Beginning of their Years. The Diſpenſation of early Death is common both to the Juſt and Unjuſt.

The early Death of the Righteous is a myſterious Diſpenſation, of which ſcarce any other Account can be given but that, Even ſo, Father, becauſe it hath ſeemed good in thy ſight!—However, many Things might be ſaid to juſtify the Providence of God herein; and particularly this, that altho' God ſhortens the days of ſuch in this World, yet he gives them length of Days and Life everlaſting in a better: So that the Curſe is turn'd into a Bleſſing, as to them. Untimely Death is in itſelf evil, and a fruit of the Curſe: but to one in Chriſt, it becomes a ſurpriſing Mercy; for it turns to his Salvation, and haſtens his eternal Happineſs and Glory.

p. 5But to the Wicked this Diſpenſation is in Judgment. Shortneſs of Days is often threaten'd in Scripture, as a Puniſhment of Sin. Prov. 10. 27. The Years of the Wicked ſhall be ſhortned. So Eccl. 8. 13. It ſhall not be well with the Wicked; neither ſhall he prolong his Days, which are as a ſhadow, becauſe he feareth not before God.—And Pſal. 55. 23. Thou, O God, ſhalt bring them down into the Pit of Deſtruction: bloody and deceitful Men ſhall not live out half their Days, i. e. not half the ordinary Age of Man, not half ſo long as they might live in the uſual Courſe of Nature.

But whether they be righteous or wicked, whether it be in Mercy or in Judgment, we often ſee very affecting Inſtances of early Death. How many are in their Youth cut off by pining Sickneſs How many by fatal Caſualties! When God commiſſions Death to arreſt any, he regards not the Beauty or the Vigour of Youth: that cannot bribe, nor this reſiſt him. When the Death-Warrant is ſign'd, the King of Terrors becomes inexorable, and ſpares not the ruddy Youth, any more than the hoary Head. He minds not Age or Quality, Sex or Rank: but every one, when his Hour is come, falls by the impartial Hand of this common Devourer. By the Greatneſs of his ſtrength ſhall none prevail: nor will the pitiable Tenderneſs of any obtain a Reprieve for them. The Children and Sucklings he makes to pour out their Soul into their Mother's Boſom: He cruſhes the Young Men with a Rod of Iron, and treads the Daughters of Zion, as in a Wine-preſs. In how many Inſtances do we ſee that fulfilled, Job 21. 23, 24. One dieth in his full ſtrength being wholly at eaſe and quiet, his Breaſts full of Milk, and his Bones moiſtned p. 6with Marrow.—Them that bid faireſt for long Life, how often do we ſee cut off by the ſtroke of Death: Some in the way of Nature, by a fatal Diſtemper; others in the way of Violence, by a ſudden Accident, by the Hand of Malice, or the Sword of Juſtice.

Herein is the Sovereignty of God diſplay'd: and his Righteouſneſs is herein exalted. For every Death is an Execution of the primitive Curſe, and an Exerciſe of the Divine Dominion over the Life of Man: and in particular early Death is eminently ſo. There is alſo the Wiſdom of God to be ſeen in his ordering Death unto Mankind in all Periods and Ages of Life; inaſmuch as their being at an Uncertainty about the Time of their dying, and not knowing but that they may die in Youth, tends to excite in 'em a Care of early Preparation for Death.

In a word, while we behold the ſeverity of God to ſome in cutting them off by an untimely Death, We that ſurvive ſhould be more deeply affected with a ſenſe of the diſtinguiſhing goodneſs of God to us, in preſerving us hitherto; eſpecially ſince we have forfeited our Lives by innumerable Provocations. We have been expos'd to the ſame Perils, as others; we are by Nature Children of Wrath, even as others; our Childhood and Youth has been Vanity, full of Sin and Folly, even more perhaps than many others were guilty of, that have been taken away before us.—And ſhall not theſe Conſiderations ſtrike our Hearts; fill us with Admiration of the Divine Patience towards us, and lead us to Repentance! O let us devote our reprieved Lives to the Honour of God; by whoſe Viſitation out Spirits have been preſerved. Let p. 7him have the Service of our adult and advanced Age, to whoſe Mercy it's owing that we did not die in Youth or Infancy. Let that be the Tho't of our Heart, our Reſolution and our Petition continually, Pſal. 56. 12, 13. Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praiſes unto thee. For thou haſt delivered my ſoul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God is the light of the living!

But I paſs now to another Obſervation,

DOCT. II. Of thoſe that die in Youth, many there be, whoſe Life is amongſt the Unclean.

There are different Conſtructions of this Paſſage: Some refer it to the preſent Life, and others to that which is to come.

(1.) We may take it as reſpecting the preſent Life. The Word [is] not being in the Hebrew Text, our Tranſlators have ſupply'd the Vacancy with that; as perhaps underſtanding Elihu to ſpeak here of the Life future. But if it be underſtood of the Life, which now is, there may other Suppletives be made uſe of; and accordingly, various Gloſſes may be made on the Words

1. Thus, it may be read, Their Life is ſeen to have been among the Unclean. However they may have hid their Wickedneſs heretofore; yet now, when they come to die, they are detected, or confeſs; the Mask is pull'd or thrown off, and it appears they were but whited Sepulchres, fair without, but foul within. Now the Mouths of Men are open'd to ſpeak what they know of their wicked Lives; the Providence of God ſtrangely brings to Light their hidden Iniquities; or Conſcience compels them to a Confeſſion. p. 8The Hypocrite's Hope periſhes in Death, and many times vaniſheth at the Apprehenſion of Death approaching; ſo that the falſe Profeſſor, tho' perhaps he formerly appear'd to have a ſacred Heat of Love and Grace in his Soul, yet now confeſſes himſelf to have been under the power of a fatal Cold in divine Things, & to have poſſeſs'd no other Heat than that of fleſhly Luſts, which war againſt the Soul: and he now numbers himſelf among the Unclean, calls himſelf a ſpiritual Adulterer, who made Pretenſions of Love to Chriſt, as the Guide of his Youth, but yet only flatter'd him with his Mouth, while in Reality his Heart went a whoring after the World, led away with divers Luſts.

2. Again, the Text may be read, Their Life is found among the Unclean, that is, they are found living in Uncleanneſs, when Death comes and takes them away. In a State of Sin, and it may be in the Act of Sin, Death ſurprizes 'em, and drives them away in their Wickedneſs. I might inſtance in wicked Er and Onan, thoſe Brethren in Iniquity, whom the Lord ſlew for their abominable Filthineſs, that they died before their Time. So Nadab and Abihu, who profaned the Worſhip of God, there went out Fire from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. So Korah and his Company, Wickedneſs was amongſt them & in their Dwellings, and the Earth open'd her Mouth, and ſwallow'd them up, and they went down alive into the Pit.—Many are thus cut off by the more immediate hand of God. Others have been ſlain in Battel, or been cut off by the Sword of the civil Magiſtrate, who is a Revenger to execute Wrath upon them that p. 9do Evil. … ſmote Zimri and Cozhi in the very Act of Lewdneſs.—Joab ſlew Abſalom in the midſt of his Rebellions.—Others again have been judicially abandon'd of God, ſo as to lay violent Hands on themſelves; as Judas, who not being able to bear the Shame & Guilt he had bro't on himſelf, went to the Halter for Relief. Ahitophel did the ſame before him.

3. Again, The Text may be read, Their Life is taken away among the Unclean, i. e. in Company with them, or by a Death ignominious as theirs. They are in their Death number'd among the Tranſgreſſors: Cut off for their Sins, by a ſhameful Execution, as Criminals. They are cut off after the manner of unclean Perſons, by an infamous Death. The original Word in our Text, for the Unclean, is in other places frequently render'd Sodomites: and ſome read it, Their Life is cut off after the ſame Manner as Sodomites are cut off, that are moſt hatefully unclean, abominably wicked, i. e. by a vile and ſhameful Death. As if it had been ſaid, They die in Youth, and come to an ignominious End.

4. Finally, If we read it thus, Their Life is taken away among the Unclean, it may intend, they die like the worſt of Sinners, as to their Frame and Carriage. The Hypocrites in heart, of whom Elihu had been ſpeaking, often make as poor a figure in the Approaches of Death, as the openly Profane: they behave no better than the moſt foul and ſcandalous Sinners; either dying under the power of brutiſh Stupidity, or elſe in helliſh Deſpair. Balaam's Wiſh was wont to be theirs, That they might die the Death of the Righteous: but alas! how often do we ſee, that the Hypocrite p. 10dieth as the Fool dieth, either in ſottiſh Security, or in miſerable Anguiſh and deſponding Rage?

Having thus conſider'd the Words in various Lights, as they are underſtood to refer unto the preſent Life; I come now

(2) To give you another Gloſs upon the Text, which refers the Life here ſpoken of unto the future State. And I find ſome of the moſt judicious Expoſitors underſtanding it in this Senſe: Their Life is among the Unclean, i. e. their future Life is ſo: the Life of their Souls in the ſeparate State is, and the Life of their Bodies in the Reſurrection-State ſhall be, among the Unclean; among Sodomites, in the everlaſting Fire The filthy Sinners of Sodom who gave themſelves over to Fornication, and went after ſtrange Fleſh, are ſaid (Jude 7th) to be ſet forth for an Example, ſuffering the Vengeance of eternal Fire.

The vain and lewd Youth, that dies in his Sins, yea the moſt moral and virtuous Youth, that dies out of Chriſt, unpardon'd and unrenew'd in the Spirit of his mind, muſt have his Portion with the unclean Spirits in Hell. When he giveth up the Ghoſt, where is he? Whither does he go? Not to Paradiſe, but to a Priſon. We read of the Spirits in Priſon, 1 Pet. 3. 19. It means damned Souls in Hell.—Heaven is a holy Place; and there ſhall in no wiſe enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatſoever worketh Abomination, or maketh a Lie, Rev. 21. 27. Hell is the only fit Receptacle of impure Souls: thither, when ſuch depart from the Body, they go, as to their own place, their proper Centre. Act. 1. 25. Now among them that die in Youth, as well as in other Ages of Life there are many that die in their Sins, and their Life p. 11afterwards is among the Unclean. They lie down in Sorrow; and in Hell they lift up their Eyes, being in Torments.—There they bear the Reproach of their Youth. God in Anger now writes bitter Things indeed againſt them, & makes them to poſſeſs the Iniquities of their Youth: theſe, which once were as ſweet Morſels in their Mouth, are as the Gall of Aſps to them now. Bitter, bitter are their Reflections on loſt Time, on the Miſſpence of Youth, the golden Opportunity of Life, and the only Opportunity (as it prov'd) to them. Conſcience now laſhes terribly, and reads the moſt doleful Leſſons to them. They ſee an amazing ETERNITY before 'em, & have a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation to devour them for ever and ever. They were cut down out of Time (as the Phraſe is Job. 22. 16) their Life was ſoon cut off, and their Souls flew away: But alas! the days that were wanting on Earth, are made up in Hell. He that dies in Youth, with his Sins unpardon'd and unrepented of, enters immediately upon a never-expiring State of Woe & Miſery, Sorrow & Deſpair. His ſhort Life of Sin here is follow'd with a long (long) Eternity of Sufferings & Torment. And in proportion to their Guilt, is the future Puniſhment of Sinners greater or leſs. They that have periſhed from under the Goſpel, ſhall have a more intolerable Damnation, than even the Sinners of Sodom and the heathen World. And ſuch under the Goſpel as have contracted the greateſt Degrees of Guilt, ſhall have the moſt aggravated Puniſhment. They that carry out of the World with them moſt of the Temper & Complexion of Hell, ſhall have the greateſt ſhare of the Pains & Torments of Hell. p. 12The Sentence paſſed on the Scarlet Whore, the Mother of Harlots, will be the Language of the great Day, in regard to ſome Sinners, Rev. 18. 5, 6, 7 Her ſins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembred her iniquities. Reward her even as ſhe rewarded you, and double unto her double, according to her works: in the cup which ſhe hath filled, fill to her double. How much ſhe hath glorified her ſelf, and lived deliciouſly, ſo much torment and ſorrow give her.

