The Mystery of the Gospel in Salvation, Sermon 18
SERMON XVIII.
ACTS XVI.30.
And said, Sirs, What must I do to be saved?
IN the former Part of the Day, I entered upon the Consideration of the fourth, and last general Head, viz. That it is a Matter of the highest Concernment unto perishing Sinners to be most seriously sollicitous about their Salvation: and have shewed you that it is a Matter of the greatest Importance that can be to obtain Salvation, i… is so to every individual Person, because it is to save our own selves, our Souls, which are our better, and immortal Part. I would now farther argue,
II. It appeareth to be a Matter of the highest possible Concernment, to perishing Sinners, to save their Souls, if we consider, that their Happiness, or Misery, and that compleat, and endles…, turneth upon this very Point. Surely no Man in the Exercise of his Reason, will think, that his own Happiness, or Misery, is a Matter that doth not greatly concern him. The whole Bent, and Thirst, of the humane Nature is after Happiness: Who will shew us any Good? is the constant Language of Mankind. The very Make of our Bodies, and Endowments of our Minds, point to a Prospect of, a Pursuit after, and a ready embracing, what is agreable, delightful, and entertaining to us, or, what will render us happy; and are armed against what would have a Tendency to make us any Way miserable. And however Men may differ in their Apprehensions of what is Happiness, and what is Misery; or be mistaken in their Thoughts of the Way, and Means, to obtain the one, and avoid the other; yet, this is what all Mankind agree in, that every Man would be happy, if he could, and no Man would be miserable, if he could help it. So that there is no Man but what looks upon Happiness, and Misery, as what do above all Things, more immediately and directly, concern him, and estimateth all other Things as he apprehendeth they make for one, or other, of these; and consequently, that Happiness, and that Misery, which are most full, and compleat, which are most durable, and lasting, are, of all others, what he is most concerned to pursue, and embrace, or carefully to shun, and avoid.
All the Difficulty, then, lies in thorowly convincing the Minds of Men, whatever be their other Notions of Happiness, and Misery, that true real Happiness, or Misery, and that compleat, and endless, turn upon this Salvation, which I am speaking of; that they will certainly be happy, compleatly, and for ever so, if their Souls are saved; and that they will be certainly, fully, and forever, miserable, if they are not saved. If Men were but once thorowly convinced of this, that their Happiness, or Misery, perfect, and everlasting, turn upon the Salvation of their Souls, they would then see the Necessity of their exercising a due Care about it, and need no farther Proof, that to save their Souls is a Matter of the highest possible Concernment to them. I shall therefore endeavour to lay the plain Conviction of this, briefly, before the Minds of Men under these three Particulars.
1. That Men will certainly be happy, or miserable, according as they are duely careful, to secure the Salvation of their Souls, or not.
2. This Happiness, or Misery, will be perfect, and compleat in their Kind.
3. Their Happiness, or Misery, will be eternal, and never have an End.
And now, give me your serious Attention, while I offer something to each of these.
1. Men will certainly be happy, or miserable, according as they are duely careful, to secure the Salvation of their own Souls, or not.
Particularly;
1. He will certainly be an happy Man, who is duely concerned about the Salvation of his Soul. He that is truly solicitous, what he must do to be saved, and, accordingly, sincerely endeavours to acquaint himself with the Whole of that Duty, which he owes to God, his Neighbour, and himself, and is diligent to perform his Duty, without any allowed Omissions, in all the several Branches thereof, in a Life of Faith, and Obedience; that Man certainly is, and will be, an happy Man.
