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<DATE>2014-09-08</DATE>
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<NAME>Kate Allen</NAME>
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*Correct excusable and inexcusable errors x*If appropriate, check for yoghs. x*If appropriate, check for Latin problems, e.g. oe and ae digraphs x*If appropriate, check for abbreviation and brevigraph problems. x*If appropriate, check for units of measure, symbols (alchemical, astronomical, etc.) and the like. x*Correct illegibles from proofsheet x*Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Untimely Repentance.</P>
<P>A SERMON Preach'd before the Right Honourable Lord PETRE IN HIS CHAPPEL AT <HI>Ingate&s;tone-Hall,</HI> ON Pa&s;&s;ion Sunday, <HI>April</HI> the 1&s;t, 1688.</P>
<P>By <HI>Richard Levi&s;on</HI> P. of the Society of Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Permi&s;&s;u Superiorum.</P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed by <HI>Mary Thomp&s;on</HI> at the Entrance into <HI>Old-Spring-Garden</HI> near <HI>Charing-Cro&s;s,</HI> 1688.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>A SERMON Preach'd before the Right Honourable Lord <HI>Petre,</HI> On <HI>Pa&s;&s;ion-Sunday April</HI> the 1&s;t, 1688.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>St.</HI> John chap. <HI>8.</HI> ver. <HI>46.</HI></BIBL>
<L><HI>Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato?</HI></L>
<L>Who of you &s;hall accu&s;e me of &s;in?</L></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Stubborn and Ungrateful <HI>Jew,</HI> whom all the Favours and Miracles of Heaven could never endear unto his God, even after his prodigious delive|rance from <HI>Egyptian</HI> Slavery, and drowning of his Enemies in the Red Sea, &s;till murmurs again&s;t his Leaders, and &s;till turns I|dolater to his Maker. And does his Patient God for|bear? Does he extend his Mercies? Strange Patience!<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sic Deus dilexit mundum ut fili|um &s;uum unige|nitum daret, St, Jo. cap. <HI>3,</HI> v. <HI>16.</HI></NOTE> unheard of Clemency! He &s;ends his only begotten Son into the World, to guide, in&s;truct, and give the know|ledge of Salvation to his People, thinking they would re&s;pect him, embrace his Doctrine, obey his Commands, follow his Coun&s;els, and imitate his Vertues. <HI>Verebuntur Filium meum. They will reverence my Son.</HI> St. <HI>Matth.
<PB N="4" REF="3"> chap.</HI> 21. <HI>v.</HI> 37. In vain my God in vain. He derides his Innocency, he &s;coffs at his Sanctity, he &s;corns his Ver|tue, per&s;ecutes his Ju&s;tice, condemns his Doctrine as er|roneous, and ob&s;tinately declares he will not follow it. <HI>Recede &agrave; nobis, &s;cientiam viarum tuarum nolumus. De|part from us, we will not the knowledge of thy ways, Job chap.</HI> 21. <HI>v.</HI> 14. Though each Paragraph of the Law &s;tile him Holy, all the Prophets celebrate him as a Ju&s;t Man, all the antient Figures repre&s;ent him innocent, though the Angel proclaim him Saviour of the world, though the Eternal God name him the Beloved of his Heart, tho' the People reverence him as a Prophet, <HI>Hic e&s;t Je&s;us Pro|pheta. This is Je&s;us the Prophet,</HI> St. <HI>Matth. chap.</HI> 21. <HI>v.</HI> 11. and declare he had done all things well, tho' the Devils adore him as Son of God, in fine, tho' convinced by all the Oracles of Scripture, and his own Broad Seal of Mi|racles, that he is the true <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> and Saviour of the World, yet he will not receive him. <HI>Nolumus hunc regnare &s;uper nos. We will not have this Man reign over us,</HI> St. <HI>Luke chap.</HI> 19. <HI>v.</HI> 15. So little impre&s;&s;ion can the Preaching, Example, and Miracles of an Incarnate Dei|ty work upon his Stony Heart. But what? &s;hall his Stubborne&s;s conquer the Almighty, and Impiety bani&s;h Vertue in &s;pight of Heaven? No. The God of Inno|cency, the Author of Sanctity, Divine Truth, and great Champion of Vertue, Chri&s;t Je&s;us, makes a &s;olemn Challenge to day, in the face of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> to his impla|cable Enemies the High Prie&s;ts, Scribes, and Phari&s;ees, in vindication of the Innocency of his Life, the Sanctity of his Manners, and Infallibility of his Heavenly Do|ctrine. Secure then of his own Innocency, and full of Godlike Maje&s;ty, he a&s;&s;aults them with a <HI>Quis ex vobis,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Who of you &s;hall accu&s;e me of &s;in?</HI> He dares them to &s;hew wherein he has offended. Tell me, have I &s;inned again&s;t my God or my Neighbour? Have I not ob&s;erved the great Commandements towards them both,
<PB N="5" REF="3"> <HI>Love thy God above all things, and thy neighbour as thy &s;elf?</HI> Tell me in what have I tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed? Have I ever violated the lea&s;t <HI>Iota,</HI> the lea&s;t title of the Law Divine, or Human? I have Preached in your Synagogues, I have &s;poke openly; examin my Doctrine, if it be not coherent with the Law and Prophets, if it be not Divine, if it be not from God. I have taught daily in the Temple, in your hearing, &s;hew me a word that I have not confir|med by the brighte&s;t evidence of irrefragable Miracles. <HI>Quis ex vobis? Who of you &s;hall accu&s;e me of &s;in?</HI> Can your <HI>Cae&s;ars?</HI> Can your <HI>Herods?</HI> Have I not punctually obey'd their Orders? Have I not paid them Tribute with all exactne&s;s? Have I not given &s;trict command to all my Followers, next unto God to give <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> his due? <HI>Quis ex vobis?</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Who of you?