O let us all realiſe it, that when ever we ſhall die, whether in Youth or Age, if we be found in our Sins, if we go out of the World unpardoned & impenitent, our Life in the future State muſt be among the Unclean, among filthy and abhorred Spirits, in a State of Puniſhment to everlaſting. Devils and Unclean Spirits only will be fit Companions for us: Hell only will be a fit Habitation for us:—And the moſt horrid Abodes there will be aſſign'd unto us, as being the Chief of Sinners.

And now being warned, ſhall we not be moved with Fear, and be in Concern of Soul that this may not be our miſerable Lot, when we die, to have our Life among the Unclean! O let us be perſwaded by the Terrors of the Lord, and haſten our Flight from impending Vengeance.—But to excite and direct your Care and Endeavour, in this Regard, will be my Buſineſs under the laſt Obſervation; which therefore I now come to.—

DOCT. III. Theſe Reflections ſhould awaken all, and in particular Young People, to a juſt Fear and Care, left GOD in Wrath ſhould take them away with his Stroke, beyond hope of Relief.

p. 13They die in Youth, and their Life is among the Unclean: Becauſe there is Wrath, beware leſt he take thee away &c. q. d. Becauſe you ſee the Wrath of God ſignalized in terrible Judgments on others, cutting them down by Death, and ſending them into the Pit; and becauſe you have reaſon to apprehend the Wrath of God kindled againſt you, by his preſent afflictive Diſpenſations: O beware, leſt he proceed to cut you down alſo by an awful Death, and ſo you appear to die & periſh, even as the vileſt Sinner by the hand of Vengeance.—Or it may mean, Becauſe there is a Wrath to come, Treaſures of Wrath reſerv'd in Hell for impenitent Sinners; Beware that you be not found in this unhappy Number, and ſo when you die, your Lot be among the Unclean.

Beware leſt God in Wrath cut you off with his Stroke, in a Day that you look not for it, in an Hour that you are not aware of. Don't be crying Peace & Safety to your ſelf, leſt ſudden Deſtruction come upon you, as Travail upon a Woman with Child, and there be no Eſcaping. Boaſt not thy ſelf of to morrow; for thou knoweſt not what a Day may bring forth.

And as a further Motive of Fear, conſider, if God ſhould cut you off with his Stroke, there will be no Hope of Relief; Then a great Ranſom cannot deliver thee: which may refer, either to a Recovery from the Grave, or a Redemption from Hell. When Men are once dead, there's no returning into this Life and World: Do with Might therefore what your Hand findeth to do, leſt Death ſurprize you in an unprepared State, and that Night come upon you unawares, in which no Man can work.—And when Sinners have once p. 14ſhot the Gulph and are ſhut up in Hell, there's no Eſcaping, no Diſcharge for ever. O what ſhall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul? Had you the whole World at your Command, it would not be a ſufficient Price for the Ranſom of your Soul. Neither will all your Tears, Cries and Promiſes avail any thing: Divine Juſtice will be inexorable to you. Neither will you have any Advocate to plead for you: He who is the only prevailing Advocate with the Father, will then be turned againſt you; His Blood, which now ſpeaks better Things than the Blood of Abel, will then plead againſt you, and loudly imprecate divine Vengeance upon you to all Eternity.

Now is the accepted Time; Now is the Day of Salvation: O ſee that you refuſe it not. How will you eſcape, if you neglect ſo great Salvation!—Tremble, leſt God ſhould cut you off with his Stroke, while you are delaying to accept this Salvation. Then a great Ranſom cannot deliver you: Even the great and the only valuable Ranſom, that which Chriſt paid down for the Redemption of Souls, will then be of no Benefit to you: for its ſaving Virtue is applicable only in this World; it reaches not to the Priſon of Hell. Not that it is not in it ſelf ſufficient; for it has an infinite intrinſecal Value and Vertue: but in the Application 'tis limited by the Wiſdom and Sovereignty of God, who has made this tranſient Life the Seaſon of Probation for a future everlaſting State.

Surely then it is a matter of infinite Concernment to us, that we now uſe the utmoſt Care to ſecure to our ſelves eternal Salvation, and make ſure of being deliver'd from the Wrath to come. p. 15We ſhould work out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling. It may well be our fear, leſt a Promiſe being left us of entring into Reſt, we ſhould after all come ſhort of it.

I might ſay here,—We ſhould beware of carnal Security and Preſumption, and of every Thing that tends to nouriſh a careleſs Temper or falſe Hopes, which will hinder us in preparing for the future State.

We ſhould beware of criminal Courſes, and Ways of Sin and Wickedneſs, which tend to kindle the Anger of God againſt us, and provoke him to bring everlaſting Deſtruction upon us.

We ſhould beware of Hypocriſy in Religion; which will make us a Loathing to the holy Heart-ſearching God, and provoke him to ſpue us out of his Mouth with Indignation.

In a Word, Whatever we do, we muſt be careful to ſecure an Intereſt in Chriſt, who only ſaves from the Wrath to come; and therefore beware of an evil Heart of Unbelief. By reaſon of Sin, we are by nature Children of Wrath: and if ever we be reconciled to God, his Wrath muſt be appeaſed toward us, by an Application of the Blood of Chriſt, which cleanſeth from all Unrighteouſneſs: and this Application is thro' Faith. Hence then we muſt make it our Care to get and exerciſe Faith in Chriſt. We muſt beware, that we don't miſs of Life thro' Unbelief; beware that we don't deceive our ſelves with a dead Faith; beware of carnal Prejudices againſt Chriſt, and the way of Salvation by him. We muſt realiſe our Need of a Saviour, and the infinite Sufficiency and gracious Willingneſs of Chriſt to be our Saviour: We muſt ſubmit to and entertain him in p. 16all his Offices; Commit our Souls into his redeeming Hands, to be cloath'd with his Righteouſneſs, and adorn'd with his Image, to be waſhed, juſtify'd and ſanctify'd, and ſav'd for ever. So ſhall we find Chriſt a Refuge for us in the day of Death, a Security from the Wrath to come. For whoſoever believeth in the Son, hath everlaſting Life: Whereas he that believeth not, ſhall not ſee Life, but the Wrath of God abideth on him, Joh. 3. 36.

I come now to the APPLICATION.

And here,

USE I. Is it ſo, that many die in Youth, whoſe Life is among the Unclean? O with what Aſtoniſhment ſhould old Sinners reflect on the ſparing Goodneſs of God to them: and what need have they to haſten their Repentance and Turning to God!

Are there not ſome of you, who may be rightly called (in reſpect of corrupt Practice, as well as a vitiated Nature) Tranſgreſſors from the Womb! Who have a Childhood and Youth to look back upon, that were full of Vanity, Sin and Folly; and as if this were not enough, have ſpent your maturer Years in Sin, and are even ſtill going on in your Treſpaſſes; Increaſing in Sin, as you increaſe in Age. Are there not many Sins, which you have to reflect on; heinous Sins, Sins againſt the Light, againſt Warnings and Convictions, againſt Vows and Reſolutions; Sins often repeated, long continued in, and dreadfully aggravated: And yet God has ſpared you hitherto! You have ſeen many fall on your right Hand & on your left: and ſtill you've been reprieved. You may well wonder, p. 17and be aſtoniſh'd, that you are as yet on this ſide the Grave, and out of Hell. Why did not you die, even as many others, in Youth! Is it not a merciful of God, that has made you to differ! O the Riches of Divine Patience toward you! Admire and magnify it: be affected with it, and improve it to Repentance, leſt ere long abuſed Mercy turn into enraged Juſtice. The longeſt Liver ſurely muſt die at laſt: and thinkeſt thou this, O Man that art an old Practitioner in Sin, that thou ſhalt eſcape the Judgment of God? Or deſpiſeſt thou the Riches of his Goodneſs & Forbearance; not knowing that the Goodneſs of God leadeth thee to Repentance? O do not after thy Hardneſs and impenitent Heart perſiſt in Rebellions againſt God, and Neglects of thy Soul; treaſuring up Wrath againſt the Day of Wrath. Hear that Divine Reproof and Warning, Eccl. 8. 11,—13. Becauſe Sentence againſt an evil Work is not executed ſpeedily, therefore the Heart of the Sons of men is fully ſet in them to do Evil: But tho' a Sinner do Evil an hundred times, and his Days be prolonged; yet ſurely it ſhall not be well with the Wicked in the End.—Eccl. 6. 3. If a man live many years, and his Soul be not filled with Good, I ſay that an untimely Birth is better than he. It is an awful Threatning, in Iſai. 65. 20. The Sinner being an hundred years old, ſhall be accurſed. O that this Word might ſtrike an Awe and faſten upon the Heart of every fooliſh One, whoſe hoary Head is a Shame to him, being found in the way of Unrighteouſneſs! Flatter not your ſelf with the Thought of finding-Mercy and dying in Peace, tho' you go on a little longer in your Sins. Becauſe there is Wrath, Treaſures of Wrath heaped p. 18up by your long Life of Sin, beware leſt God take you away with his Stroke: then a great Ranſom cannot deliver you. But his Anger will ſmoke againſt you, and all the Curſes of his violated Law be pour'd on your guilty Head. If impenitent Sinners, dying in Youth, have their Life among the Unclean; where ſhall the old Sinner appear? Can you expect any better Doom? Verily if you at laſt die impenitent, full of Days, and full of Sins, you will be of all Men the moſt miſerable: the day of Death will be a day of Wrath, & the day of Judgment, a day of terrible Vengeance, unto you above all others. O conſider, before it be too late. It is high time to awake out of Sleep. Give glory to God, before your Feet ſtumble upon the dark Mountains. It is the Admonition of Heaven to you, Eccl. 11. 8. If a Man live many days, and rejoyce in them all, yet let him remember the days of Darkneſs; for they ſhall be many.—O take Heed leſt that come upon you, Job 20. 11, & 27. His bones are full of the ſin of his youth, which ſhall lie down with him in the duſt. The heaven ſhall reveal his iniquity: and the earth ſhall riſe up againſt him.

USE II. Do many die in Youth, whoſe Life is among the Unclean? Here then is a moving Argument to awaken Parents unto an early Care and fervent Prayer for their Children, that they may be converted betimes: and no Wonder, pious Parents are full of Sorrow and Fear, when they ſee their Children hardning their Hearts & growing in Sin, as they grow in Years, notwithſtanding all their Pains and Prayers for and with them.

God has put into Parents a natural Affection to the Fruit of their own Body; ſo that they are tenderly p. 19concern'd for the Welfare of their Children. Tho' they be evil, they know how to give good Gifts to their Children: to nouriſh their Bodies, to defend 'em from Harms, and provide for 'em a Portion in this Life.—But now let me mind you, that are Parents, of the Duty you owe to the Souls of your dear Children. O let not all your Concern for 'em terminate on the outward Man, and centre on the low and mean Things of this tranſitory World. Remember, your Children are Children of Death, and Children of Wrath by Nature; They are bound for another World; They may die in Youth: They may, if let alone to go on in their Sins, come to an infamous End, and bring you to Shame: and if they die in their natural State, their Life in another World will be among the Unclean; not among the Saints in Light, not among the pure and bleſſed Spirits in Heaven, but among the filthy accurſed Spirits in a miſerable Hell.—And can you bear the Tho't of this! Do not your Bowels now yearn within you for 'em! Will not a Father pity his Children, or can a Mother forget to have Compaſſion on the Son of her Womb!—O pity the periſhing Souls of your poor Children. Fear the Sin and Doom of Eli; who, when his Sons made themſelves vile, reſtrained them not, and God judged his Houſe by cutting off all the Increaſe of it in the Flower of their Age. O ſave your Children with fear: plucking them as Brands out of the Fire. Mourn their Sins: mourn their guilty, polluted, miſerable & expoſed State by Nature. Realiſe their Need of a ſanctifying Change: and let it be your firſt and great Care for them, that they may be born again; without which they can never ſee the Kingdom of Heaven. p. 20Let it be your Heart's Deſire and Prayer to God for them, and your continual Endeavour, in the uſe of appointed Means, that they may be converted betimes. Begin early with them, and follow 'em inceſſantly with your pious Inſtructions, Counſels, Reproofs, and Warnings. Charge 'em, as David did his Son Solomon, 1 Chron. 28. 9. And thou, Solomon my ſon, know thou the God of thy father, and ſerve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind; for the Lord ſearcheth all hearts, and underſtandeth all the imaginations of the tho'ts: if thou ſeek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forſake him, he will caſt thee off for ever. Set an holy Example before 'em; walking in your Houſe with a perfect Heart.—And to enforce Means and Endeavours, Offer up fervent Prayers to the God of all Grace, that he would by his Spirit beget your Children to a new & divine Life.—Thus Abraham pray'd, O that Iſhmael might live in thy ſight! Gen. 17. 18. So David, 1 Chron. 29. 19. Give unto Solomon my ſon a perfect heart to keep thy commandments. And if you obtain this for 'em, you will have Joy in them, ſuppoſing they live to mature Years: or if they die in Youth, you will have this for your Conſolation, the Hope that their Life in the World of Spirits, is not among the Unclean, but among the Perfected in Glory.