He is an happy Man, let his Circumstances, in worldly Regards, be what they will; because he acteth up to the Dignity of his Nature, and followeth the Dictates of his own Mind, duely informed, and exercised, and therefore preserveth the inward Peace, and Tranquility of his Mind, which is the solid Foundation of his Comfort, and Joy; and doth not lay himself open to the just, and severe, Reproaches of his own Heart, which alone would damp his Joy, and mar his Comfort. Happy is he that condemneth not himself, in that Thing which he alloweth. Rom. xiv.22. Thus Godliness affordeth him Contentment in every Condition, and that inward Satisfaction, which the World cannot give, and the Rejoicing of his Conscience, testifying for him, that he has acted as becometh a rational Creature, that he has done his Duty, and that he has secured his main Interest, and that, let come what will come, he is safe, and has no just Reason to fear any Evil. So said the Psalmist, Psalm cxix.165. Great Peace have they that love thy Law, and nothing shall offend them. What are all the Pleasures, arising from the Objects of Sense, compared with the Satisfaction of Mind, arising from a Man's being pleased with himself, upon a serious View of his walking in the Ways of Wisdom, which are Ways of Pleasantness, and Paths of Peace.
And such a Man will certainly be happy, in the Favour of his Maker, and Sovereign, and his Judge, who cannot but observe, approve of, and take Delight in, all such whose Hearts are perfect towards him, as their's are, who are careful to believe all that God hath revealed to them, and to practice all that he hath required of them. Blessed are the undefiled in the Way, who walk in the Law of the Lord. Psalm cxix.1. Their Faith of what God has spoken, and in the Lord Jesus Christ, accompanied with unfeigned Repentance, secureth to them, according to the Gospel-Covenant, the Forgiveness of their Sins, a Deliverance from the Curse, and a Title to Heaven hereafter. How readily, may we well suppose, from the Goodness of the Divine Being, as well as from his express Declarations, doth he admit such among his Favorites, lend them his Ear, and fix his Eye, and Heart, upon them, for good, and receive them into his special, and glorious Presence. And what can any Ways give Uneasiness to them, or affect them with any Degree of Misery, so long as the Great God, the Fountain of all Good, standeth engaged, from his peculiar Love to Holiness, and holy Persons, and from his gracious, and un…ailing, Promise, to protect, and defend them, to supply all their real Wants, to suffer no Evil to come nigh them, to make all Things work together for their Good, and finally to bring them safe to the happy World? Rom. viii.31. If God be for us, who can be against us?
2. He will certainly be a miserable Man, who is not duly concerned about the Salvation of his Soul. If a Man will not be inquisitive what he must do to be saved; if he will not be at the Pains to observe, and practise, according to what the Word of God directeth him to, and requireth of him, that he may save his Soul, he is, and he will be, a miserable Man, whatever may be his outward Circumstances, and Condition in the present World.
What though such an one should enjoy the utmost Affluence of worldly Pleasures, Riches, and Honours? He is miserable in the midst of all, under the Power, and Tyranny, of base Lusts, and sordid Passions, which prey upon him, and lead him captive at their Will; so that should he march at the Head of Armies, or sit on the Throne of Empire, and promise himself Liberty, and think Scorn to be under the Restraints of Law, yet is he, the worst of Servants, 2 Pet. ii.19. the Servant of Corruption being brought under Bondage thereto. And one would think this to be Misery enough, to be in Bondage, and Slavery; for a rational Soul to be perpetually trudging on in the meanest, and dirtyest, Employments, crouching under the Burdens of Earth, and Filth, and obsequious to the Will of the most tyrannical, and the basest, of Masters. But besides, such a Man is miserable from his own Reflections, and he cannot think soberly, without the Accusations, and Condemnings, of his own Heart; so that either he must not think at all, or not think to Purpose, on what he has most Reason to think closely, or else his own Thoughts will be a Torment to him. And if this be Pleasure, to do those Things which are accompanied, or followed with the tormenting Reflections of a Man's own Mind? I pray, what is Misery!
