even as a fig-tree cafteth her untimely figs, when she is fbaken of a mighty wind: and the Heaven departed as a feroll, when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places: and the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, bid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and faid to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and bide us from the face of him that fitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of bis wrath is come; and who shall be able to ftand? This is a description of a terrible juncture, that may not unfitly be accommodated to the frightful season I am now confidering. When (r) the bea-: vens shall pass away with a great noife, and the elements fball melt with fervent beat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, fhall be burnt up; (s) and the dead, both small and great, shall stand before God, and. the books fhall be opened, and they fhall be judged out. of thofe things which are written in the books, according to their works. When the Judge being fet upon his throne, (t) Before him shall be gathered all nations; and. be fhall feparate them one from the other, as a shepherd. divideth the sheep from the goats; and fhall proceed to inquire into their paft converfations, and allot them their reward accordingly. Then fhall a narrow fcrutiny be made into all my doings, and an unerring judgment paffed upon them. And, could I have ever fo artfully conceal'd my faults from the discovery of the world here, they will then be all brought to light, before God, angels, and men. They cannot escape the all-feeing eye of God at prefent; nor fhall they ever be forgotten by him hereafter; but will certainly rife up in judgment against me, and condemn me at the last day, if I do not make it my bufinefs to forfake them, and obtain the pardon of them, before I be taken hence. Not the moft fecret of my thoughts is without his notice; but he is privy to whatever: (~) 2 Pet. iij. 10, (s) Rev. xx. 12. (1) Matth. xxv. 32.

impiety

impiety lies lurking in my heart, though it have never proceeded farther; and will bring me to an account for it.. So that, could I any way contrive to impole upon those I converfe with here, by hypocritical pretences, and to hide the evil of my heart and actions from all mankind, this would ftand me in no ftead at the last day. For then the imposture would be fully disclosed, to my eternal fhame and forrow. (u) There is nothing covered, that shall not then be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be made known. But whatsoever has been spoken in darkness, shall be beard in the light; and that which was whispered in the ear in closets, fhall be praclaimed in the publicket manner, in the hearing even of the whole world. (x) There is na creature that is not manifeft in God's fight, nothing that can escape his notice; but all things are naked and opens γυμνὰ καὶ πετραχηλισμένα, bare, and like a thing cut down the chine, whereby all the entrails are expofed to the view of the beholder; all things are thus naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to de: or perhaps, as Dr. Whitby obferves, Tæg' öv quã é λóyo, ta whom we must give an account of ourselves, and all our doings. No man, as Dr. Hammond paraphrases upon the words, shall be able to disguise himself fo cunningly, but that he shall be difcovered, difclos'd, laid open and bare, as the facrifice when it is first flay'd; then cut down the back, and all laid open and difcernible before the priest.' Our very inwards fhall then be diffected, and men and angels fhall fee into the darkest corners of the heart, and fhall be made acquainted with all the corruption and pollution that has been wont to lodge there. A doleful discovery indeed! And who would not dread and tremble at the least thought of it? It is not in our power now to conceive the height of that confufion, wherein the guilty finner will find himself, when thus publickly unmafk'd; when those wickedneffes, which once he would not endure to hear of, (») Luke xü. 2, 3. (x) Heb. iv. 13.

and

and therefore us'd all means to keep them from the knowledge of his companions and acquaintance, fhall be charged upon him, proved against him, and finally punish'd with everlafting perdition. But this we can all do, and are the greateft fools in the world, if we do it not; we can condemn ourselves, and all our moft Beloved iniquities, now in time, whilft the day of grace is continued to us, and God is reconcileable upon condition we duly apply ourselves to him for mercy and falvation. We can by his affiftance reform and amend our doings, and earneftly study to lay up to ourselves treasures in Heaven. We can humble ourfelves before our bleffed Saviour, and befeech and intreat him, as he has already been our ranfom, fo likewife to be our advocate with the Father, pleading his death, and all his fufferings, in our behalf, whereby to reinftate us in his favour, and obtain us an admiffion into his kingdom. And can we be fo fortifh, as not to make this our conftant care? Can we think of the day of the Lord, and the immenfe weight of the fentence then to be paffed upon us, and not fet ourfelves with all our might to prepare for it? They that act thus unaccountably, ought ithmediately to difown all pretence to reafon and understanding, and to acknowledge themselves more fenfelefs than the worst of brutes, none of which were ever guilty of fuch egregious, intolerable stupidity as this is. VIII.