And as to you, who have Children adult or growing up, but cannot ſee them under any hopeful Impreſſions; no Wonder, if you are bow'd down with Sorrow for them and go mourning all the day. Ah! Your Hearts may well meditate Terror, when you think what miſerable Circumſtances they may bring themſelves by Sin into even here, and that if they ſhould die in Youth, unconverted p. 21and unpardon'd, they muſt be undone, for ever undone; muſt have their Life among the Unclean in a future State, and become a Prey to the worſt of all Devourers. How can your Minds but be in Pain! How can you but be full of Anxiety and Anguiſh; to ſee your Children hardning their Hearts in Sin, careleſs of their Souls, & taking Methods to haſten on themſelves Deſtruction without a Remedy! Alas, What tender and ſerious Parent can ſee this without a weeping Eye, and bleeding Heart!—Yet let your Sorrow and your Fear be kept within due Bounds, and under a holy Regulation. Duty is yours; the Event is God's. Whatever your Fears are, don't ſlacken your Pains or Prayers. I propound that Example of a devout and watchful Parent to you, Job. 1. 5. And it was ſo, when the days of their feaſting were gone about, that Job ſent and ſanctified them, and roſe up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job ſaid, It may be that my ſons have ſinned, and curſed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

USE III. Is it ſo, that many die in Youth, whoſe Life is among the Unclean? How aſtoniſhing is the Stupidity and Security of wicked & profane Young People! How fooliſh & mad their preſent Mirth and Jollity in ways of Sin! Sure I am, they have little Reaſon to rejoyce in Iniquity.

Sin is the moſt unprofitable Thing in the World; yea, the moſt dangerous and injurious. It tends to wound the Name, ruin the Eſtate, deſtroy the Body, and damn the Soul.—However Fools may make a mock at Sin, and put far away the evil Day; however it may be an Abomination p. 22to Fools to depart from their wicked ways: yet ſurely Evil purſueth Sinners, and Wo to them that are at Eaſe in Zion. Wo to you that laugh now; for ye ſhall mourn at the laſt. The Pleaſures of Sin are but for a Seaſon: they are ſhort in their Duration, brutiſh in their Nature, and baneful in their Conſequence. How often do we ſee the Wicked fall by their own wickedneſs; the Backſlider in Heart filled with his own Ways, and Tranſgreſſors taken in their own Naughtineſs! Oh how often do we ſee the Lamp of the wicked put out! the Simple paſs on and are puniſhed. How many loſe their Lives in the Purſuit of ſinful Pleaſures! How many loſe their Souls! How many by this means bring Shame and Ruin on themſelves in this World, and everlaſting Contempt and Miſery in the future!

And yet notwithſtanding the Warnings given by others Harms; notwithſtanding the Admonitions given by God in his Providence, and in his Word; alas! Are there not many of our young People that have fellowſhip with the unfruitful Works of Darkneſs, ſerving divers Luſts & Pleaſures? O the Folly you are guilty of! We mourn your Folly: We pity you as Children void of Wiſdom. You are your own Enemies: you are deſtroying yourſelves, Soul and Body. You ſeem to love Death, and court Deſtruction. You are taking the ſureſt Methods to ſhorten your Days in this World, and to haſten your Damnation in the next. And yet (amazing!) you dwell at Eaſe, as if you were in no Hazard. You appear loſt to the Reflections of reaſonable Creatures. Surely you have not the Underſtanding of Men: but may juſtly be compar'd to the Brutes, that have no p. 23Knowledge. Prov. 7… 22, 23. He goeth after her ſtraightway, as an ox goeth to the ſlaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the ſtocks, Till a dart ſtrike through his liver, as a bird haſteth to the ſnare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. That's the Cenſure paſs'd upon ſecure Impenitents, Eccl. 9. 3. The heart of the ſons of men is full of evil, and madneſs is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. They bring themſelves to a miſerable End; often to an untimely & ignominious Death: But that is not all; they throw themſelves into a burning Hell; they bring everlaſting Deſtruction on their Souls. Prov. 9. 17, 18. Stollen waters are ſweet, and bread eaten in ſecret is pleaſant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her gueſts are in the depths of hell. Surely Madneſs is in their Heart while they live, who to enjoy the Pleaſures of Sin, will expoſe their Souls, their precious and immortal Souls, to the Hazard of being gather'd with Sinners in Hell, when they die.

How can you now think of this, and not be afraid! Or are you more brutiſh than the Beaſts that periſh! Be aſtoniſh'd, O Heavens, at this! Be horribly afraid, O Earth!

USE IV. From what has been ſaid, we may infer the Happineſs, and the Wiſdom of ſuch as are cleanſing their way and fearing God in their Youth.

Thro' the Grace of Chriſt, we truſt, there is a Number of Young People of this Character among us:—tho' (alas) but a ſmall Remnant. And to ſuch I would bring this day the Conſolations of God, after the Leſſons of Terror that have been uttered.

p. 24Know it then, ſuch of you as are indeed ſeeking God and following after Righteouſneſs, you are taking a happy method to obtain long Life in this World, and eternal Life in the next.—You are the moſt likely to live long on the Earth: for as we read Prov. 10. 27. The Fear of the Lord prolongeth Days. It hath a natural Tendency to do ſo, Chap 11. 19. Righteouſneſs tendeth to Life. And Godlineſs hath the Promiſe of the Life, which now is. Prov. 14. 10. Receive my Sayings, and the Years of thy Life ſhall be many.—Chap 9. 10, 11. The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wiſdom:—for by me thy Days ſhall be multiplied, and the Years of thy Life ſhall be increaſed.—However, if God ſhould ſee good to take you away in Youth, you will be able by his Grace to reſign chearfully to his Will; having overcome the World by Faith, you will be ſatisfy'd with Life, whether longer or ſhorter. And the earlier you die, you will but the ſooner get to your Reward in Heaven. If you do but give Diligence in the Work of God, you may live long in a little Time: and tho' in reſpect of Age, you may die a very Child, yet in reſpect of ſpiritual Attainments, you may be ſaid to die an hundred years old. (Iſa. 65. 20.) And the Promiſe of long Life ſhall be gloriouſly accompliſh'd to you in a better World. When you die, you ſhall enter into Life; Life eternal; a Life as happy, as long: Not among the Unclean; but amidſt holy Angels & glorify'd Saints in Heaven: a Life of Communion with the bleſſed God in fulneſs of Joy for evermore. O the Conſolation, that this ſhould be to you now, under all the Troubles of this mutable World, and under the Apprehenſions of haſtning Death and Judgment! And the p. 25Wiſdom of your preſent Conduct from hence abundantly appears. We read, Prov. 28 7. Whoſo keepeth the Law is a wiſe ſon. He is truly a wiſe Child, that fears God, that ſeeks Chriſt betimes; whoſe Loving-kindneſs is better than Life. Such a Youth minds the one Thing needful; regards his trueſt Intereſt; has the beſt End in View, and the beſt Means in Uſe. He takes the ſureſt Method to promote his own Uſefulneſs and Comfort in the preſent, and ſecure his eternal Happineſs in the coming World. Surely the Knowledge of the Holy is Underſtanding. Better is a poor & wiſe Child, than an old and fooliſh King, however great and rich. O what Praiſes are due to the Grace of God in Chriſt, who has made you to differ, made you to excel! By his Grace alone it is, that you are what you are, in reſpect of every good thing found in you, towards the Lord your God.—And he expects ſingular Returns from you in ways of Gratitude, Love, and Obedience. Be much in meditating & admiring the Diſtinction, ſovereign Divine Mercy has put upon you; that while thouſands of others are made Pillars of Salt for the glory of vindictive Juſtice, you are among the bright Monuments of ſaving Grace, and belong to that happy Number, in whom Chriſt, when he comes, ſhall be glorify'd, and admired for ever. Let it be your ſolicitous Study now to bring all poſſible Honour to Chriſt, in a way of Obedience to his Goſpel. Ye were ſometimes Darkneſs, but now are Light in the Lord: walk as Children of Light. See that you walk circumſpectly, not as Fools, but as wiſe. Beware that the way of Truth be not evil ſpoken of on your account: let not that worthy Name, by which you are call'd, be p. 26blaſphemed thro' you at any time. Remember how David ſinned in the matter of Uriah, by which he gave Occaſion to the Enemies of the Lord to blaſpheme, and for which God was diſpleaſed with him. Take Warning from his Example: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into Temptation. Falls into Sin will coſt you a bitter Repentance, & may draw down heavy Corrections upon you, in order to bring you to Repentance, that you may not be condemned with the World. Let the Life you now live in the fleſh, be by the Faith of the Son of God: Truſt in him to keep you from the Evil; and you may hope to be deliver'd from every evil Work, and preſerved to his heavenly Kingdom.

I paſs now to another Head.

USE V. Let it be a word of Warning & Exhortation to all our Young People, that they beware of thoſe dangerous and provoking Evils, which have ſo often been the Means of bringing others to an untimely End; leſt they alſo die in Youth, and their Life be among the Unclean.

Attend to the ſolemn Caveat in our Text: Becauſe there is Wrath, beware leſt God take thee away with his Stroke; then a great Ranſom cannot deliver thee. There is Wrath ſecret, in his holy Breaſt; he is angry with the Wicked every day. There is Wrath revealed, in his Word and Providence. There is preſent Wrath in this World: and a Wrath to come in the eternal World. The Threatnings and the Judgments of God proclaim his Indignation againſt Sin, and ſpeak Terror to Sinners. The Wrath of God is truly tremendous: Who knows the power of his Anger? Who can ſtand p. 27before him, when once he is angry? O beware then of the Wrath of God: beware of every Thing that tends to kindle againſt you this conſuming Fire.

You ſhould be afraid of humane Juſtice, the Wrath of the civil Magiſtrate. For Rulers are a Terror, not to good Works, but to evil: wilt thou then not be afraid of the Power? If thou do that which is evil, be afraid: for he beareth not the Sword in vain: for he is the Miniſter of God, a Revenger to execute Wrath upon him that doth Evil, Rom. 13 3, 4.

But you ſhould above all be afraid of Divine Juſtice, the Wrath of the ſupreme Ruler: into whoſe Hands it is a moſt fearful thing for any to fall. Job 19 29. Be ye afraid of the Sword; for Wrath bringeth the Puniſhments of the Sword, that ye may know there is a Judgment. It was the ſaying of Job, God knoweth the Way that I take; when I conſider, I am afraid of him And David ſaid, My Fleſh trembleth for Fear of God; I am afraid of his Judgments. And will not you be afraid? Will not you tremble at the Preſence of an holy God, who are in danger of the Judgment, in danger of Hell-fire! O conſider, and beware. Becauſe there is Wrath, beware leſt he take thee away with his Stroke. Beware of every grievous and provoking Evil: beware of undoing Ignorance and Error, of Impiety and Profaneneſs, of Immorality and Vice, of carnal Security and Hypocriſy! Upon each of theſe Heads diſtinctly I ſhall now give ſome ſhort and ſolemn Lectures of Caution: to which, in the Name of God, I demand an awaken'd Attention.