Moreover, he will be miserable, under the deserved Punishment of his foolish Neglect of God, and his own Soul. For if he is not saved, (and this he has taken no Care of,) he will, and must certainly be damned: Mar. xvi.16. He that believeth not shall be damned. There is no middle State between these two, but one, or other of them, Salvation, or Damnation, the Pleasures, and Joys, of Heaven, or the Fire, and Brimstone, of Hell, will most certainly and unavoidably, be the Portion of every Individual among the Sons, and Daughters, of Men. Hence you find our Saviour, distributing all Mankind into these two Companies, namely, Matth. vii.13, 14. those that are going in the broad Way leading to Destruction, and those that are going in the narrow Way that leadeth unto Life. The final State of all Men will be Life, or Death, either to partake of Glory, Honour, Immortality, and eternal Life, resulting from the Presence, and Favour, of God, or Indignation, and Wrath, Tribulation, and Anguish, as the necessary Effect of a Separation from him, who is the Fountain of Life. So that, as our Lord has informed us, Joh. v.29. They that have done good, shall come forth to the Resurrection of Life; and they that have done evil, unto the Resurrection of Damnation. From whence we see plainly, that there is no Possibility of avoiding one, or other, of …hese two States, Happiness, or Misery; and that, of Consequence, he who doth not partake of Salvation unto Life, and Happiness, must necessarily be miserable, and cannot possibly escape the Damnation of Hell.
And now, is it a little, trifling, insignificant Matter to thee, whether thou art saved, or damned? Is Heaven to be despised, and Hell sported with? Let the Condition of the damned in Hell be what it will, whether thou conceivest of it, just as it is, or no, yet it is a State of Misery, directly opposed unto true Happiness, and to all that is comfortable and delightful to us? And now, is a State of Misery to be chosen, rather than Happiness, by a rational Creature? Or can it be equal to thee, whether thou art happy, or miserable? Say, now, O Soul, doth there any Thing concern thee equal with this? Should any Thing touch thee so nearly, tenderly, and effectually, as this? Or canst thou employ thyself about any Thing of greater Importance to thee? What is there, of all the Concernments of this World, but what riseth lighter than Vanity, when weighed against the Salvation of thy Soul?
But then, and what addeth to the Importance thereof;
2. This Happiness or Misery, will be perfect, and compleat, in their Kind. It will not be an Happiness, or Misery, of a lower Nature, and Degree, that will be the certain Fruit, and Effect, of thy Care to save thy Soul, or thy Neglect of it; like what the Generality of the unthinking World is ready to call Happiness or Misery, viz. the having, or not having, such, or such Measures of the Profits, Pleasures, and Honours, which are gratifying to our Senses; but it is an Happiness, and Misery, greater in Kind, and more extensive in Degree, and therefore vastly more weighty, than all that ever any did, or possibly could, experience in this World. It is superlative, and intense, Happiness, or Misery.
First; The Happiness of being saved is unspeakably great. 'Tis great in Kind, beyond any Thing this World can produce, and great in Degree, far exceeding what the Objects of Sense can reach to. Hence it is styled, Heb. ii.3. So great Salvation; but it doth not say how great; for the Powers of the Tongue, and the Force of Language, are too weak, and feeble, to express it; nor can our most enlarged Conceptions compass the Fulness thereof: Think all that you can, as belonging to this Salvation, and it is so great Salvation, and more; for, Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, neither have entered into the Heart of Man, the Things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Cor. ii.9. This Happiness is, indeed, described, in the sacred Pages, by such Allusions, as serve to raise in our Minds, the brightest, and most exalted Idea of it, that any Thing, we converse with, can afford us; as the Joys of Marriage, the Fulness of Riches, and Honour, of a Kingdom, a Throne, a Crown, and the like; but all of these Metaphors, by which a Representation of it is attempted, fall vastly below what it is, in the real Nature of it. It is such a State, as comprehendeth in it, a full, and perfect Freedom from all Evil, of every Sort, and Degree, and the fullest Enjoyment of the most compleat Good, even a Good every Way equal to our spiritual Nature, and answerable to our most enlarged Desires: and therefore we may justly conclude it to be an Happiness equal to what our Nature is capable of, i. e. the highest we can possibly enjoy. So that if we remain utter Strangers to the particular Instances, which go into the Composition of this happy State, and know not of what it consisteth, yet, having full Assurance of the Reality, and Compleatness, of it, one would think these should be enough to determine us, in our Resolutions, to use our best Endeavours to obtain it. But the sacred Scriptures acquaint us, with some of the essential Ingredients of this Happiness, which serve to enlarge our Conceptions of it, and sire our Ambition, and Thirst, to secure it to ourselves: such as, the Enjoyment of the Blessed God, the infinite Fountain of Being, Perfection, and all Good; and of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, the great Purchaser of all our Happiness, and the immediate Centre of it; and of the Holy Spirit, as the God of all Grace, and Consolation; and of Heaven, the supream Seat of all true, and unsuspected Felicity. If we can conceive of any Place more glorious than Heaven, wherever it is, and of any Objects more compleatly delightful, and satisfactory, than God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, then may we look out for a State of Happiness beyond that of the Salvation of our Souls; or else, remain assured, that herein lyeth the utmost Degrees of Felicity, beyond which our Nature, yea, the Nature of Angels, cannot possibly aspire.