</HI> &amp;c. Can your High Prie&s;ts? Have I not commanded Re&s;pect and Obedience to the Chair of <HI>Mo&s;es?</HI> Can the Sinner or Publican? Have I not been zealous for his Eternal Salvation? Did I not daily invite him to Repentance, offer him Pardon, and promi&s;e him eternal Reward in the Kingdom of Hea|ven? Ask <HI>Matthew</HI> the Publican, demand of <HI>Magdalen</HI> the Sinner, put the query to <HI>Simon</HI> and <HI>Zacheus. Quis ex vobis?</HI> Can the Married? I have honoured their &s;tate with my Pre&s;ence, and confirmed it by Miracle. Can the Widdows? I have &s;upplied their wants by my Pro|phets, commanded them to be honoured by my Apo|&s;tles, and my &s;elf have rai&s;ed their dead to comfort them in Afflictions. Ask the Widdow Woman of <HI>Sarepta,</HI> go to the Gates of <HI>Naum,</HI> and you will hear and &s;ee the cleare&s;t demon&s;trations. Can the Virgin? I have e|qualled her condition to the &s;ublime degree of Angels. Can your Children? They were the bo&s;om darlings of my Heart, and I have entailed Heaven upon them for their Inheritance. <HI>Sinite parvulos venire ad me. Suffer the little Children to come unto me,</HI> St. <HI>Math. chap.</HI> 19. <HI>v.</HI> 14. Can the Hungry Multitude? I fed them in the De&s;art by
<PB N="6" REF="4"> Prodigies. Can the Sick, Impri&s;oned, Lame, Leprous, Paralytick, or Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed? Have I not vi&s;ited them, cured their Infirmities, ca&s;t out Devils? What more? Of my Deeds the Dumb &s;peak, the Blind &s;ee them, the Deaf hear 'em, and the Dead can give you Intelligence of them. <HI>Quis ex vobis,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Who of you &s;hall accu&s;e me of &s;in?</HI> In fine, he lays open the truth &s;o clear before their eyes, that they could have no excu&s;e for not embracing it. <HI>Si non veni&s;&s;em, &amp; locutus eis fui&s;&s;em, peccatum non haberent: nunc autem excu&s;ationem non habent. If I had not come, and &s;poken to them, they &s;hould not have &s;in, but now they have no excu&s;e for their &s;in,</HI> St. <HI>John chap.</HI> 15. <HI>v.</HI> 22. And then demands. <HI>Si veritatem dico vobis, quare non creditis mi|hi? If I &s;ay the truth why do you not believe me?</HI> St. <HI>John chap.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 47. But what return? The People indeed, ravi&s;hed with the re&s;plendent truth of his Heavenly Do|ctrine, applaud him with a <HI>Nunquam &s;ic locutus e&s;t homo. Never did man &s;peak as this Man,</HI> St. <HI>John chap.</HI> 7. <HI>v.</HI> 47. yet the proud and haughty Phari&s;ee, having nothing but meer Negatives to oppo&s;e, impudently Bla&s;phemes, <HI>Nos &s;cimus quia hic homo peccator e&s;t. We know that this man is a &s;inner,</HI> St. <HI>John</HI> 9.24. and con&s;equently his Doctrine cannot be true, which filling the <HI>Jews</HI> with Envy, they take up Stones like unto their Hearts to throw at him. <HI>Tulerunt ergo lapides ut jacerent in eum. They took Stones therefore to ca&s;t at him,</HI> St. <HI>John chap.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 59; call a Council and Condemn the Innocent, <HI>Reus e&s;t mortis. He is guilty of death,</HI> St. <HI>Math.</HI> 26. <HI>chap. v.</HI> 66.</P>
<P><HI>Ch. Aud.</HI> I will not wa&s;t my Time, nor your devout Attention, in accu&s;ing the &s;tubborn <HI>Jew</HI> of Sin, for re|jecting the Divine call of his <HI>Me&s;&s;ias;</HI> I leave it to that dreadful day, when he &s;hall &s;ee him whom he Crucified coming in the Clouds with Maje&s;tie. There is a Chri&s;tian <HI>Jew,</HI> I mean the ob&s;tinate Sinner, (for &s;o he is, and &s;o I call him) whom I accu&s;e,</P>
<PB N="7" REF="4">
<P>Fir&s;t, of a horrible Sin, in &s;lighting the In&s;pirations and Graces of Almighty God, that daily invite him to Repentance.</P>
<P>Secondly, I will demon&s;trate the evident danger he puts the Eternal Salvation of his Soul in, by deferring his Conver&s;ion to the la&s;t.</P>
<P>Dear Je&s;us, I be&s;eech you by that burning Zeal with which you &s;ought the Salvation of the <HI>Jews,</HI> enlighten my Under&s;tanding, inflame my Will, and influence my Words with &s;uch Force and Energy, that piercing into the hearts of my Auditory, I may awake them out of that dangerous and &s;oul-killing Lethargy too too many &s;leep in; by your bitter death and pa&s;&s;ion grant, that in the mo&s;t terrible hour of death, on which depends the hap|pine&s;s or mi&s;ery of Eternity, the Enemy of Souls may never in&s;ult over any one here, with a <HI>Praevalui adver|&s;us eum. I have got the Victory, P&s;al.</HI> 12. <HI>v.</HI> 5. I humbly beg it by the Interce&s;&s;ion of your Virgin Mother, whom I &s;alute with the Angel. <HI>Ave Maria,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Fir&s;t Part.</HEAD>
<P>IF I &s;hould accu&s;e any here of Imprudence in their tem|poral Concernes, I were ju&s;tly to be condemned of a ra&s;h Imputation: You are all wi&s;e. For who of you has not the end of his employment lively fixt before his Eyes? Who provides not all nece&s;&s;ary means? Who de|lays in the &s;peedy execution of them? Who embraces not all opportunities of obtaining it? Each &s;tep you take ad|vances towards it. All your Study and Labours, your Care and Indu&s;try, your Thoughts in private, your Di&s;|cour&s;es in publick, your Conferences with Friends, your Vows in the day, your Wakings in the night, meet here as in their beloved Center. After this each motion of your Heart breaths, each a&s;piration of your Soul mounts to this as to its &s;phere of re&s;t. This rai&s;es the Scholar to