1. Beware of undoing Ignorance and Error.

p. 28Theſe are Snares of the Devil, by which many Souls are captivated, and held under the Power of Satan, until the Arrows of Death diſpatch 'em out of the World, and ſend 'em down to the Chains of Darkneſs in Hell, without a Remedy. O be upon your Guard, ſtudy and watch and pray, that your Souls be not enſnar'd and undone by fatal Ignorance or Error.

Beware of undoing Ignorance. As you love your Souls, and wou'd ſave them from Deſtruction, be careful to get neceſſary Knowledge; I mean, in Things ſpiritual and Divine. That the Soul be without Knowledge, it is not good; it is not ſafe. Groſly ignorant Souls are capable of doing but little Good, and of getting but little Good. They are expos'd to innumerable Evils, and fall an eaſy Prey to the ſubtil Adverſary of Souls. It was GOD's Complaint in old time, My People are deſtroy'd for lack of Knowledge. Take heed that this be not your Ruin. It may be you think there's little danger of it, in this Land of Light: perhaps you are puffed up with a vain Conceit of your Attainments in Divine Knowledge. But I would mind you of that of the Apoſtle, If any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet, as he ought to know it. And may it not be complain'd as to many, When for the Time, and the Advantages you've had, ye might be qualify'd to be Teachers, ye have Need that one teach you again which be the firſt Principles of the Oracles of God! Some have not the Knowledge of God: I ſpeak this to your Shame. O take heed, leſt ye be found worſhipping ye know not what. Take heed, leſt as concerning one Goſpel-Truth or Precept and another, that Charge lie againſt you, Of this ye are willingly ignorant. p. 29If you would eſcape the Pollutions of the World, it muſt be through the Knowledge of God and our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt. He that is blind, cannot ſee afar off, to eſpy and avoid Dangers. He that walketh in Darkneſs, knoweth not whither he goeth, nor how to ſhun the Stumbling-blocks before him. Thro' Knowledge ſhall the Juſt be deliver'd: but he that hateth Knowledge, is brutiſh; and no wonder if the brutiſh Perſon periſh. How often is ſhame the Promotion of Fools, and a miſerable Death the Wages of affected Ignorance! O do not deſpiſe your Souls, by refuſing Inſtruction; leſt it be your awful Puniſhment to die without Inſtruction, and go into Blackneſs of Darkneſs for ever. How long, ye ſimple ones, will ye love Simplicity, and Fools hate Knowledge? Be ye not as the Horſe and the Mule, without Underſtanding: leſt you be left in the greatneſs of your Folly to go aſtray, and run blindfold to an untimely Death and eternal Deſtruction; as the Ox goeth to the Slaughter, or as a Bird haſtneth to the Snare, and knoweth not that it is for his Life.

I would earneſtly caution you alſo againſt the dangerous Snare of Errors and falſe Opinions in Religion. You may be Maſters of a great deal of Knowledge (Science, falſely ſo called) and yet have very wrong Notions, in divine matters of the greateſt Importance. There are Errors, that ſtrike at the Vitals of Chriſtianity, and ſap the Foundations of Religion: mortal and damning Errors, which many, even under the Light of the glorious Goſpel, give an eaſy Entertainment to; being calculated to gratify the Pride, or indulge the Senſuality of corrupt Nature. None can be ſuch a Stranger in Iſrael, as not to know that in p. 30this day of abounding Errors, ſome of the moſt Soul-concerning Truths are by many call'd in Queſtion, yea exploded with Deriſion: and the contrary ungodly Principles eagerly embrac'd and zealouſly diſſeminated; even ſuch as may well make our Ears tingle to hear them. O beware that ye be not led away with the Errors of the Wicked, and make Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conſcience. I am jealous over you, O our Young People, in this giddy Period of your Life and in theſe Times of growing Infidelity and Hereſy; I fear leſt by any means as the Serpent beguiled Eve thro' his Subtilty, ſo your Minds ſhould be corrupted from the Simplicity that is in Chriſt, and be removed to another Goſpel; which yet is not another:—for ſome are already turned aſide after Satan, and they lie in wait to ſeduce others, to beguile unſtable Souls. O take Heed, and let no Man deceive you with vain Words. Be not Children, toſſed to and fro, and carry'd about with every Wind of Doctrine, by the ſlight of Men, and cunning Stratagems, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Whatever Flouts you may hear at Orthodoxy, as a matter of no Significance; yet realiſe it, that, 'tis thro' Sanctification of the Spirit and Belief of the Truth, we are choſen to Salvation. Realiſe it, there are Doctrines of Devils, helliſh Errors, impious, profane and malignant; which eat as doth a Canker, have a corrupt Influence into the Heart and Life, and are of fatal Conſequence. Be exhorted then to take Heed of Seducers; mark them which cauſe Diviſions and Offences contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learned, the Doctrine of Chriſt, the Faith once deliver'd to the Saints; mark ſuch, and avoid p. 31them.—Be not ſoon ſhaken in Mind, by the perverſe diſputings of Men of corrupt Minds. Beware leſt any Man ſpoil you thro' Philoſophy & vain Deceit, after the Wiſdom of this World, & not after Chriſt. Beware of indulging your ſelves in carnal Reaſonings againſt the Myſteries of Divine Revelation, however incomprehenſible: Beware of indulging a ſecret Enmity to Goſpel-Truths, however humbling and mortifying to Fleſh & Blood, and however unreputable in an Age of prevailing Infidelity and Vice. Take heed that worldly Intereſt, or Applauſe with Men, do not bribe you in favour of any Error, when it is become faſhionable or popular. Take heed, that you don't run into any Error grateful to a proud or worldly and ſenſual Mind, for the eaſing a wounded Conſcience, and ſtifling of Convictions. In a Word, Beware of grieving the Holy Spirit by practically denying the Faith, leſt He be provoked to give you up to a Spirit of Error; leave you to fall into damnable Hereſies; and bring on your ſelves ſwift Deſtruction. As it is written, They received not the Love of the Truth, that they might be ſaved: and for this cauſe God ſhall ſend them ſtrong Deluſion, that they ſhould believe a Lie; that they all might be damned, who believed not the Truth, but had Pleaſure in Unrighteouſneſs. Take Heed leſt that come upon you; Even as they did not like to retain God in their Knowledge, but became vain in their Imaginations, God gave them over to a reprobate Mind, and unto vile Affections, to do thoſe things which are worthy of Death. O our young People, as you would avoid the ways of Death, as you wou'd ſhun the paths of the Deſtroyer, beware that you be not found walking in the paths of Error and Ignorance.—This was the firſt Caution.

p. 322. Beware of all Profanity, and Irreligion.

Take good Heed unto your ſelves that ye love the Lord your God; that ye be Worſhippers of God, and confeſs Chriſt before Men. However orthodox and knowing in Religion you may be; yet take Care that you do not ſatisfy yourſelves with a mere ſpeculative Belief of the Truth; ſeparate from agreable Impreſſions on the Heart and practical Acknowledgments in the Life. Take heed leſt that be fulfilled in you; They are without Excuſe, becauſe that when they knew God, they glorify'd him not as God, neither were thankful. Take heed that you do not caſt off Fear, and reſtrain Prayer before God; that you don't neglect ſecret Prayer in particular, & ſo live as without God in the World. Beware of thoſe growing Sins of the Times, profane Swearing and taking the Name of God in vain, Sabbath-breaking, deſpiſing the Goſpel of Chriſt, neglecting the Publick Worſhip of God, mocking at the Meſſengers of the Lord, deriding ſerious Devotion and a tender Conſcience, and turning Sacramental Myſteries into Banter. O be ye not Mockers, leſt your Bands be made ſtrong; leſt you provoke a holy God to lead you forth with the Workers of Iniquity, and hang you up in Chains, as Monuments of his juſt Severity. Take heed leſt any of you be profane Perſons, as Eſau, and miſs the Bleſſing. Beware leſt a terrible and jealous God come forth in Indignation to plead the Cauſe of his deſpiſed Name, and ſmite you, as he did profane Nadab and Abihu, by Fire from Heaven; leſt he tear you in pieces by wild Beaſts, as he did the Children that mocked Eliſha; or leſt he drown you in perdition, as he did the Scoffers of the old World; making them an Enſample unto p. 33all that after ſhou'd live ungodly.—Do you not often hear Malefactors, under Sentence of Death, confeſſing & bewailing their Profaneneſs, as what led the way to all their fatal Wickedneſs? And will you not take Warning from their Example, to deny all Ungodlineſs, leſt it be your Ruine in the end for both Worlds! Beware leſt that come upon you, which is ſpoken of in the Prophets, Behold, ye Deſpiſers, and wonder, and periſh. Hear this, O ye that ſay, When will the Sabbath be over, that we may ſell Corn, may return to Buſineſs or Diverſion? that ſay, What a Wearineſs is it? that ſnuff at God's Altar, and call his Table contemptible: Behold, He will cut off the man that doth this. The Lord hath ſworn by the Excellency of Jacob, Surely I will not forget any of their Works. Shall not I viſit for theſe Things, ſaith the Lord, and ſhall not my Soul be avenged on ſuch as do theſe things!

3. Beware of all Senſuality and Vice, and every criminal Courſe.

You muſt not only deny Ungodlineſs, but worldly Luſts, & live ſoberly & righteouſly, as well as godlily in this preſent World, if you wou' deſcape the Wrath of God in the next. His Wrath is revealed from Heaven, as againſt all Ungodlineſs, ſo againſt all Unrighteouſneſs of Men. What will it profit you, to have a Form of Godlineſs, if you deny the Power of it, by living in Vice? Thus ſaith the Lord, Truſt ye not in lying Words, crying, The Temple of the Lord! Will ye ſteal, & murder, & commit Adultery; and come & ſtand before me, and ſay, We are deliver'd to do all theſe Abominations! Behold, ye truſt in lying Words, that cannot profit! Will ye provoke me to Anger, ſaith the Lord? p. 34Will it not be to the Confuſion of your own faces? Let not him that is deceived, truſt in Vanity; for Vanity ſhall be his Recompence: it ſhall be accompliſhed before his time, and his Branch ſhall not be green.

O our young People, hear that Divine Warning, Eccl 7. 17. Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou fooliſh: Why ſhouldeſt thou die before thy Time! There are many heinous Vices and Immoralities, and one of which if you indulge yourſelves in, and beſure then if in a Variety of them, you may be ſaid to be wicked overmuch; may juſtly be rank'd among the Fools in Iſrael; and will be in danger of dying before your Time. Beware of theſe Things, as you would not die in Youth, and come to a miſerable End of a ſcandalous Life. O ſee that you flee youthful Luſts. Theſe will but kindle the Fire of Hell in your Boſom, and prepare you for the everlaſting Burnings: and how often do they bring down the Wrath of God on the Children of Diſobedience, taking them away with a ſtroke, & ſending 'em to the place of Torments, from whence a great Ranſom cannot deliver them!

I wou'd caution you particularly in a few Words.

1 Beware of Diſobedience to your Parents; whether natural, civil, or ſpiritual.—'Tis the Fifth Commandment in the ſacred Decalogue, Honour thy Father and Mother, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayſt live long on the Earth. It implies a Curſe upon the Diſobedient, that they ſhall ſoon be cut off: And the Word of God expreſly threatens, That the Eye which mocketh at his Father, and deſpiſeth to obey his Mother, the Ravens of the Valley ſhall pick it out, and the young Eagles p. 35ſhall eat it:—i. e ſuch ſhall come to the Gallows, be hung up in Gibbets, & their Carcaſes become Food for the Birds of the Air. And how often do we ſee this is the miſerable End of undutiful Children, of heady unruly Servants, & rebellious Subjects! O our Children, take heed that you do not walk in the paths of Diſobedience; leſt the Curſe of the Fifth Commandment cut you off, as it did Abſalom (the Son of David) who roſe up in Rebellion againſt his Father, and was thruſt out of the World as an Execration.