Secondly; Thus also the Misery is intense, and insupportable. It is set before us, in the holy Scriptures, in the most strong, and lively, the most surprising, and frightful, Metaphors; it is called, Mat. xxiii.33. The Damnation of Hell; it is termed, Mat. xxii.13. a being cast into outer Darkness, where shall be weeping, and gnashing of Teeth; it is expressed, Rev. xxi.8. by a Lake of Fire and Brimstone: It is painted out, Matth. xxv.41. as being cursed and associated with the Devil and his Angels. And yet it is certain, that the most glaring, and horrid, Images, the most astonishing, and terrifying, Appearances, that Words can raise in the Minds of Men, are but a faint Resemblance of what this Misery really is. It includeth in it, a total Deprivation of all that is joyous, and comfortable, to us, even to the minutest Degree thereof; so that, like Dives, the poor miserable Creature will not have so much as a Drop of Water to cool an enflamed Tongue, though it be roared out for with ever so much of Anguish. Besides, this Misery carries in it the most exquisite Pain, and Torment, that can be; from the fierce Wrath of an angry, and Almighty, God, falling heavy upon the Soul; (and who knoweth the Power of his Anger! Oh, who can tell what the Weight of an almighty Arm is!) and from the dreadful, pungent, and continual, Stings of an enraged Conscience, like an Harpy let loose upon the Soul, and preying upon it, and kindling a Fire, in the Breast of the Sinner, hotter and more tormenting than any will be without him.
Think now, O Sinner, is it not most reasonable, that, the greater the Happiness is, which is proposed to a Man, so much the greater should be his Concern to secure an Interest in it? And the greater the Misery is, which we are warned of the Dangers of, so much the more circumspect, watchful, cautious, and earnest, we should be, that, if possible, we may escape the fearful Evil that threateneth us? Is it not thus with Men, in all the Affairs which relate to the present Life, and World? So much the greater the Treasure is, which, it is proposed, he might gain to himself, by such, or such, likely Methods, which never have been known to have failed them, that have made a thorow Tryal of them, so much the more readily will a Man hearken to the Proposal, and diligently apply himself to the Use of the directed Means, and be the more laborious, and unwearied in his Pursuit after the End aimed at, and not be easily diverted therefrom: he that would not be moved to put a Finger to the Business, for the Sake of gaining five Shillings, will be wrought upon, to undergo many Fatigues, encounter many Difficulties, and run almost any Hazards, from the fair Prospect of getting Thousands a Year. And so, the greater Danger any Man is warned, and apprised of, the more he will bethink himself, by what Means he shall best guard against it, and the more vigorously fly from, or exert himself to overcome it: he that would not turn aside out of the Way of a feeble Enemy, will yet carefully shun a potent one, and get, as fast as he can, out of the Way of a Nest of Rattle Snakes, and fly, unarmed, from the roaring Lyon, and the ranging Bear.