On the everlafing State whereta each one shall be adjudged at the Last Day, according to bis Doings.

THIS judgment being once over, every one must

be thenceforward fettled in an eternal ftate, tho' of very different kinds, according as we fhall be found to have obferved or neglected our duty, during our short stay here in this world. So our bleffed Saviour, who is also to be our Judge, teaches, St. Matth. xxv. 46. where, having been defcribing the nature of the

judgment

judgment that is to pafs upon all mankind, and having spoken of the righteous and the wicked, under the metaphor of sheep and goats, and having declared the joyful fentence that fhall be pronounced in favour of the former, and the heavy doom that fhall be awarded to the other, he concludes with this farther declaration, what will be the effect of the judgment thus given Thefe, the wicked, of whom he had laft fpoken, fhall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal. The natural importance of which words is, that a lafting future ftate will be then to fucceed, either in incomparable, inestimable, unconceivable blifs and felicity, for such is (y) eternal life declared to be in Scripture; or in the moft dreadful and intolerable tortures, pangs, and agonies, in the bottomless pit, the punishment whereinto the wicked are ordered to depart, ver. 41.

Bleffed and happy, thrice happy fouls, that can attain to the life here mentioned! fuch fhall enjoy the favour of God, and his beatifick prefence; and shall not only be admitted to behold his glory, but to reign with him, and be, in fome measure, transformed into his likeness, abounding in all that fhall be fuitable to their inlarged defires; and God only knows how much more than they could fo much as defire or wish for. It is above our faculties at present to conceive what thofe glorious rewards are, which our good God has prepared for them that love him. (2) It doth not yet appear, even to our imaginations, what we shall be; but this we know beforehand, that when we shall appear, we shall be like bim, for we shall fee him as he is. Wherefore let me now think a little with myself, how transcendent a bleffednefs muft it be, to fee God, and be like. him, to partake of his glory, and have an endless fruition of him, in that blifsful kingdom where all delights abound, and whence all forrow and tears are everlaftingly banifhed; where none are fick, or grow old, or die; nor are perplexed with cares, nor tor(y) Matth. xxv. 35. Luke xii. 32. & xxii. 29. (x) 1 John iii. 2. 'mented

I mented with fears; there a ferene tranquillity is always to be met with, and joy, and love, and peace, have fettled their abode! May my heart be always inflamed with the love of that ravishing state; fo as that I may thoroughly learn to despise all things elfe, in comparison of it! Why do I trifle away my time and pains in pursuit of things that will not profit, and not rather labour after those which would be of everlafting advantage to me? What a meanness of spirit is it to take up with this life's tranfient, imperfect entertainments, and in the mean while neglect the true riches, and lose an invaluable crown of glory, that fadetk not away? Can I condefcend to employ myself in labouring after the things of this world with an infatiable defire, as if I could never have enough of them, tho' I know I muft fhortly die, and leave them all behind me; and yet not be perfuaded to take pains for what would render ine inconceivably happy for ever in the other? This is the very height of madness; and for which I fhall be fure to condemn myself when it fhall be too late, and inceffantly to wish I had been wifer, when I had it in my choice to make fure of a bleffed eternity.

Especially when I call to mind, that I cannot fall fhort of the fore-mentioned bleffednefs, without incurring the dreadful vengeance of eternal fire. And can I endure the thoughts of this fo difmal a change? Far be it from me thus totally to ruin myself for the fake of any cafe, or pleasure, wealth, or honour, that I can hope to enjoy here! Whatever unequal notion I have of it at present, it is a great and a certain truth, that the (a) wages of fin is death; death not only temporal, but eternal. And can I refolve thus fenfelefly to ruin myself, rather than accept of that falvation, which is offered in the Gospel, upon the reasonablest terms that may be? (b) It is a fearful thing to fall into the bands of the living God; to become the objects of his implacable indignation; to groan under the just (a) Rom. vi. 23. (6) Heb. x. 31.

severities