2. Beware of the Sin of Pride.

This is a luſt that very early diſcovers itſelf in young ones; has a peculiar Power over them; and being not check'd in its Beginnings, quickly grows rampant in many, brings them into Miſchief, and produces fatal Effects. It is written, God reſiſteth the Proud: and very often in his over-ruling Providence he brings ſtrange Puniſhments upon them. How frequently do we ſee that Proverb ſadly verify'd in Young People; Pride goeth before Deſtruction, and a haughty Spirit before a Fall! Pride has made many Youths impatient of Family-Government, and by an Affectation of lawleſs Liberty bro't them into a Snare and Ruin. Pride, working by Envy or Reſentment, has tempted many a young Man, to make or accept a Challenge to ſome bloody Duel, in which he has fallen by the Sword; or elſe has kill'd his Brother, & ſo made way for his own ignominious Execution by the Halter. So Pride has tempted many a young Woman to deſtroy the Fruit of her own Body, that ſhe might avoid the Scandal of a ſpurious Child; and the monſtrous Fact being detected, has brought her to yet greater Shame, by an infamous Execution, as a Murderer.

p. 36Hear ye then, O our Sons and Daughters, hear ye, and be not proud. Be not high-minded, but fear. Be ye clothed with Humility: let this be your Ornament & Guard. Let our Sons take Warning from that wicked Haman, whom Pride bro't to the Gallows. And let our young Women be admoniſh'd by thoſe Words of the Prophet; Moreover the Lord ſaith, Becauſe the Daughters of Zion are haughty, & walk with ſtretched forth Necks, and want a Eyes; therefore the Lord will ſmite with a Scab the Crown of the Head of the Daughters of Zion: and it ſhall come to paſs, that inſtead of ſweet Smell there ſhall be Stink; and inſtead of a Girdle, a Rent; and inſtead of well ſet Hair, Baldneſs; and inſtead of a Stomacher, a girding of Sackcloth; and Burning, in ſtead of Beauty.—Remember alſo the Words of Solomon; Favour is deceitful, & Beauty is vain. How many that proudly valu'd themſelves upon it, have been expos'd by it to ſuch Temptations, as have been the Ruin of their Virtue, rob'd 'em of their Honour, coſt 'em their Lives in the End, and deſtroy'd their precious Souls! Let every proud one look in Jezebel's painted face; and take warning from her miſerable Fall & Ruine. Go, ſee now this curſed Woman, ſaid Jehu, and bury her. I wou'd ſay, Go ſee her, & in her ſee the End of a haughty Spirit; ſee the Folly, the Sin & Danger of Pride: & take Warning from this Example, which was put on Record for your Admonition.

3. Beware of the Sin of Lying.

Among the ſeven Things, which Solomon reckons up, as an Abomination to the Lord, thoſe two ſtand in the front, A proud look, and a lying Tongue. But alas! how doth this Sin of Lying abound among us! 'Tis one of the earlieſt Sins of Youth. They go p. 37aſtray as ſoon as they be born, ſpeaking Lies. And the evil Habit grows on many, as they advance in Years and Cunning.

But be warned, O our Children, to flee this youthful Luſt; and beware leſt lying Lips be the Snare of your Souls, the Ruin of your good Name, and the Loſs of your precious Lives in the End.

Are you tempted to tell Lies for Diverſion; making yourſelves and others Merry with falſe Stories, as with ſlanderous Reports, or the like? Remember, Truth is too ſacred a Thing to be trifled with; and the Reputation of your Neighbour too valuable to be treated in ſo ludicrous and abuſive a manner. Will you, as Madmen, caſt about Firebrands, Arrows and Death? and ſay, Am I not in Sport! Such Mirth ſurely it is mad. It is often as the piercings of a Sword to the abuſed Party: And what bloody Revenges do theſe merry Revilings often produce! He that ſportfully rolleth a Stone, often finds it return upon him to his Coſt.

Or are you tempted to tell Lies for Flattery; ſpeaking fair with the Mouth, while perhaps there are ſeven Abominations in the Heart? Take heed leſt a flattering Tongue work Ruin to your ſelves, as well as your Neighbour. The Kiſſes of an Enemy are deceitful, and provoking: and often have no other Return but Hatred & Indignation.—The Lord has threaten'd to cut off all flattering Lips. He has ſaid, Whoſe Hatred is covered by Deceit, his Wickedneſs ſhall be ſhewed before the whole Congregation.—And how do you know, while you hide Hatred with lying Lips, & let Anger reſt in your Boſom, but that before you are aware the ſmother'd Fire may break out, beyond Controul, in Fury and Miſchief, that ſhall prepare the way for your Infamy & Ruin!

p. 38Or, again, are you tempted to tell Lies for Profit; in matters of Trade ſpeaking falſely, to get Gain by cheating others? O take heed that you deal not Treacherouſly, leſt the Sin of your Mouth bring you into undoing Snares. Remember that Word; The getting of Treaſures by a lying Tongue is a Vanity toſſed to & fro of them that ſeek Death: the Robbery of the Wicked ſhall deſtroy them: They that make no Conſcience of telling a Lie, when there's anything to be got by it, do expoſe themſelves to the Envy & ill Will of Men, and to the Wrath and Curſe of God. You had as good pick a Man's Pocket, as cheat him by a Lie: And as this leads to that, take heed leſt you be puniſh'd for one by being left to the other, and ſo proceed from Evil to Evil, till you be undone, as to Name, Eſtate, and Life, and deſtroy your Soul for ever.

In a word, Are you tempted to Lying, from a Fear of Puniſhment; inventing Falſehoods to hide ſome Fault you have been guilty of? Remember, this is but to make two faults of one, and will expoſe you to double Puniſhment upon the Diſcovery. And then conſider, this is an unhappy Method to harden you in your Sin, & tends to draw you into a Snare by tempting you to other Sins. If once the Spirit of Lying takes poſſeſſion of you, and eſpecially if you find it a ſucceſsful Means, in repeated Inſtances, to conceal your Faults, & ſcreen you from Puniſhment; it will prepare you and tempt you to other Sins, which there's any Hope of covering by a Lie. A Habit of Lying has a fatal Tendency to blind and ſtupify Conſcience: It drives away the holy Spirit: it gratifies the Devil, the Father of Lies, & emboldens him to tempt you to the worſt of Crimes, until you fill up the p. 39meaſure of your Iniquity. O take Heed leſt by this Snare he ruin your Soul: fear to indulge yourſelves in Lying, leſt Satan draw you on from this Sin to others; from Lying to Perjury; from Lying to profane Swearing and Curſing; to Blaſphemy; to ſuch Crimes as will bring the greateſt Scandal, and perhaps a ſhameful & untimely Death; but beſure (without Repentance) an eternal Puniſhment.

Let the Fear of God reſtrain you from this Sin: for he has ſaid, The mouth of Liars ſhall be ſtopped; and that all Liars have their part in the Lake, which burns with fire and brimſtone. Will you not then put away Lying! O ſee you be Children that will not lie, as you would not ripen yourſelves for a dreadful Vengeance.

4. Beware of raſh Anger, Envy, Malice, and a Spirit of Revenge.

Study to get your Paſſions mortify'd, & guard againſt all exorbitant Reſentments. Be ye angry, and ſin not; let not the Sun go down upon your Wrath: neither give place to the Devil, when he tempts you to malicious and vindictive Deſigns. Be not overcome of Evil, but overcome Evil with Good. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourſelves, but rather give place unto Wrath; not rendring Evil for Evil, Railing for Railing, & Blow for Blow. He that is of a haſty Spirit exalteth Folly: and where Envying and Strife is, there is Confuſion and every evil Work. Wrath is cruel, and Anger is outragious: but who is able to ſtand before Envy? O my Soul, come not thou into their Secret (ſaid Jacob concerning his two Sons Simeon and Levi) unto their Aſſembly, mine Honour, be not thou united: for in their Anger they ſlew a Man, and in their Self-will they digged down a Wall. Curſed p. 40be their Anger, for it was fierce; and their Wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and ſcatter them in Iſrael.—Ungovern'd Paſſion and Contention has led on many a horrid Murder; and this has bro't the guilty Actor to a ſhameful and untimely Death by the hand of Juſtice. Many a hot young Man has been kill'd, like Aſa…el, in a bold and bloody Adventure: or been cut off by civil Revenge for his murderous Deeds, and not liv'd out half his days. Had Zimri peace, who ſlew his Maſter? Or, Cain, who for Envy ſlew his Brother? It's tho't he fell by the hand of Lame…h. O let all Bitterneſs, & Wrath, & Anger, & Clamour, and evil Speaking, be put away from you, with all Malice. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed ye be not conſumed one of another. He that hateth his Brother is a Murderer: and no Murderer hath eternal Life; neither doth Vengeance often ſuffer ſuch to live long in the World.

5. Beware of ſullen Diſcontent.

This makes Men Devils incarnate, & has tempted many (as Ahithophel and Judas) to the moſt unnatural & monſtrous Act of Self-Murder. Or it has ſo diſtracted their Minds, as to put them upon the barbarous Murder of others about 'em, even their deareſt Friends: and ſo bro't them to die before their time by the civil Sword. Otherwiſe it has put them upon deſperate Courſes of Living, in purſuit of which they have met with fatal Accidents, or been thrown into mortal Diſtempers; that they've died in Youth & come to an untimely End. Beware therefore of ſullen Diſcontent: Why ſhouldſt thou deſtroy thy ſelf? Neither murmur ye, as ſome have done, and were deſtroy'd of the Deſtroyer? But I paſs to ſay, in the next place,

p. 416. Beware of Covetouſneſs, and a worldly Mind. The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil: 'tis an evil Diſeaſe, that has ſlain its Thouſands. They that will be rich, fall into Temptation and a Snare, and into many fooliſh and hurtful Luſts, which often end in Deſtruction. This has made many to be Murderers of Fathers and Mothers, and Murderers of Brethren, that they might the ſooner come to the Inheritance or poſſeſs it alone: but how often have they hereby bro't themſelves under the Wrath of Man, as well as the Curſe of God, which has cut them off with a ſtroke, & turn'd 'em at once out of the poſſeſſion of their Eſtates and their Souls. Thus God rendred the Wickedneſs of Abimeleck, the Son of Jerubbaal, on his own head; the Wickedneſs he did unto his Father, in ſlaying his Seventy Brethren, that he might reign alone: and upon him came the Curſe of Jotham.—How many have by Greedineſs after Gain, been tempted to diſhoneſt Practices, to vicious Gaming, to Robbery, to Piracy, or the like; and it has happen'd to 'em according to the true Proverb, He that getteth Riches and not by Right, ſhall leave them in the midſt of his days, and at his end ſhall be a Fool. Surely in ſuch ways Men lurk privily for their own Lives. Take Heed then & beware of Covetouſneſs. Remember Achan's Folly and the untimely and accurſed Death it bro't him to: and take Warning, that worldly Luſts be not your Ruin. Surely Whoſo is Partner with a Thief, hateth his own Soul. Whoſo robbeth his Father or his Mother, his Maſter or his Miſtreſs, and ſaith, It is no Tranſgreſſion, the ſame is the Companion of a Deſtroyer; is a Son that cauſeth Shame, and bringeth Reproach, and is in danger of having his Lamp put out in obſcure p. 42Darkneſs. So are the Ways of every one that is greedy of Gain: which taketh away the Life of the Owners thereof.