<PB N="8" REF="5"> a Benefice, brings the Lawyer to the Bar, enriches the Merchant with Trea&s;ures, advances the Courtier to the favour of his Prince, and crowns the Souldier with Lau|rels. Hence I accu&s;e my Chri&s;tian <HI>Jew,</HI> my ob&s;tinate Sinner. Why not &s;o much diligence in the main point, in the mo&s;t important affair, in that <HI>unum nece&s;&s;arium</HI> the eternal welfare of thy Soul? Why does not the great Maxime of Salvation, taught thee by the God of truth, <HI>Quid prode&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>What doth it profit a Man, if he gain the whole world and &s;u&s;tain the damage of his Soul,</HI> take up thy time but half as much, and dwell as near thy heart. <HI>Ob&s;tupe&s;cite Coeli &s;uper hoc &amp; portae ejus de&s;olamini vehe|menter.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. ch. <HI>11.</HI> v. <HI>1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI></NOTE> <HI>Be a&s;tonied O heavens upon this, and O gates there|of be ye de&s;olate exceedingly.</HI> He knows that at the &s;ame time he &s;ins, he loo&s;es the friend&s;hip of God, his right to Heaven, and becomes a mi&s;erable Slave to Hell. And yet, becau&s;e Heaven does not con&s;ume him with Fire, the Earth does not open and &s;wallow him alive, becau&s;e like a <HI>Baltazar,</HI> he is not &s;ummon'd from the mid&s;t of his Plea&s;ures, to give a &s;trict account at the &s;evere Tribunal of Divine Ju&s;tice, he boa&s;ts with the Wicked. <HI>Peccavi, &amp; quid mihi accidit tri&s;te. I have &s;inned and what &s;orrowful thing hath befallen me, Eccl. chap.</HI> 5. <HI>v.</HI> 4. If you tell him with the Wi&s;e Man, that delays are dangerous, and &s;ound in his Ear, <HI>Ne differas de die in diem,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Slack not to be converted to our Lord, and defer not from day to day. For his Wrath &s;hall come &s;uddenly, and in the time of Ven|geance he will de&s;troy thee, Ibid v.</HI> 8, 9. Send him a <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to know when he &s;hall pray for him, and free him from the vexing Plagues of Sin, <HI>appoint me when I &s;hall pray for thee, Exod. chap.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 9. And with the &s;en&s;ele&s;s <HI>Pha|rao</HI> he an&s;wers. <HI>To morrow.</HI> Let a Je&s;us inculcate a thou|&s;and <HI>Videte's, watch, pray, you know not when the time is, you know neither the day nor the hour,</HI> he an&s;wers, he is &s;en&s;ible enough of his condition, and would not for a thou&s;and Worlds die in the &s;tate he lives in, and is re&s;olved
<PB N="9" REF="5"> to repent when he comes to die; for to be &s;aved it is not &s;o ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to live a holy Life, as to dye a holy Death; and &s;o eludes all the remor&s;es of his guilty and tortured Con&s;cience, puts off all the Graces and Divine In&s;pirations of God, that daily invite him to Repen|tance, with the unhappy <HI>Felix</HI> to St. <HI>Paul, Quod nunc attinet,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>For this time go thy way: but in time conve|nient I will &s;end for thee, Acts chap.</HI> 24. <HI>v.</HI> 25. He will make u&s;e of them another time, he will hear them when he is more at lei&s;ure, when he grows old he will lay all other concerns a&s;ide, and attend wholly to the Salvati|on of his Soul. Is not this a Miracle &s;ufficient to a&s;to|ni&s;h Heaven and Earth? That a Man of rea&s;on, a Man that pretends to Chri&s;tianity, &s;hould have &s;o little &s;en&s;e of his Eternal Happine&s;s, as to live as they did who are now damned, to Fea&s;t, Drink, Sleep, and be Merry, as if he had not one Foot upon the very brink of Hell, but were on the Wings of a Seraphim, in his flight to the Glory of Paradi&s;e; that he &s;hould have &s;o little feeling of his only Soul, <HI>&V;nicam meam,</HI> as with the Epicure to think it to be only like Salt unto his Body, to keep it from &s;tinking? Pray tell me, what was the ruin of <HI>Pha|rao</HI> and the whole Kingdom of <HI>Egypt?</HI> Was it not his &s;tubborne&s;s to the Calls of Heaven? Hear the mo&s;t elo|quent St. <HI>Ambro&s;e. Appoint me when,</HI> &s;ays the God-like <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> and &s;en&s;ele&s;s <HI>Pharao</HI> an&s;wers, <HI>To morrow:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cum deberet in tant&acirc; po&s;itus nece&s;&s;itate roga|re ut jam oraret nec differret, re|&s;pondit cra&s;iin&acirc; die, otio&s;us &amp; negligens morae poenam Egypt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;oluturus exci|dio.</NOTE> <HI>whereas pre&s;s'd by &s;o great nece&s;&s;ity he ought to de&s;ire him to pray now, and not defer it, he an&s;wers to morrow. But this delay co&s;t the lazy and negligent Prince no le&s;s than the ruin and de&s;truction of E|gypt.</HI> What was the de&s;truction of the famous <HI>Jeru&s;alem?</HI> Was it not becau&s;e &s;he was deaf to all the invitations of her God? Neither the Promi&s;es of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> nor Prayers of <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> nor Threats of <HI>Joel,</HI> nor &s;o many Exhortations, Graces and Miracles of the Son of God him&s;elf could a|wake her. Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour expre&s;&s;es the cau&s;e in a Flood of compa&s;&s;ionate Tears. <HI>E&ograve; qu&ograve;d non cognoveris
<PB N="10" REF="6"> tempus vi&s;itationis tuae. Becau&s;e thou ha&s;t not known the time of thy vi&s;itation,</HI> St. <HI>Luke chap.</HI> 19. <HI>v.</HI> 44. Becau&s;e &s;he did not hearken when called, repent when invited.</P>