And why should not Men act as reasonable, and prudent, a Part, in the greater Affairs of their Souls, as they are wont to do in the lesser ones of their Bodies? Since the Happiness, or Misery, of their Souls, in another World, is not only as certain, but far greater than any that can happen to their Bodies, in the present World, why should they not be most intensly concerned, most solicitous, and thoughtful, about this Matter, and be most active, and diligent, and laborious in the Use of the most probable Means, to save their Souls? Is not the completest Happiness, our Natures are capable of, worth our striving for? Why then are we so much engaged in pursuing lesser Degrees of Happiness, nay, what has nothing of true Happiness in it, and so negligent of that which is real, and substantial? If the most intense Misery doth not challenge our Thought, and Pains, to avoid it, why do we start at Thunder, look pale, and tremble, at the shaking of the Earth, or fear to go down into the Grave? Verily it is a Matter of the greatest Consequence that can be, to fly from the Wrath to come, and to lay hold on eternal Life. For,
3. This State of Happiness, or Misery, will be eternal, and never have an End. 'Tis an amazing Circumstance attending the Happiness, or Misery, of the other World, that they are boundless in Duration. When we have measured the Duration of them by all the Art of Arithmetick, and added all the Sums together that we can possibly number, and, when we have done, let each individual Unit, of this aggregated Number, be estimated at a Million of Ages, it will bring us no nearer to the Period of their endless Duration, than the first single Unit, in Numbers, standing for a Millionth Part of a Minute, would do. For that which has no End, can have no Approaches to it. He that shall be happy, in the future, heavenly, World, will continue to be so, without ever meeting with any Thing to break in upon the Harmony of his Mind, or give the least Disturbance, or Uneasiness, to him, throughout the never-ending Ages of Eternity. And he that shall be miserable, in the future State, will know no Period, or Mitigation, and Abatement, of his inexpressible Pain, and Anguish, throughout the endless Ages of Eternity.
Eternity! How amazing is the Thought! All Words are lost in describing it! Our very Thoughts are swallowed up in Meditation upon it! Oh! What Weight does the Consideration of it add to the Good, or Evil, the Happiness, or Misery, of the other World! To be happy, and for ever so; this is Happiness indeed! To be miserable and forever so; this is Misery in all its Terrors!
Such shall the Happiness of the Saints be, in Heaven; it will be as lasting as it is perfect, in Kind, and Degree: of which the holy Scriptures assure us, when they style our Salvation, an eternal Salvation; Heb. v.9. and our Redempt…n, an eternal Redemption; Heb. ix.12. and the Life in Heaven, an eternal Life; Mar. x.30. and the Mansion there reserved for us, an House eternal in the Heavens; 2 Cor. v.1. and our Inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, which fadeth not away; 1 Pet. i.4. and our Glory, an eternal Weight of Glory; 2 Cor. iv.17. and all of this as directly opposed unto Things that are seen, and temporal.
Such also shall be the Misery of Sinners in Hell; the same Word of God assureth us, Mar. iii.29. it will be an eternal Damnation; it is not only Fire, but everlasting Fire; Matth. xviii.8. There, … are told, Mar. ix.44. the Worm dyeth not, and the Fire is not quenched; it is a Fire that burneth without Intermission, and without End: and we are assured, it is a Wrath to come; Luke. iii.7. It will ever be to come, in the Duration of it. And hence our Blessed Lord hath given us this Account of the two different States, of the good, and Bad, Matth. xxv.34, 41, 46. the one shall inherit the Kingdom prepared for them; the other shall depart accursed into everlasting Fire; these, the Wicked, shall go away into everlasting Punishment; but the Righteous into Life eternal. And what Words can make it plainer to us, that the Happiness of Heaven, and the Misery of Hell, will be, each of them, eternal, and without End?
Well then; surely, to be happy, or miserable, compleatly so, and that forever, this is a Thing of the greatest Concernment, to us all, that possibly can be, and, what, above all Things, challenges our most serious Thought, the deepest Attention, and the closest Application. For, what can affect us, and make any Impression upon us, if Things eternal will not? Has it not pleased God, in his boundless Wisdom, and Goodness, to set before us the Prospect of eternal Happiness, and eternal Misery, as the strongest, and most powerful, Arguments, to cure us of our fond Affection to the transitory Enjoyments of this World, which are so apt to engross all our Thought, and Care, and Labour, and to excite in us a greater Regard to our Souls, and make us seriously solicitous, what we shall do to be saved? And shall we act the rational Part, if we go counter to all this Wisdom, and Goodness, and suffer ourselves to be chiefly affected with the lower, and short-lived, Pleasures, or Inquietudes, of the Body, and present Time, and little regard those compleat, and durable ones of the other World? What Ingratitude to God! what Treachery to ourselves! would this be; and how dreadfully will it aggravate our Condemnation!