7. Beware of Laſciviouſneſs, & all Uncleanneſs. This Sin of Unchaſtity is what the Heat of Youth will particularly diſpoſe you to: but let it not be once named amongſt you, as becometh Saints: for this ye know, that no Whoremonger, nor unclean Perſon (no unclean Perſon of any kind, whether Fornicator, or Adulterer, or Effeminate, & Abuſers of themſelves) have any Inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for becauſe of theſe Things cometh the Wrath of God on the Children of Diſobedience. Be ye not therefore partakers with them: leſt you give your Years to the Cruel, & you mourn at the laſt, when your Fleſh is conſumed, and your Soul deſtroy'd. Let our Sons remember & take Warning from the awful Death of abominable O…an, the wretched Exit of adulterous Hophni & Phinehas, & of inceſtuous Amnon, & the dreadful Overthrow of the accurſed Sodomites. And let our Daughters remember and take Warning from the tragical Story of the Damſel of Bethlehem-Judah, who play'd the Whore, and was abuſed to Death by certain Sons of Belial.—O let our young People beware of indulging an unclean Spirit, & reſiſt it in its very minuteſt Beginnings: for Luſt, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth Sin; and Sin, when it is finiſhed, bringeth forth Death, as you ſee this day. Take Heed, leſt a ſovereign God ſay concerning you, He that is filthy, let him be filthy ſtill: until you become hot as an Oven, and your Wickedneſs burn as the Fire, & conſume you. O take Heed: leſt it happen that you bring forth Children to the Murderer; and it be ſaid of thee, In p. 43thy Skirts is found the Blood of the Souls of the poor Innocents. Or, leſt God in his Fury ſmite thee, that thou periſh in thy Filthineſs. Will our young People be perſwaded to take Direction and Warning from an inſpired Apoſtle! 1 Cor. 7. 2, 5. To avoid Fornication, let every Man have his own Wife, & let every Woman have her own Huſband:—that Satan tempt you not for your Incontinency. So 1 Tim. 5. 14, 15. I will that young Perſons marry,—and give none Occaſion to the Adverſary to ſpeak reproachfully: for ſome are already turned aſide after Satan. And he tells you, Heb. 13. 4. Marriage is honourable in all, and the Bed undefiled: but Whoremongers & Adulterers God will judge.—Whoremongers, that is, Perſons in the ſingle Life committing Fornication; and Adulterers, i. e. Perſons in the marry'd Life committing Impurities with ſtrange Fleſh; All ſuch God will judge: Either in this World, by their own Conſciences, bringing them to a bitter Repentance; or by his Providence, bringing them to Shame and Puniſhment among Men; Or if Impenitent, moſt certainly in another World, caſting them away from his Preſence, to have their Life among unclean Devils for ever.—Hear alſo that of the Wiſe Man, Prov. 5. 18.—Rejoyce with the Wife of thy Youth, and be thou ſatisfy'd always with her Love. Why wilt thou, my Son, embrace the Boſom of a Stranger? For the Ways of Man are before the Eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his Goings. His own Iniquities ſhall take the Wicked himſelf, and he ſhall be holden with the Cords of his Sins. He ſhall die without Inſtruction, & in the greatneſs of his Folly he ſhall go aſtray.—Surely whoſo hath Eyes full of Adultery, lacketh underſtanding; and every unclean Perſon ſinneth againſt his own Body; yea, p. 44they that walk after the Luſts of the Fleſh, deſtroy their own Soul.—Read Matth. 5. 27, to 30. and 1 Theſ. 4. 1, to 7. Turn to thoſe Scriptures, and think ſadly upon 'em: and ceaſe, my Son, to hear the Inſtruction, that cauſeth to err from the Words of Knowledge.

8. Beware of Intemperance, Gluttony and Drunkenneſs.

Intemperance has ſlain its ten Thouſands (perhaps more than ever the Sword devoured) and has bro't Multitudes even of young Perſons to an untimely & miſerable End. Hear thou, my Son, and be wiſe, be not among Wine-bibbers, amongſt riotous Eaters of Fleſh: for the Drunkard and the Glutton ſhall come to Poverty, be cloathed with Rags, live deſpis'd, & die in Ignominy. Who hath Wo? Who hath Sorrow? Who hath Contentions? Who hath Wounds without Cauſe? And who dies before his Time? None ſo often as they that tarry long at the Wine; who feaſt themſelves without Fear, and drink without Reſtraint; whoſe god is their Belly, and who often make very Beaſts of themſelves by intemperate Cups. They drink and forget the Law; and lay themſelves open to all manner of Temptations, and to all manner of Evils. At ſuch a time they are as a Man that lieth down in the midſt of the Sea, or as he that lieth upon the Top of a Maſt; expoſed to the greateſt Hazards. And how often do the Intemperate drown themſelves in Perdition! How often do they come to tragical Ends! Remember what a miſerable Exit drunken Nabal, that Son of Belial, came to and how the Lord ſlew Belſhazzar in the Night of his Pleaſure, when his Heart had been merry with Wine. And forget not Elah, the Son of Baaſ…a, p. 45whom his own Servant conſpired againſt, and ſlew him as he was in Tir…ah drinking himſelf drunk in the houſe of his Friend. From theſe Examples do you take Warning: and put a Knife to thy Throat, if thou art one given to Appetite, a Lover of Wine. Look not on the Wine, when it giveth it's pleaſing Colour in the Glaſs: for at laſt it bites like a Serpent, and ſtingeth like an Adder. Conſider this, and watch, as you wou'd to ſhun any ſuch venomous Creature.—Beware (ſays our Saviour) leſt at any time your Hearts be overcharg'd with Surfeiting and Drunkenneſs; and that Day come upon you unawares. And the Apoſtle exhorts; Be not drunk with Wine, wherein is Exceſs [Intemperance virtually contains all manner of vile Enormities, and ſeldom goes alone] but be ye filled with the Spirit: This will give you true Joy, Courage, and Vigour; which things you vainly expect that Wine ſhould inſpire you with. The Works of the Fleſh (ſays he) are manifeſt, which are theſe, Drunkenneſs, Revellings, and ſuch like: of the which I forewarn you, as I have alſo done in time paſt, that they which do ſuch things, ſhall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Whereas the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Goodneſs, Faith, Meekneſs, Temperance: againſt which there is no Law, no Prohibition of God or Man, no Curſe or Penalty. But Drunkards are a Reproach among Men, & the Abhorred of the Lord. Hath he not ſaid, Wo to the Drunkards of Ephraim, whoſe glorious Beauty is a fading Flower, and as the haſty Fruit before the Summer. O our Children, be perſwaded to refrain from all ſenſual Exceſſes: leſt that Word be fulfilled in you, as in Myriads of others; They ſhall be as the Morning-Cloud that paſſeth away, as the Chaff that is driven p. 46with a Whirlwind out of the Floor, and as the Smoke out of the Chimney, which is ſoon diſſipated & diſappears.

I add now in the laſt place under the third general Head,—

9. Beware of Idleneſs, and evil Fellowſhip.

Theſe Sins and Snares are ſeldom ſeparate, and therefore I put 'em together. The one leads to the other, and they both have a pernicious Influence to draw unwary Youths into a thouſand other Snares and Sins.

Idleneſs, behold this was the Iniquity of thy Siſter Sodom: Abundance of Idleneſs was in her, & in her Sons & Daughters. It is very much a City-Sin, and a Sin of Youth. The Apoſtle remarks it of young Perſons, They learn to be idle, wandring about from houſe to houſe, and not only idle, but Tatlers alſo, and Buſy-bodies, ſpeaking Things which they ought not.—Idleneſs is a common Inlet to many other Sins: it's ſeldom that thoſe who are idle, are only idle: they are at Leaſure to attend the Devil's Motions, and often go of his Errands.

Let our young People, whoſe glory is their ſtrength, be aſham'd to eat the Bread of Idleneſs. Some ſeem to fancy it a piece of Gentility, the Sign of a polite Education, to be always at Leaſure & above Buſineſs; and therefore affect an idle Life: But I wou'd mind them of that Paſſage in the heathen Poet, quoted by the Apoſtle, The Cretians are evil Beaſts, ſlew Bellies: and of that of Solomon, Go to the Ant, thou Sluggard; conſider her ways, and be wiſe: learn of her to redeem your Time.

And be afraid, leſt by indulging a Humour for Idleneſs, which ſo leads to Wantonneſs and Debauchery, you fall into Reproach, & the Snare of p. 47the Devil. Be not ignorant of his Devices, leſt he get an Advantage againſt you, to draw you on to wretched & helliſh Buſineſs, worſe than ſimple Idleneſs: and ſo bring you, with the Sinners of Sodom, to a miſerable End before your time. O fear, leſt with the ſlothful and unprofitable Servant, you be doom'd at laſt to be bound hand and foot, & caſt into the Dungeon of Hell.

Beware alſo of bad Company-keeping. Take Care how you contract unneceſſary friendſhip and intimacy or partnerſhip with vain Perſons, leſt you get a Snare to your Soul, & learn their Ways; be inticed into Sin, and harden'd in Vice, by evil Counſels & ill Examples: which have a peculiar force upon the giddy tho'tleſs Age of Childhood and Youth. He that walketh with the Wiſe, ſhall be wiſe: but a Companion of Fools ſhall be deſtroy'd; his religious Principles ſhock'd, his Virtue ruin'd, his Honour loſt, & his Eſtate conſum'd, his Life perhaps cut ſhort, & which is worſe, his Soul undone for ever. For how naturally does evil & fooliſh Company lead to and cheriſh the Vices of Idleneſs & Extravagance, of Gaming, and Drinking, and Whoring? And how inevitably do theſe things work Death and Miſery, to Body & Soul! Will you not then, my Children, forſake the Fooliſh, and live. Depart, I pray you, from the Tents of theſe wicked Men, leſt ye be conſumed in all their Sins. O ſave your ſelves from this untoward, this adulterous & voluptuous Generation.

Enter not into the path of the Wicked: avoid it, paſs not by it, turn from it, & paſs away. Let our young Women remember what came of unhappy Dinah's Gadding, when ſhe went out to ſee the Daughters of the Land, to get Acquaintance with p. 48the Canaanites; and take Warning, that Diverſion and Company do not betray you into the Snares of Luſt and Folly. The Apoſtle wou'd have the young women taught to be ſober, diſcreet, Chaſt, Keepers at home, that the word of God be not blaſphemed.—And let our young Men be admoniſh'd and take Warning from the tremendous Example of Ahaziah (the Son of Jehoſhaphat) who was ruin'd by ungodly Company. It's ſaid of him, He did Evil in the ſight of the Lord, like the houſe of Ahab;for they were his Counſellers, after the death of his Father, unto his Deſtruction.

Dear Children, if you would not have your Souls gather'd with Sinners in another World, abhor and fly their Company in this. Come out from among them, ſaith the Lord, & be ye ſeparate, i. e. in reſpect of Affection, Imitation, & familiar Society: and I will receive you, and ye ſhall be my Sons and Daughters, ſaith the Lord Almighty.

We proceed now to the other general Head of Caution.

4. Beware of carnal Security, and Hypocriſy; of indulging any Sins under the notion of their being Little, & of living in ſecret Sins under a Cloke of viſible Religion & external Sobriety.

Beware of ſottiſh Security, and of every thing that tends to nouriſh ſpiritual Sloth, a Fearleſneſs of Death and Hell, and a Preſumptuous Hope of Heaven; leſt if God ſhould take you away with his Stroke, you be found in a Chriſtleſs graceleſs Condition, and have your future Life among the Unclean. O beware of flattering yourſelves in your own Eyes, and deceiving your Souls by reſting in a dead Faith, a legal Repentance, & unregenerate Morality; in a partial Reformation of Manners; p. 49in a formal Round of religious Duties; in a Spirit of Bigottry for certain Superſtitions, or an empty noiſy Zeal for Divine Inſtitutions: as if ſuch things intitled you to the favour of God, and would engage the Protection & Smiles of Heaven upon you.—Beware of imbibing looſe Principles in Religion, or taking up light Thoughts of Sin: beware of indulging a vain Dependence on pious Parentage and Covenant-Privileges; or a proud Conceit of your own Sufficiency, and Self-Righteouſneſs; or undervaluing Tho'ts of ſpiritual Bleſſings, & an immoderate Opinion of this preſent World; or the fond Dream of a long Life on Earth:—Which things are often the fatal Impediments to Sinners Converſion, the Means of their hardning now, and periſhing hereafter. God hath denounced, WO to them that are at Eaſe in Zion. Let us then not ſleep, as do others, leſt God awaken us with the Terrors of his Indignation; leſt ſudden Deſtruction ariſe, and break in upon us, as upon Laiſh, a People that were ſecure, & dwelt careleſly: or as on the Sinners of the Old World, who knew not till the Flood came & deſtroy'd them.