<P>For my part were I to write the cau&s;e of their Dam|nation upon the Forehead of the Damned, I would u&s;e no other In&s;cription then <HI>E&ograve; qu&ograve;d non cognoverint tem|pus,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Becau&s;e they did not know the time of their vi&s;ita|tion.</HI> All the&s;e &s;uffer, and &s;hall &s;uffer in Hell for Eternity, becau&s;e they mi&s;pent their time in this World, and did not make u&s;e of Divine Grace when offered. There is not one of the&s;e but intended to &s;ave his Soul, as much as you do. But alas! They deferred their Conver&s;ion too long, then went to buy the Oyl of Mercy when &s;he had &s;hut the Gates again&s;t them. <HI>E&ograve; qu&ograve;d non cognoverint tempus,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Becau&s;e they did not know the time of their Vi|&s;itation.</HI> Do you not? O Angel, that keepe&s;t the keys of <HI>Death and Hell, Claves mortis &amp; Inferni, Apocal. chap.</HI> 1. <HI>v.</HI> 18. open I be&s;eech you tho&s;e dark Aby&s;&s;es where all unfortunate Souls mu&s;t eternally dwell; that with the Devout St. <HI>Bernard,</HI> we may de&s;cend in Contempla|tion to Hell whil&s;t we live, never to come there when we are dead. Unhappy <HI>Dives!</HI> Who &s;tript thee of thy Silks and Purple? What brought thee into this place of torments? What torments thee in the&s;e Flames? Oh! I often heard a <HI>Vae nobis divitibus, Woe to you rich men,</HI> St.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. ch. <HI>3.</HI> v. <HI>19</HI></NOTE> Luke chap. 6. v. 24. <HI>Quorum Deus venter e&s;t, quorum finis interitus? Who&s;e God is their belly, who&s;e end is de&s;tru|ction.</HI> Yet I clad my &s;elf in the riche&s;t Silks and Purples, eat and drank of the mo&s;t exqui&s;ite Meats and choice&s;t Wines I could get, I made my Belly my God, and &s;pent my Youth in Mirth and Riot, &s;till intending to fa&s;t, cloath my &s;elf with A&s;hes and Sackloth, in my old age, and &s;ave my Soul at la&s;t. But O! That <HI>ducunt in bonies dies &s;uos &amp; in puncto ad inferna de&s;cendunt. They lead their days in Wealth, and in a moment go down to Hell,</HI> was my unfortunate <HI>Exit.</HI> I &s;topt my Ears when
<PB N="11" REF="6"> called by the merciful admonitions of my God, deferred my Pennance too long, and therefore hurried away by &s;udden death, am buried, am buried in Hell. I &s;ee the once &s;corned Beggar in the bo&s;om of delights, I beg of Father <HI>Abraham,</HI> not Oceans, nor Streams, but that the ulcerous <HI>Lazarus</HI> may only dip the tip of his Finger in Water to cool the unquenchable thir&s;t of my &s;chorched Tongue, and can't obtain it. Alas! All the comfort I receive is a reproachful <HI>Recordare fili,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Remember Son that thou did&s;t receive good things in thy life time,</HI> &amp;c. St. <HI>Luke ch.</HI> 16. <HI>v.</HI> 25. I omitted, when offered, to drink of tho&s;e Wa|ters of Grace, which extingui&s;h an eternal thir&s;t, and therefore, <HI>Crucior in h&acirc;c flamm&acirc;. I am tormented in this &s;lame.</HI> O mi&s;erable young man! What &s;ad Chance cut off thy bloomy days in their prime, and brought thee hither? It was a Non-corre&s;pondence to the Admoniti|ons of his Friends, Sugge&s;tions of his good Angel, and Graces of Almighty God, which &s;o often with an <HI>Ado|le&s;cens tibi dico &s;urge. Young man, I &s;ay to thee ari&s;e,</HI> St. <HI>Luke ch.</HI> 7. <HI>v.</HI> 14. call'd upon him to for&s;ake that lewd Company, fly tho&s;e occa&s;ions of Sin, and &s;ave him|&s;elf with <HI>Lott</HI> from the flames of <HI>Sodom.</HI> But he heard them not, he thought &s;ome liberty might be given to Youth, in|tending when the heat and &s;ervour of that was over, to become a <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> in the victories of Cha&s;tity, &s;o goes on, &s;pends his &s;trength and e&s;tate too Prodigal-like, <HI>vivendo luxurio&s;&egrave;.</HI> But alas! before he could return to the all-pardoning embraces of his Heavenly Father, a burning Feaver enkindled by the damnable Flames of Lu&s;t, po&s;ts him unexpectedly into another World of the &s;ame tem|per, <HI>Hell.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Libidino&s;um e|nim hujus vitae incendium, ad fornacis intus incendium du|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">it. <HI>I&s;idor. Pe|lu&s;. Ep<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;. 533.</HI></NOTE> <HI>For the lu&s;tful flames of this life lead us down to the burning fire of that Furnace.</HI> Poor unfortunate young Woman! How came you into the&s;e Shades of horror? She weeps; &s;hame and Confu&s;ion will not per|mit her to &s;peak. She often heard from her heavenly Spou&s;e a <HI>Vides hanc mulierem? Do you &s;ee this Woman?</HI>
<PB N="12" REF="7"> She followed <HI>Magdalen</HI> the Sinner, but neglected to imi|tate <HI>Magdalen</HI> the Penitent, till the time of Repentance was elap&s;ed, and therefore &s;he weeps, and &s;hall weep eternally, but never hear a <HI>remittuntur tibi peccatu tua. Thy Sins are forgiven thee.</HI> Unbelieving Soul! What &s;hut thee out of Heaven, and condemned thee to an everla|&s;ting death? Want of true Faith. I often heard a &s;ecret voice in my Soul tell me, that there was but <HI>one Lord, one Faith, and one Bapti&s;m,</HI> St. <HI>Paul</HI> to the <HI>Ephe&s;. chap.</HI> 4. and con&s;equently among &s;o many Contradictory Re|ligions, all could not be true ways to Salvation. I al|ways thought that to be the true Church, which by clear Texts of Scriptures, Authority of general Councils, Sentences of Holy Fathers, and a never interrupted Suc|ce&s;&s;ion of Supream Pa&s;tors, could prove its &s;elf to have the Marks of Chri&s;ts true Church, as to be <HI>One, Holy, Catho|lick</HI> and <HI>Apo&s;tolick.</HI> I thought that infallibly mu&s;t be the true Church of Chri&s;t, which notwith&s;tanding all the Attempts and Per&s;ecutions of Schi&s;m, Here&s;ie, and Hell, was yet vi&s;ible, and could &s;hew it had maintained its Do|ctrine in its Primitive Purity, and taught now the &s;ame that Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles taught. But whether I were a Member of this Church or no, I omitted (through too much love of the World, and de&s;ire of Liberty) to in|quire, and therefore dying out of its Communion, out of which there is no Salvation, eternally peri&s;hed.</P>