Put the Case, that a State of eternal Existence in Happiness, or Misery, were a Matter of Uncertainty to us, yet the bare Possibility, and much more the great Probability, that such a Thing might happen to us, makes it infinitely reasonable, that we should choose to act upon the Belief of it; because we could receive no great Damage, by our Belief of it, if it should chance to be false, and should be infinitely advantaged by it, if it happen to be true. But if the Word of God be true, (and there is no Reason to doubt it,) then it is beyond Dispute, that we shall exist forever, either in the Enjoyment of the Pleasures of Heaven, or under the Torments of Hell. And think now; How poor a Thing is an Happiness that will presently have an End, and then be succeeded with a contrary State of Misery, of a much greater Duration? How low are those Joys while they last? and how fleeting are they, and soon over, and gone? A Man can hardly have any Taste, or Relish, of them, for Fear of what is a coming, and because it hasteneth so swiftly upon him. A State of Uneasiness, that lasteth but for a little while, and then is succeeded with perfect Ease, with endless Pleasure, who would count it Misery? Who could not, who would not, bear one Quarter of an Hour's Pain, tho' very great, to be freed from Pain forever after? The Thoughts of the following Ease, and Pleasure, without any Mixture of Pain, and Sorrow, and the Quickness of the pleasurable State's arriving, would take away the uneasy Sensations of the foregoing Misery, or at least greatly abate them, and render them very tollerable. But what Satisfaction can there be in a Moment's Pleasure, followed with an endless Eternity of Pain, and Torment? It is the Length of Pain that is the most insupportable Part of it; it encreases by Continuance, and grows more weighty by it's Duration. The Succession also of Pain …o Pleasure aggravates it; whereas the last Series being pleasant, after which no Fit of Pain shall return, greatly enhances the Joy. In short; What can any Man desire, and seek after, if not to be …mpleatly, and forever happy? And what has he any Reason to shun, and fly from, if not from that Wrath, and Misery, which is exquisite, and which, while he is under the dolorous Impressions of it, will still be forever to come?
These Things, then, do abundantly shew us, that this is a Matter of the highest possible Concernment unto every perishing Sinner, to be very solicitous what he must do to be saved; to be in good Earnest about the Salvation of his Soul; for it is thy own Salvation, the Salvation of thy pre…ious, and immortal Soul, and thy Happiness, of Misery, compleat and endless, turns upon it.
I should now go on to the second Thing I proposed under this last general Head, namely, that therefore there is the greatest Reason why every perishing Sinner should be most seriously solicitous that he may be saved: but I shall conclude with an Inference, or two, from what ha… been said.