Beware of indulging yourſelves in ſeemingly little Follies. No Sin indeed is abſolutely little: but it's one Wile of the Devil to tempt unto ſome Sins by a pretence of their being ſmall ones; and hereby he deceives many Souls into Ruin. But conſider, the leaſt Sin indulged tends to harden the Heart, is malignant in its Nature, and is provoking to God; who often in righteous Diſpleaſure gives Men up, when they will not be reform'd, to commit greater Sins, heinous Crimes, with the ſame Security. O then reſiſt every Luſt in its ſmalleſt Beginnings, and never allow yourſelves, p. 50as the manner of ſome is, to live in any Sin under a vain Imagination of its being a little venial Infirmity, that may ſafely be indulg'd.

And beware you be not tempted to commit groſſer Sins by the deluſive hope of Secrecy: which is another helliſh Snare, by which Satan captivates Multitudes, eſpecially of young People. It is a ſhame (as the Apoſtle obſerves) even to ſpeak of thoſe things that are done of them in Secret; even by many, who in the open Light and View of the World appear virtuous and modeſt. But beware, young ones, leſt that Word be fulfilled in you; The Iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his Sin is hid: The Sorrows of a travelling Woman ſhall come upon him; he is an unwiſe Son. Take heed, for Inſtance, that you do not diſhonour your own Bodies by unnatural & impure Abuſes; leſt from ſolitary Filthineſs you be left to paſs on unto ſocial; and from ſecret Fornications to ſecret Murders; and at length come to an untimely & ſhameful Death.—Let it be conſider'd; Secret Sins bewray the dreadful Atheiſm of your Minds; and when cover'd over with a ſpecious Shew of Piety, argue the wretched Hypocriſy of your Profeſſion. Theſe ſecret Sins have a fatal Tendency in their nature, by blinding and ſearing the Conſcience: and as they are a practical denying of the God that is above, whoſe Eyes pierce into the darkeſt Corner, and who revealeth ſecrets, ſuch Sins are a high Provocation to him, to call away his ſtriving Spirit, & take off the Reſtraints of common Grace; the inevitable fruit of which is the Sinner's growing bold in Sin, and his Corruptions breaking forth into heinous Crimes In a holy Indignation at that Atheiſm and that Hypocriſy, the ſecret Sinner is guilty of, p. 51… often leaves him to turn a ſcandalous Apoſtate; gives him up to work all Uncleanneſs with Greedineſs; and ſometimes leaves him to fall into capital Crimes, Iniquities to be puniſh'd by the Judge.—Beware then of ſecret Sins; of Pilfering & ſecret Frauds & Falſhoods, of ſecret Impurities, of ſecret Profanities: leſt a provoked God lay open your Sin before the World to your ſhameful Confuſion, and avenge the Quarrel of his holy Covenant upon you, by terrible Things in Righteouſneſs, in the ordinary Courſe of his Providence; or elſe ſmite you for your horrible Hypocriſy by his immediate Hand, as he did Ananias & Sapphira.—It was our Saviour's repeated Caution to his Diſciples, Beware of Hypocriſy. Beware ye of the Leaven of the Phariſees, which is Hypocriſy: for there is nothing covered, that ſhall not be revealed; neither hid, that ſhall not be known Whatſoever ye have ſpoken or done in Darkneſs, ſhall appear in the Light; and that which ye have ſaid or done in the Cloſet, ſhall be proclaimed upon the Houſe-Top.—It was a terrible Word to David, from the Mouth of the Lord, after he had ſinned in the matter of Uriah; Behold, I will raiſe up Evil againſt thee: thou didſt it ſecretly; but I will do this Thing before all Iſrael, & before the Sun. And if even good Men may have their ſecret Sins & Hypocriſies thus expos'd & puniſh'd; What will a Heart-ſearching and Sin-hating God do to falſe Profeſſors, under the reigning power of Hypocriſy! What will he do to a Saul, that boaſts of his Obedience, & yet ſpares an Agag, and ſaves the Fatlings under a ſhew of Sacrificing to the Lord!—What, to an Abſalom, that under the pretext of Vows & Devotions, is only purſuing dark Deſigns of Ambition & Rebellion! To a Jehu, that p. 52boaſts a Zeal for the Lord, only to colour over intrigues of Malice & Envy! To a Judas, that betrays his Lord with a Kiſs, & is ſecretly a Thief under a Cloak of Compaſſion to the Poor!—Surely, as is ſaid in the Verſe preceeding my Text, The Hypocrites in Heart heap up Wrath: hence no Wonder it follows, They die in Youth, and their future Life is among the Unclean.

Take Heed then leſt there be in any of you an evil Heart of Unbelief, cover'd with ſpecious Shews of Piety & Virtue. Fear leſt it be ſaid to you at laſt, as to the Young Man in the Goſpel, One thing thou lackeſt. O mind Religion in Earneſt. See that you have Truth in the inward Parts; and ſo remember now your Creator in the days of your Youth, as that you may eſcape thoſe evil Days of Wrath, which carnal Hypocrites muſt & ſhall ſee, either in this or in a worſe World.

USE VI. Let it be a Word of Exhortation to ſuch of our Young People, as have already committed horrible Evils, & been walking after their own Luſts in the Paths of the Deſtroyer: O repent and turn ye now, leſt a Sin-revenging God take you away with his Stroke, & thruſt you down to Hell among the Unclean, without a Remedy.

It may be ſome of you have dreadfully polluted your Youth with the groſſeſt Vices, even with Capital Crimes; which, had the Eye of Man ſeen them, & Juſtice been done you, would have bro't you to be hung up before the Lord. O admire the Divine Forbearance toward you: and haſten your Repentance & Reformation, leſt your Iniquity find you out, & bring you to Die before your time.—You have perhaps already felt ſomething of God's p. 53Wrath, in Afflictions, or in Terrors of Conſcience: O ſin no more, leſt a worſe thing come unto you: Even that, God ſhall caſt upon him, & not ſpare: Men ſhall clap their hands at him, & hiſs him out of his place. You are ready, it may be, to ſay as Agag, when Saul had repriev'd him, Surely the Bitterneſs of Death is paſt: But take heed, leſt in a little time, like that unhappy Man, you be hewed in pieces before the Lord. I pray you, read & ponder upon thoſe awful Scriptures, Eccl. 11. 9. Prov. 29. 1. and Deut. 29. 19, 20. with Pſal. 50. 16, to 22.

However, thro' the Grace of God, there is yet Room for Hope of a Pardon upon your Repentance: and thoſe are the compaſſionate Calls from Heaven to you this day, Turn & live; turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die!—Kiſs the Son, leſt he be angry, and ye periſh from the Way.—Acquaint now thy ſelf with him; thereby Good ſhall come unto thee.—Turn you at my Reproof; Behold, I will pour out my Spirit upon you.—Aſk and it ſhall be given you.

O Cry then to a merciful God, that he wou'd give you his holy Spirit, to renew you, unto ſaving Repentance & Faith. Plead with him your abſolute Neceſſity, the Merits of Chriſt, & the Glory of Divine Grace. And be frequent in your Eſſays of active Converſion, with an intire dependence on a ſupernatural Power to effect it. O try, try to ſtretch out the withered Arm. Strive to enter in at the ſtrait Gate. And never give over your Prayers and Efforts, until you happily experience a ſenſible Energy of the holy Spirit upon your Heart, working in you Repentance toward God & Faith toward our Lord Jeſus Chriſt.—And ſo, being juſtify'd by Faith in his Righteouſneſs, you ſhall have Peace with God in this World, and Life eternal in the next.

p. 54I wou'd now (as doubtleſs it is expected from the I ſhou'd) apply the Exhortation more particularly to the unhappy Condemned Woman, at this time in the Preſence of God with us, and in a few days to be cut off from among the Living.

Hearken, O Woman, to the Word of the Lord, and let it ſink down into your Ears. Hear, and your Soul ſhall live. O ſeek the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near. You have had your Life among the Unclean (I ſpeak it not with any Delight to upbraid you; for we pity and mourn for you: but ſtill in Faithfulneſs we admoniſh you) and for your being wicked overmuch you are to die in Youth, to die before your time. O tremble and be afraid, leſt alſo in the coming World your Life be among the Unclean, even among filthy Devils in the burning Lake.

Surely it becomes you to look back on your paſt Life with the deepeſt Shame and Regret. Has not that word been fulfilled in you, 1 Tim 5 6. She that liveth in Pleaſure▪ is dead while ſhe liveth! O reflect with Grief and Bluſhing on all your Gratifications of fleſhly Luſts: and conſider your Sins in all their aggravating Circumſtances; as committed againſt the Light of Nature and the known Commands of God in holy Scripture; againſt the Advantages of a pious Education; againſt the Bonds of holy Baptiſm and a perſonal Profeſſion of Religion; againſt the Warnings of Providence, and Checks of the Holy Spirit; againſt your own repeated Vows and Reſolutions, the Reproofs of Friends, and the Calls and Admonitions of the Word of Chriſt; againſt the Riches of Divine Goodneſs and Patience, the Bounty of the Creator, and the Mercies of the Redeemer.—O look upon your Sins in all theſe and other their Aggravations: Realiſe the infinite Evil of all Sin, as it diſhonours and diſpleaſes God, as well as wrongs the Soul of Man; and ſee the dreadful Malignity of your own Sins in particular, which have been very heinous in their Nature, and the Guilt of them amazingly heighten'd by the Circumſtances attending them. Of your ſelf guilty and polluted, exceedingly ſo; and while you meditate your Sinfulneſs, let not p. 55your Thoughts ſtop at external Life and Practice, but carry them up to the black Original, and ſee the ſecret Springs of all in an apoſtate guilty State of Soul, as you are a Child of fallen Adam. (Pſal 51. 5.) O ſee how guilty you are by Nature & Practice; and loath your ſelf in your own Sight, repenting in Duſt and Aſhes.

When you conſider the deplorable Condition Sin has reduced you to, ſurely you cannot but bluſh and tremble. I may ſay to you, as in Jer. 2. 17, & 19 Haſt thou not procured this unto thy ſelf, in that thou haſt forſaken the Lord thy God? Know therefore and ſee, that it is an evil thing & bitter, that thou haſt forſaken the Lord. I may appeal to you, as in Rom. 6. 21. What Fruit had you in thoſe things, whereof you are now aſhamed? For the End of thoſe things is Death—Thou haſt conſulted Shame to thy Houſe, & ſinned againſt thine own Soul. Thou haſt ſinned away thy precious Life; and haſt found by doleful Experience (as to Ruin for this World) the Truth of thoſe awful Threatnings, A Companion of Fools ſhall be deſtroy'd; And Whoſo purſueth Evil, purſueth it to his own Death. O adore the Patience of a merciful God, who has long been waiting that he might be gracious. You may well wonder, when you call to mind your crying Sins, and abuſes of the Divine Patience, that a provoked God did not by his own immediate Hand cut you off with a Stroke, in the acting of your Abominations. Give him the glory of his ſparing Goodneſs; and affect your Heart with Reflections upon it, that you may thereby be led to Repentance. Acknowledge the Juſtice of God (as alſo of Man) in bringing you into your preſent Circumſtances of Shame and Miſery: and accept the Puniſhment of your Iniquity, without murmuring againſt Man, or repining againſt God, whoſe overruling Hand has been ſignally evident in bringing out your Guilt and a Sentence of Death againſt you—Yet you've Reaſon to ſtand amaz'd at the Mercy of God in laying an Arreſt upon you, and ſtopping you in your Carreer to Hell; tho' it was by ſo dreadful Means. O beg that it may prove indeed in Mercy to you, & turn to your eternal Salvation. O that that Word may be fulfilled in you: that wonderful Word, in our Context, p. 56Job 36. 8, &c If they be bound in Fetters, & holden in Cords of Affliction; then GOD ſheweth them their work, and their tranſgreſſions that they have exceeded. He openeth alſo their ear to diſcipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. God has been indulging you (tho' under terrible outward Circumſtances) with a precious Seaſon of Grace; ſuch as he has deny'd to Thouſands of others, no worſe Sinners than you: O take heed that you improve aright your ſhort remaining Opportunity; leſt that be your Condemnation from the Mouth of your juſt and holy Judge, when you (as in a little time you muſt) appear before his dread Tribunal, Rev. 2. 21, 22. I gave her a Space to repent of her Fornication, and ſhe repented not: Behold, I will caſt her into a Bed Ah! not a Bed of Luſt and Pleaſure, but of Travail & Pain, a Bed of Fire & Torment, without Deliverance for ever.