<P>Thus it will happen to all, who refu&s;e to an&s;wer when God calls.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ergo dum lu|tem habetis, cre|dite in lucem ut filii lucis &s;i|tis, St. Jo. ch. <HI>12.</HI> v. <HI>36.</HI> Hodie &s;i vocem ejus audieritis nolite obdurare corda ve&s;tra.</NOTE> Therefore, <HI>Whil&s;t you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light.</HI> The un|believing Soul, if he will be &s;aved, mu&s;t bottom him&s;elf on true Faith. <HI>Ergo.</HI> Therefore <HI>if to day you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.</HI> The ob&s;tinate Sinner if he will be &s;aved, mu&s;t an&s;wer when God calls. Did I &s;ay to day? Oh let it be this very moment, before you depart from the Chappel, before you go home, and it will be the beginning of your eternal happine&s;s; and thus I conclude my fir&s;t Point.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="part">
<PB N="13" REF="7">
<HEAD>Second Part.</HEAD>
<P>THE mo&s;t deluding Fallacy on which the obdurate Sinner builds the delay of his Conver&s;ion, is a pre&s;umptive confidence in the Mercies of Almighty God, &s;o much the more treacherous and deceitful, becau&s;e it carries an outward &s;hew of Vertue. St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> on the &s;econd Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> takes him to task, and thus di&s;cour&s;es. <HI>Dicis,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>Alii mali fuerunt, &amp; &s;alvi facti &s;unt, dabit &amp; mihi &s;patium paenitentiae.</HI> O|thers were bad and are &s;aved; <HI>David</HI> was an Adulterer, <HI>Zacheus</HI> a Publican, <HI>Saul</HI> a Per&s;ecuter, and <HI>Magdalen</HI> a Sinner, and he will give me time to repent. So they &s;peak who &s;in with confidence, and, as <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;aid, are bad becau&s;e God is good. The Saint replies and asks. <HI>An vere dabit &s;patium paenitentiae? Forta&s;&s;e, in|quis, dabit.</HI> But will he really give you time to repent? Perchance, &s;ay you, he will. The Saint urges very home. <HI>Dicis forta&s;&s;e? memento quod de anima loqueris. Do you &s;ay perchance? Remember that you &s;peak of your Soul.</HI> In a bu&s;ine&s;s of &s;o great concern, then which no man has, or can have a greater, do you proceed with the uncertainty of a perchance? When with &s;o much Faci|lity you may put your &s;elf almo&s;t in &s;ecurity of your Sal|vation? You never admit of the&s;e doubts or uncertainties in the meane&s;t affairs of the World. Nay, is your Friend condemned by &s;ome unfortunate accident to the fatal &s;troak of death, do you not u&s;e all po&s;&s;ible care, all imaginable means, do you not imploy all your in|tere&s;t and Forces, to repeal the Sentence, to obtain his pardon? Why then mu&s;t only the bu&s;ine&s;s of your eter|nal Salvation be managed with the uncertainty of time, which is not in your power. <HI>Forta&s;&s;e dabit.</HI> And how numerous are they to whom God has not given time to provide for the main concern, and yet the&s;e very men had
<PB N="14" REF="8"> continually in their Mouths. <HI>Forta&s;&s;e dabit. Perchance he will give us time to repent;</HI> they &s;pent their days in Fea&s;ting, and lived plea&s;antly. It's true, &s;ays St. <HI>Augu&s;tin,</HI> and I err if you do not find written in the Go&s;pel, with the Golden Characters of Light and Truth, that God promi&s;es <HI>pardon to all Sinners that repent:</HI> But though you had a hundred thou&s;and eyes, you will never find regi&s;tred by the Pen of God, in any page of the &s;acred Volumes, that he has promi&s;ed a Sinner <HI>time to repent. Nemo ergo &s;ibi promittat quod Evangelium non promittit. Let no man therefore promi&s;e him&s;elf that which the Go&s;pel does not promi&s;e.</HI> St. <HI>Augu&s;tin,</HI> De verbis Do|mine, Ser. 16.</P>
<P>But &s;ay what I will, my Chri&s;tian <HI>Jew</HI> is become a <HI>Rabbi</HI> in the Synagogue of the Ob&s;tinate. He tells me with his confederates in <HI>I&s;aiah. Percu&s;&s;imus faedus cum morte &amp; cum Inferno fecimus pactum, I&s;aiah</HI> 28.15. He has made a truce with Death, and &s;truck up a bargain with Hell. What? That Death &s;hall not &s;eize upon you unprovided? That it &s;hall give you time by a perfect contrition and &s;orrow for your Sins to reconcile your &s;elf to Almighty God, to arm your &s;elf with the rites of the Church for that dangerous pa&s;&s;age, that your death &s;hould be all mild, all plea&s;ant, all melodious and joyful, that happy, as old <HI>Simeon,</HI> you &s;hall clo&s;e your Eyes with Je&s;us in your Arms, and depart in peace, &s;inging a <HI>Nunc dimittis &s;ervum tuum Domine,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Now thou do&s;t di&s;mi&s;s, O Lord, thy Servant according to thy word in peace, becau&s;e mine eyes have &s;een thy Salvation, St.</HI> Luke <HI>ch.</HI> 2? <HI>And we have made a bargain with Hell.</HI> That you &s;hall be free from all temptations, that the Devils &s;hall not mole&s;t you, that Hell &s;hall not devour you? But you have cheated your &s;elf, as all the Adver&s;aries of Vertue and Truth always do, either igno|rantly, or willfully taking a Sentence, and not minding the Context. Had you read on, you had found a Salve to that damnable errour in the &s;ame place. <HI>Et delebitur