USE I. Hence see the Reason of your Ministers Importunity with you, that you would truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and unfeignedly repent of all your Sins, and lead new, and holy Lives: because a Life of Faith on Christ, and Obedience to him, is the Way to be saved. And if to be saved be a Matter of such great Importance, if nothing does, or can, concern you so much, as that you may, at last, escape Hell▪ and get safe to Heaven; and your Happiness, or Misery, and that perfect, and eternal, depend upon this very Thing; can it then be wondered at, that your Ministers are so unwearied, and importunate, in their Cries to Heaven for you, and in their solemn Addresses to you, that you might be persuaded to come to the Faith of the Son of God, and walk before him in Holiness, that you may be saved. For, what is there that can engage our Concern about you, equal to this? We may be concerned to see you thrive, and flourish, in the World, and be glad to see you prudently avoid all those Courses that tend to hinder, and take all those Methods that may happily promote, your worldly Prosperity; we are concerned to see the divine Protection over you, when you go out, and when you come in, and defend you, and your little ones, from the Arrows of Death; but we cannot be equally concerned for these Things, as we are to see you and your Children, walk in the Truth, a sober, a vertuous Generation, with the evident Tokens of Salvation upon you; and to have the good Hope, through Grace, that we shall meet you in Heaven, and, together with you, partake of that far more exceeding, and eternal, Weight of Glory, those perfect, and endless, Satisfactions, and Delights, which God hath promised unto his Servants, after they have finished their Course of Faith, and Obedience, here. It is this Concern for your future, and eternal, Happiness, which engages our Thoughts, filleth us with Cares, and Fears, and Tears, and maketh us fervent in our Labours, incessant in our Addresses to you, and willing to spend, and be spent, for you; nor could we be faithful to the great Interest of our Lord, nor faithful unto you, whose Souls are committed to our Trust, if we did not labour herein, striving with all our Might, and using all the Art of Persuasion we can, that, if by any Means, we may be instrumental to save the Souls of them that hear us. It is not wholly for our own Sakes, (tho' Necessity is laid upon us, and Wo is unto us if we do it not,) nor is our Office in the Ministry of the Gospel of Christ, (it is well known,) the Way to worldly Riches, and Honour, but it i… for your own Sakes, that we address you so warmly, press you so earnestly, and are loth to take any Denial, that you would save yourselves from an untoward Generation, that you escape the exquisce, intollerable, and everlasting, Misery of the Damned, and may possess the State of true, unsuspected, and endless, Happiness, among the Righteous, in the coming World. This, being a Matter of the greatest Importance that we can possibly …ent with you about, does sufficiently demand of …s, to lift up our Voice like a Trumpet, to cry aloud, and not spare, in our warning every Man, and teaching every Man, that we may present every Man perfect in Christ Iesus. And so far should our Fidelity, in pressing our Master's Will upon you, and our Endeavours to recover you from the Paths of Sin, to the Practice of your whole Duty, be from alienating your Hearts, and Affections, from us, as though we were your Enemies, because we tell you the Truth, …at, in all Reason, you ought so much the more to be conciliated to us, as your best Friends, and highly to esteem of us, in Love, for our Work's Sake. For, in our thus doing, my Brethren, we seek not your's, but you, that we may, if possible, win you over to a Life of serious Religion, and true Happiness, and that you yourselves may, finally, reap the Advantage of our wholsome Instructions, and earnest Importunity, in the eternal Salvation of your own Souls.
Brethren; Our Hearts Desire, and Prayer, for you … is, that you may be saved. Oh! How can we bear the Thought, of our dear People their perish…g under the Wrath of God! With what Heart-Aching must we look upon any of you, who are our Charge, and see you going on in your Sins, wilfully despising your own Souls, slighting the offered Mercy of God, and turning your Backs upon Heaven, and rushing yourselves down into the Torments of the Damned, and all for the Sake of the empty, vanishing Pleasures of Sense, and Time! How terribly piercing must it be unto us, to stand by the Bed-Side of any of our People, in their dying Hours, and see the Anguish of their Souls, lest they drop into Hell; and hear their dismal Complaints against themselves, for their foolish Neglect of their eternal Interest, and it may be, in the most doleful Accents, crying out, Oh! all is too late! all is too late; And how shocking must it be to us, think you! to see a drunken, profane, irreligious, debauched, impure, Wretch, leaving the World, in a stupid Unconcernedness about the eternal State he is pressing into, and dying, as he lived, senseless of God, and Religion, and his own Soul!
These Things make our Hearts to bleed within us; and well may we lay ourselves out, in our earnest Pleadings with God for you, and our importunate Pleadings with you, on the Behalf of God, that you would seriously bethink yourselves, and carefully, and timely, shun the dreadful Danger, and escape as for your Lives, the Lives of your never-dying Souls, to the Hope set before you, and may get safe to Heaven. Now th…n, (as the holy Apostle expressed it,) 2 Cor. v.20. We are Embassadors for Christ, as though God did bese…ch you by us, we pray you in Christ's Stead, be ye reconciled unto God: and as he goes on, we then, as Workers together with him, beseech you also, that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain. And if, under God, we are happily instrumental of converting any one Soul, let him know, (Jam. v.20.) that he who converteth a Sinner from the Error of his Ways, shall save a Soul from Death, and shall hide a Multitude of Sins.