O with what Concern of Soul, with what Anxiety and Fear, does it become you to be looking forward to that eternal World you are haſtning into! With what Diligence, with what awaken'd Application of your whole Thought and Heart, ſhould you be getting ready to die: ſince the Time is ſhort, and the Work great and difficult, and unleſs now done, muſt ever remain undone, and your Soul loſt without a Remedy. O fear and tremble, leſt when the fatal Stroke is given, you periſh under the Wrath of an unreconciled God, and with your Luſts unmortify'd go down to Hell, to have your Life for ever among unclean Spirits, and amidſt Flames never to be quenched. Unhappy Creature, take heed, leſt from hopes of Heaven you fall into the Flames of Hell, ▪ without Recovery! I ſay not this, unneceſſarily to terrify you, but out of a tender Compaſſion to your Soul; I would perſwade you by the Terrors of the Lord, to beware you do not put a fatal Cheat upon your ſelf by a preſumptuous and deluſive Confidence of the good Eſtate of your Soul. It is a great Truth, Tho' genuine ſincere Repentance be never too late, yet late Repentance is ſeldom ſincere and genuine; is ſeldom free, and reſulting from Evangelical Principles, but commonly forc'd and legal, no better than the Repentance of Judas. And the ſudden Hopes of p. 57late Penitents are therefore very warily to be encourag'd. We are ſure from the Word of God, there are many that reſt their Souls on a falſe Bottom, which in the Storms of Death and Judgment▪ fail and ſink from under them. Some ſelf-deceiving Hypocrites, it may be, hold their Confidence to the End, and have no Bands in their Death; they die ſecure of Heaven in their own Conceit: but alas! to their dreadful Diſappointment receive that Doom, Depart from me, I know you not.—Will you therefore, O Daughter of Death, be jealous over yourſelf, and fear leſt you ſhould be deceiv'd by raſh Hopes into eternal Deſpair. You have formerly had your Convictions, which wro't ſome good Effects upon you: but in time they utterly wore off, and you return'd to Folly. And how know you that now you have any better Work wro't on you, than was then! O cry to God, that he wou'd ſearch you; that he would open your State in a true Light before you, and ſave you from miſcarrying in Converſion by undoing Miſtakes. And be you very much in ſolemn Self-Examination day and night. Commune with your own Heart, and make diligent ſearch into the State of your Soul: taking Heed, that you do not try your ſelf by falſe Rules, nor raſhly conclude by hopeful Signs. You may (in a ſenſe) be in Charity with all Men, & ſeem to love God; may have at times your Affections in Duty, your Convictions of Sin, your good Reſolutions, your earneſt Prayers, and your Hopes of Heaven too: but know it, for a ſad Truth, Every Grace has it's Counterſeit, and Satan often ſubtilly impoſes upon the unwary Sinner, drawing him into raſh Concluſions of his good Eſtate by deceiving Appearances of Grace in Exerciſe. Read and tremble at that Scripture, Luk. 11. 24, 25, 26. The Parable of the unclean Spirit going out, &c. Know it, the unclean Spirit may make a ſhew of going out, under a common Work of Conviction: but unleſs he be caſt out, by a ſpecial and ſaving Work of Converſion, which is the work of Chriſt, your laſt State will be worſe than the firſt, the day of your Death worſe than the day of your Birth, or any the worſt day you ever ſaw in this World.—O realiſe it, Nothing, Nothing ſhort of a thorow p. 58Work of Converſion, nothing ſhort of the Waſhing of Regeneration, will ſtand you in any ſtead, when you come to die, & appear before the Judgment Seat of Chriſt. Think ſolemnly of thoſe Words of Chriſt, your Judge (I commend them particularly to your Conſideration) and look upon 'em as ſpoken to you, Joh. 13 8 If I waſh thee not, thou haſt no Part with me. O Realiſe the Neceſſity of your being waſhed (that is, ſanctify'd and juſtify'd) by Chriſt: and go to Chriſt by unceaſing Prayer, begging that He would beſtow this ſpiritual Waſhing upon you; that He would waſh you from your Sins with his own Blood; that he would by his holy Spirit cleanſe you from all your Filthineſs, and purge your Conſcience from dead Works, to ſerve the living God, the few days you have to tarry in this World, and to make you meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light. Believeſt thou that he is able to do this great thing for thee? O hear him calling to you, as in Hoſ. 13. 9. Thou haſt deſtroyed thy ſelf, but in me is thy Help. Hear him inviting you, as in Iſa. 45 22. Look unto Me, and be ſaved. O then be thou looking unto JESUS, a once crucify'd, and now glorify'd Jeſus. Look to him, whom you've pierced by your Sins, and mourn as a Woman for the Loſs of her firſt born. Look unto him, as the Lord your Righteouſneſs and your Strength: and fly for Refuge to him: Bleſſed are all they, that with Faith unfeigned put their Truſt in Him See that you truſt not in your Tears & Sorrows, Confeſſions and Reſolutions; they can't atone for Sin, nor cleanſe the Soul 'Tis only the Blood of Chriſt, and the Spirit of Chriſt, that can do this. And lo, his Grace is ſufficient for the chief of Sinners. Read (both for your Awakening & Encouragement) 1 Cor. 6. 9, 10, 11—O put in for a Share in the Benefit of that precious Blood, which cleanſes from all Sin, and has waſh'd ſome of the fouleſt Sinners whiter than the Snow. Believe in the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and according to his Mercy he will ſave you. Yet this you can't do as of yourſelf: You muſt be begotten to it by the Spirit of Chriſt. O beg, and ceaſe not begging at the Throne of Grace, for an Experience of the New Birth.—And know it, if you are born of the Spirit, p. 59you ſhall certainly ſee the Kingdom of Heaven: if Chriſt waſh you here, you ſhall partake with him in Glory for ever.—I ſhall only add, tho' you may be well aſham'd to meet Death in thoſe inglorious Circumſtances, in which you are to die; yet remember, that juſt one the Lord Jeſus Chriſt himſelf, was hanged on a Tree, died an accurſed Death, not indeed for his own Sins, but for the Sins of his People: and ſo has ſanctify'd all manner of Deaths, even the moſt ignominious, to them which believe on his Name. O be looking to Jeſus, by an Eye of Faith: and ſo doing, you may lift up your Head, at the Approach of Death in its moſt hideous Shape and infamous Circumſtances, with a humble hope of finding Mercy with him, thro' whoſe Mercy Rahab the Harlot periſh'd not, and thro' whoſe Mercy Mary Magdalen had her many Sins forgiven her.—O give Glory to the Lord, before you die, by making Confeſſion to God, and giving Warnings to Men. Be unto the laſt committing your Soul, your never dying Soul, into the hands of a merciful Saviour, who knows how to have Compaſſion upon the Ignorant and the Unworthy.

We have been praying for you, and ſhall not ceaſe doing it, ſo long as you are a Subject of Prayer; That Chriſt would receive your Spirit into his Cuſtody and Preſence, into his Kingdom of Grace here and of Glory hereafter.

With Tears and Prayers and Faith unfeigned … your own Soul to Chriſt continually: Live and die calling upon God, and ſaying, Lord Jeſus, receive my Spirit.—And we pray God have Mercy on your Soul!

May the diſtreſſed Relatives have all needed Supports under this dark Diſpenſation, and be enabled to make a wiſe and holy Improvement of it!

And may the Spirit of God reach the Hearts of this Woman's Companions in Wickedneſs, and ſanctify his awful Dealings with her for their Awakening and Converſion!

p. 60I now turn me to the Congregation in a ſhort Addreſs on this affecting Occaſion.

O let us ſee to it that we ſanctify the Lord in ſuch amazing Diſpenſations. The ſorrowful Spectacle before us ſhould make us all reflect moſt ſeriouſly on our own vile Nature; which the Falls of others are but a Comment upon: and ſhould excite us to humble ourſelves under a ſenſe of the Corruption of our Hearts, which are naturally as bad as the worſt. Matth. 15. 19—Let us admire the reſtraining Grace of God, whereby we have deen diſtinguiſh'd. Let us take Warning, & tho' now we think we ſtand, let us take heed leſt we fall. God in his Judgments upon others ſounds in our Ears an awful Alarm, in ſuch Language as that, Luk 13. 4, 5. Think ye that they were ſinners above all men that dwelt in Jeruſalem? I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſh. Sinners cut off by divine Judgments are deſign'd as Examples (Jude 5, 6, 7.) not for Imitation, but Caution & Admonition. 1 Cor. 10. 6, 11, 12.—The … holy Severity againſt Jezebel, and her adulterous Lovers, is for Inſtruction to all the Churches, Rev. 2. 22, 23. So Chriſt warns Us, Luk. 17. 32. Remember Lot's Wife.—God has appointed the Execution of Juſtice on capital Offenders, with this View, that they may be Enſamples and Warnings unto others, to deter them from the like Sins. (Deut. 17. 12, 13.) Smite a Scorner, ſays Solomon, and the Simple will beware. The Righteous ſhall ſee the Fall of the Wicked, and adore God's Goodneſs to themſelves, his rectoral Holineſs & Faithfulneſs to his Threatnings, learn Humility, and receive Inſtruction: and Sinners ſhould hear fear and do no more ſo wickedly.

p. 61In the preſent Caſe, the Warning of Providence is particularly pointed to the DAUGHTERS of Zion. The loud Call of God to you is in that Language, Iſa. 32. 9, 11. Riſe up, ye women that are at eaſe, hear my voice, ye careleſs daughters, give ear unto my ſpeech. Tremble, ye women that are at eaſe, be troubled ye careleſs ones: ſtrip ye and make ye bare, and gird ſackcloth on your loyns. O let it not be complain'd of any of you, as in Iſa. 47. 7. Thou ſaidſt, I ſhall be a lady for ever: ſo that thou didſt not lay theſe things to thy heart, neither didſt remember the latter end thereof. Your Obſtinacy in evil Courſes, after ſuch awful Warnings, will aggravate the Sorrow of your anxious Friends, and be an humbling Conſideration to us your Miniſters. 2 Cor. 12. 21. I fear leſt when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I ſhall bewail many that have ſinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanneſs, and fornication, and laſciviouſneſs which they have committed. But what ſhould moſt of all affect you is, that you will greatly provoke God, by diſappointing his juſt Expecta…. The Meaning of Heaven in this Diſpenſation … to call you to Repentance and Reformation; … to warn all by this Example, that they flee youthful Luſts. So the Providence is expounded, Ezek. 23. 48. Thus will I cauſe lewdneſs to ceaſe out of the land, that all Women may be taught not to do after your lewdneſs.—O that this may be the bleſſed Effect! And that we may ſee the Fulfilling of that, Iſa. 4. 4, 5. When the Lord ſhall have waſhed away the filth of the daughters of Zion,—He will create upon every dwelling place a Cloud by day, & a Fire by night: for upon all the Glory there ſhall be a Defence.

The END of the SERMON.