<PB N="15" REF="8"> foedus ve&s;trum cum morte,</HI> I&s;aiah <HI>the</HI> 5. <HI>ch.</HI> 14. <HI>v.</HI> &amp;c. <HI>And your league with death &s;hall be aboli&s;hed, and your covenant with Hell &s;hall not &s;tand.</HI> But above all, methinks that terrible <HI>Ego vado quaeretis me &amp; in peccato ve&s;tro moriemi|ni, St.</HI> Joh. 8. <HI>ch.</HI> 21. <HI>v. I go, you &s;hall &s;eek me, and &s;hall die in your &s;in;</HI> Threatned by our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour to the <HI>Jews,</HI> &s;hould &s;trike a terror into the mo&s;t obdurate Sin|ners. There will be then a time for certain, when you &s;hall &s;eek God and not find him, when you &s;hall call upon him and not be heard. The darkne&s;s of approaching death will hide him from your &s;ight, and you that have not found him by the lights he gave you in your life, will certainly never find him in the &s;hades of death. In a word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hoc e&s;t Chri&s;tum male querere in peccato &s;uo mo|ri, &amp; in pecca|to &s;uo morietur, qui in peccato &s;uo permanet u&s;que ad mor|tem.</NOTE> that Sinner &s;eeks Chri&s;t, but finds him not, who repents too late, that is, lets Death &s;urprize him in Sin, &s;ays Venera|ble <HI>Bede.</HI> Continue your favourable attention and I will prove it.</P>
<P>The lamentations of the Spou&s;e in the <HI>Canticles,</HI> be|cau&s;e &s;he could not find her beloved are certain, the cau&s;e uncertain. <HI>Quae&s;ivi in lectulo meo quem diligit anima mea, &amp; non inveni,</HI> Cant. ch. 3. <HI>I have &s;ought in my little bed whom my Soul loveth, and have not found him.</HI> To omit other the rea&s;on in my opinion, why &s;he could not find him, may be, becau&s;e &s;he only &s;ought him in the bed of Sickne&s;s, when the darkne&s;s of death grew thick upon her, becau&s;e the Sun of Ju&s;tice &s;eldom or never enlightens tho&s;e horrid &s;hades with the rays of Mercy. That is, you that expect to find God merciful on your death-bed, will be deceived. In vain you expect the health of your Soul, among the mortal di&s;tempers of your Body. It is in vain to think to gain Eternity in a moment. It is in vain to cover your &s;elf with the A&s;hes of Pennance, when the Du&s;t of your Sepulchre is near. In vain do your eyes pour out &s;calding Tears, when a cold &s;weat of Death runs down your Cheeks. Your &s;ighs are illtim'd for Pennance, when you groan for life. What force can Pennance have in &s;uch
<PB N="16" REF="9"> a weakne&s;s of Members? What fruits can &s;he produce, planted in the A&s;hes of a Carca&s;s. Vertues will not grow in a heart void of natural heat and &s;trength. Wo then to the Soul that only &s;eeks her Spou&s;e on her Death-bed. And wo to thee, &s;tubborn Sinner, that only beg'&s;t mercy when thy ga&s;ping Soul hangs upon thy dying lips.</P>
<P>I do not intend to condemn the Pennance of many in their la&s;t Agony;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pote&s;t nobis ex|tremi temporis Indulgentia &s;ub venire, at periculo&s;i&s;&s;ima e&s;t in ultimum diem promi&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ecuritas. <HI>Lib. de v. paen.</HI></NOTE> perchance by labouring in the la&s;t hour of the day, they may de&s;erve their penny and re|ceive the reward of Glory. But I mu&s;t tell you, that all the holy Fathers look upon it as infirm, pre&s;umptive and to be &s;u&s;pected. St. <HI>Aug.</HI> affirms it to be very un&s;ure and of little value. We may be &s;o fortunate as to find mercy at the la&s;t hour: <HI>but it is a most dangerous &s;ecurity we promi&s;e our &s;elves in the la&s;t day.</HI> For it does not often happen that he that has lived a Fool all his life, becomes a Wife man at his death. And can there be a greater Fool than he who commits his eternal concerns to a dying life? Not a feeble but &s;trong Voice is requi&s;ite to plead a bu|&s;ine&s;s of that Importance; it demands a weeping Eye not a dying one; exacts a grieving Soul, not a dead body. Becau&s;e &s;ays St. <HI>Aug.</HI> Serm. 66. <HI>de temp. Parum e&s;t pecca|tori paenitere ni&s;i paenitentiam peregerit. It little avails a &s;inner to repent, unle&s;s he perform his Pennance.</HI> Becau&s;e as we e&s;teem not the Tree, but the Fruit, nor is the Plant commendable that renders no Fruit to the Gardiner, &s;o Almighty God values not a fruitle&s;s Sorrow or barren Repentance. Our Saviour and St. <HI>John</HI> exclaim, <HI>Facite fructus dignos paenitentiae. Yield fruits worthy of Pennance,</HI> St. <HI>Luke ch.</HI> 3. <HI>v.</HI> 9. But in &s;uch angui&s;h of Soul, in &s;uch pain of body, in a head full of other concerns, in a di&s;tracted mind, in a heart not only barren of good deeds, but holy thoughts, what Fruits can Pennance pro|duce? And will you yet defer your Conver&s;ion? Do you know it? He that procra&s;tinates in an affair of that Impor|tance, conte&s;ts with his everla&s;ting ruin. Pennance is
<PB N="17" REF="9"> a traffick you may purcha&s;e a ble&s;&s;ed Eternity with: But who is that &s;lothful and unfortunate Servant that hid it under ground? It is you that differ your Conver&s;ion, and think to do Pennance in the end of your Life. You will be numbred among the foo|li&s;h Virgins t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">at repented too late, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> therefore <HI>Clau&s;a e&s;t Janua; ne&s;cio vos.</HI> The gate is &s;hut; I know you not.</P>