From hence we may learn the amazing Folly they are guilty of, who make the Things of this World their chief Concern. For, since it is a Matter of the highest Importance to a perishing Sinner, to be saved, because it is the Salvation of his own Soul, and his eternal Happiness, or Misery, turns upon it, one would think that every Man should endeavour wisely to subject, all the Businesses, and Affairs, of this Life, to the greater Interests of an other, and better Life, and do all that he does with an Eye to his future, and everlasting Well-being. How amazing is it, then, to see so many guilty of this Folly, in the Exaltation of it, to neglect their Souls, and their eternal Interest, and lavish away all their Thought, and Time, upon their Bodies, and the Concernments of it? And this Folly is to be found not only among the Necessitous, who are forced upon a great Deal of Care, and Pains, to get their daily Bread, but among the wealthy, who, one would think, have enough of this World, and need the less to be concerned about it; and not only among weak, ignorant, simple People, but among the well educated, and instructed Part of Mankind, who, one would think, should know better. Thus the Apostle lamented the Case of the Philippians, in his Day, Phil. iii.18, 19. Many walk, (of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,) the Enemies of the Cross of Christ, whose End is Destruction, whose God is their Belly, whose Glory is their Shame, who mind earthly Things. And is there not just Reason for the like Lamentation over the Professors of our Days? How surprising would it be, if the Sight were not so common, to see Men in a continual eager Pursuit after the Riches of this World, and give their Minds, and Bodies, scarce any Rest, but unweariedly turn every Stone, to accomplish their greedy Desires, and yet hardly ever allow themselves one serious Thought, how to get durable Riches, and Righteousness, or, what they shall do to be saved! What a prodigious Sight is, a Man sweating, and puffing, upon the Hunt after the low empty Titles of Honour, amongst Men, and yet so unconcerned about his Soul, as to leave it exposed to Shame, and everlasting Contempt! Ah! poor unthinking Creature! Are the Riches, and Honours, of this World worthy thy Care? and are thy Soul, and Heaven, and eternal Happiness unworthy thy Concern? I beseech you, think seriously, a little, and you will, doubtless, see abundant Reason to correct thy present Folly, and Madness.
But of all Folly, and Madness, none rises to so high a Degree, as that of those who rather take Pains to damn their Souls, than to save them; who are so hot in their eager Pursuit of the World, that they will stick at no Wickedness, or Villany, no Falshood, and Lying, no Fraud, and Cheating, to compass their Designs; and drive on so furiously, in the Ways of Sin, in their Drinking, and Whoring, and Blasphemies, as if they were afraid that Damnation would not come fast enough, but they must needs meet it half Way. O thou mad Fool! Who givest thyself such a Loose in thy vicious Practices, that thou slickest not to call for Damnation upon thyself, and upon thy fellow Creatures, and whose Mouth is full of Cursing; whose Folly can be equal with thine! Is it, indeed, a pleasurable Thing to be damned; to lye burning in Hell, under the Torments of Fire and Brimstone, throughout an endless Eternity? Canst thou, indeed, bear Damnation, and sport thyself in the Flames, and laugh in the midst of devouring Fire? Oh! lay thine Hand upon thy Mouth, confess, and bewail, thy past Folly; remember the Battle, and do no more.
In a Word; Let us all seriously consider, that the greatest Gratifications of the bodily Appetites, and Indulgence of our Senses, with any of the Enjoyments of this World, are not to be compared with that compleat, and endless, Happiness, which is included in the Salvation of our Souls; nor will make Amends for the exquisite, and everlasting Pains, which will be the dismal Issue of a Life of Sense, and Irreligion; and therefore wisely learn to live by Faith, and not by Sight, and improve the Things here below, in a due Subordination to our spiritual, and eternal Interest: that whatever our State, and Condition, may be in this World, we may be truly, and forever, happy, in the next. Hearken therefore diligently to the Advice of our Blessed Saviour, Luk. xvi.9. Make to yourselves Friends of the Mammon of Unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting Habitations.