<P>But you think to deceive God, and rob him of Paradi&s;e, as the good Thief did on the Cro&s;s, re&s;erving for your la&s;t breath, a <HI>Domine memento mei,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Lord remember me when you &s;hall come into your Kingdom.</HI> As if this were the form of a Sacra|ment that operates independently of the Merits of the Mini|&s;ter, and in vertue of this, you were to do pre&s;ently what you &s;ay, and Chri&s;t were &s;uddenly to an&s;wer you with a <HI>Hodie mecum eris in Paradi&s;o. This day thou &s;halt be with me in Para|di&s;e.</HI> The Divine St. <HI>Aug.</HI> condemns you of a pernicious er|rour. <HI>Ad emendanda crimina vox paenitentis &s;ola non &s;ufficit, nam ad &s;atisfactionem ingentium peccatorum non verba tantum &s;ed opera quaeruntur.</HI> Ser. 1. de paen. <HI>To the amendment of our Crimes the voice of the Penitent alone is not &s;ufficient, f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">r to the &s;atisfaction of great &s;ins, not words but works are required.</HI> What? Are the inveterate &s;ins of your ob&s;tinate Soul &s;o ma|ny flames that can be blown out with a gentle &s;igh? Are they Spots that can be wa&s;ht away with a Tear? Are they Wounds, are they Ulcers that can be cured with the Divine Inchantment of four Words. <HI>Domine, Domine aperi nobis. Lord open the gate.</HI> So that at your command Heaven Gates &s;hall fly open, and your Soul be received in Triumph? <HI>Ad &s;atis|factionem,</HI> &amp;c. And if you are not able to &s;atisfy for your &s;ins in that weak condition, how is it po&s;&s;ible for you to o|vercome an army of Sins now in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of your Soul? How will you conquer tho&s;e Legions of Devils that lye encamped round about to defend it? Good God! Tho&s;e &s;ins that &s;o many Preachers thundring the Judgments of the Almighty a|gain&s;t thee, could not drive out! Tho&s;e &s;ins that the Sword of Ju&s;tice hanging every moment over thy head, could not di&s;lodge! Tho&s;e &s;ins that the fear of Hell fire could not van|qui&s;h, &s;hall they now be conquered by a feeble Pennance,
<PB N="18" REF="10"> without Armes, without Forces, and as dead as thy dying Body? What &s;hall I &s;ay but exclaim with the Divine St. <HI>Au|gu&s;tin. Paenitentia quae a moriente tantum petitur, timeo ne &amp; ip&s;a moriatur. That Pennance which a dying Man only begs to do, I am afraid it will die.</HI> I fear &s;he will be defeated, I fear &s;he will die; and as the Body becomes a &s;poil to the Victo|ries of Death, &s;o &s;he will fall a Victim of Sin, and a Prey to the Devils. Therefore if you intend to become victorious in the la&s;t and terrible battel, why do you not quicken your Pennance with the vigour of Youth, arm it with the Wea|pons of Mortification, and curbing your unbridled Pa&s;&s;ions, &s;trengthen it with noble Re&s;olutions, and the powerful a&s;&s;i|&s;tance of Chri&s;tian Vertues? A&s;&s;ure your &s;elf a dying Age will never prove the fruitful Parent of a victorious Pennance. <HI>Poenitentia quae a moriente tantum petitur,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>You then, O holy Penitent, and mo&s;t bright mirrour of Pennance, O holy <HI>Magdalen,</HI> teach my Auditory what time you ob&s;erved to hear tho&s;e mo&s;t comfortable words, <HI>Remit|tuntur tibi peccata tua.</HI> Perchance you expected your lips &s;hould wither, before you fix'd tho&s;e cha&s;t ki&s;&s;es on the Feet of Je&s;us. You waited perchance for death to break your Body, before you broke open your Box of Perfumes to an|noint his Divine Feet.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nec ip&s;a &s;e ad <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">oc re&s;ervavit, <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">t in fine vitae <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">aenitentiam a|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">eret, &s;ed dum <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">dhuc peccare <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">oterat &s;ic Deo <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">n&s;pirante volu|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">t peccata di|mittere, ut il|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">am de Adulte|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">iis &s;uis, non ne|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">e&s;&s;itas &s;ub tra|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">eret, &s;ed vc|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">ntas &amp; ideo <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">udire mervit, <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">uod ei omnia <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">erint peccata <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">imi&s;&s;a. S. Aug. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">er. <HI>57.</HI> de Paen,</NOTE> You &s;taid perchance for old age to rob you of tho&s;e charming Locks, before you offered them to your dear Lord, to in&s;nare him in your love. You demur|red perchance till your &s;ins left you, that you might run to God. <HI>&V;t cognovit.</HI> Chri&s;tian Auditory. <HI>&V;t cognovit.</HI> As &s;oon as ever &s;he under&s;tood that her Heavenly Phy&s;itian was at hand, pre&s;ently, without any delay, changing her &s;inful boldne&s;s into a fruitful confidence, &s;he entred where he was, and pro&s;trate at his Divine Feet, the Pillars of a <HI>non plus ul|tra,</HI> to her wicked life, pleaded her pardon with the &s;ilent groans of a contrite heart, and drown'd her &s;ins in a Sea of Tears. <HI>&V;t cognovit. As &s;oon as ever &s;he knew.</HI> Therefore, <HI>Quae|rite Dominum dum inveniri pote&s;t. Seek the Lord whil&s;t he may be found.</HI> Now, this day, this moment. When he calls you, when he offers you his Grace, when he expects your return.
<PB N="19" REF="10"> Do not defer till the night of Death &s;urpri&s;e you. <HI>Venit nox quando nemo pote&s;t operari. The night comes when no man can labour.</HI> It will then be too late. You'll &s;eek your Saviour but not find him. <HI>Et in peccato,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>And then you'll die in your &s;in.</HI></P>
<P>Another rea&s;on which renders thy repentance almo&s;t im|po&s;&s;ible, is thy cu&s;tom of &s;inning, which once having got po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of thy Soul, is hardly rooted out. Becau&s;e, &s;ays St. <HI>Aug. Con&s;uetudo e&s;t quaedam habituata natura. Cu&s;tom is a &s;e|cond nature.</HI> And <HI>Seneca</HI> an&s;wers thee, <HI>That when thy Vices are become thy Manners, there is no place for a remedy. Tunc de&s;init e&s;&s;e remedio locus, ubi quae fuerint vitia mores fiunt.</HI> You read a &s;trange example of this in the third Book of Kings, 13 <HI>chap.</HI> King <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> by his frequent Idolatry, was become harder to the voice of God then the Stones he adored. The Prophet <HI>Semeia,</HI> by Divine order, goes to him, and finds him &s;tanding upon the Altar, but directs his Emba&s;&s;y to the Al|tar not to the King. <HI>Altar, Altar.</HI> St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> a&s;toni&s;h'd hereat, asks him. <HI>Cum lapide verba facis?</HI> O Man of God, what do you do? Do you think God has given the Marble ears to hear your voice? Is your Tongue an In&s;trument of &s;teel, that can imprint upon it the Character of your words? Certainly upon this Altar you &s;acrifice your Words to the Winds. Why do you not &s;peak to the King who willingly hears you? Every one will judge you a mad Man, to treat Stones as Men, and Men as Stones. Do you think the King will not give you audience? Much le&s;s will the Stones re|turn you an an&s;wer. If the one will not hear what you &s;ay, do you believe the other will execute your Commands? If <HI>Jeroboam</HI> has not ears to hear you, much le&s;s has the Marble capacity to under&s;tand you. But it was not &s;o. For the Pro|phet found more hardne&s;s in the &s;tubborn heart of the ob&s;ti|nate King, than in the &s;en&s;ele&s;s Stone; and his voice which was not heard by the one was obey'd by the other, opening its Bowels, and delivering out the commanded Victim, in o|bedience to the &s;ame voice the &s;tubborn King &s;topt his Ears to. <HI>Etiam quando rex minus compos e&s;t &s;en&s;uum quam lapis, &amp; au|divit lapis, ip&s;e lapis in &s;ci&s;&s;uras diffractus e&s;t, &amp; victimam
<PB N="20" REF="11"> effudit, homo ille non audivit. St.</HI> Chry&s;. In <HI>proem.</HI> in <HI>I&s;aiah.</HI> This we &s;ee daily, and lament. How many Preachers by Sermons, Exhortations, and pious Di&s;cour&s;es, tell the ob&s;tinate and habi|tual Sinner, the danger he is in by delaying his Conver&s;ion. They propo&s;e to him the patience of his God, his frequent in|vitations to repentance, his threats, his promi&s;es, his rewards, his puni&s;hments, nothing moves him. <HI>Percu&s;&s;i&s;ti eos &amp; non dolu|erunt,</HI> &s;ays <HI>Jeremiah</HI> of the ob&s;tinate. <HI>Thou ha&s;t &s;tricken them and they have not grieved, chap.</HI> 5. In vain does Heaven puni&s;h here, in vain do you propo&s;e divine Benefits. <HI>Ip&s;i fue|runt rebelles lumini.</HI> They were rebellious to the Light, &s;ays <HI>Job</HI> of the &s;ame, <HI>ch.</HI> 54. A cur&s;ed habit of Sinning has ren|dred thy heart more hard than the very Stones.</P>
<P>The Divine St. <HI>Aug.</HI> has a gentile reflection upon three Dead, rai&s;ed by our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour. The Prince of the Syna|gogues Daughter dies. The Heavenly Phy&s;itian only takes her by the hand, not &s;o much to feel the motion of her Pul&s;e, as to give it; bids her ri&s;e, and &s;he returns to Life. The Wid|dows Son of <HI>Naim,</HI> interpreted the City of Beauties, dies in the flower of his Youth, and Je&s;us meets the di&s;con&s;olate Widdow at the City Gates, calls the young man with an <HI>Adole&s;cens tibi dico &s;urge,</HI> and in obedience to the command he &s;tands up alive, and Je&s;us dries up the Tears of the afflicted Mother with the joyful &s;ight of her rai&s;ed Son. <HI>Lazarus</HI> dies and is buried, and Chri&s;t is troubled, &s;ighs for grief, breaks out into Tears, groans, and with a loud cry calls him, <HI>La|zare, veni foras. Lazarus, come forth.</HI> And thus he re&s;cues him from the Jaws of death, and brings him alive from the Sepulchre. But what &s;ort of death is this, my dear Je&s;us, that will not give <HI>Lazarus</HI> the light of life, unle&s;s your all en|lightening Eyes &s;et in a Sea of grief? That will not open the Grave and give up her dead, unle&s;s you open your Sacred Mouth to groans? That will &s;ee you, Author of all Joy, full of all &s;adne&s;s, before &s;he rejoice the Spectators with their rai|&s;ed Friend. Why was there not need of this in the others? Whence this novelty? St. <HI>Aug.</HI> an&s;wers the query. Becau&s;e in the young Per&s;ons was expre&s;&s;ed a Sin newly committed;
<PB N="21" REF="11"> not &s;o much, out of Malice as Frailty. But this &s;ignifies a ha|bit of &s;inning. <HI>Cum con&s;uetudinis malae qua&s;i mole terrena pre|mitur animus, qua&s;i in S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">pulchro jam putet. When the Soul is oppre&s;sed by a bad habit, as with a heap of Earth, it corrupts as it were in her Sepulcher.</HI> And therefore the voice of our Saviour was &s;ufficient alone to rai&s;e the Fir&s;t. But here <HI>Fremuit in Spiritu, &amp; rur&s;us infremuit, &amp; deinde magna voce exclama|vit, Lazare veni foras. He groaned in Spirit, and groan'd a|gain, and then he cry'd out with a great voice,</HI> Lazarus <HI>come forth.</HI> To demon&s;trate how difficult a thing it is for a Sin|ner to be Converted, and do Pennance at the hour of his Death. It is a &s;trange ob&s;ervation of St. <HI>Jerome</HI> upon the Epi&s;tle of St. <HI>Paul,</HI> where mention is made of the general Judgment. At the fir&s;t &s;ound of the Angelical Trumpet, which mu&s;t &s;ummon all Men to the vale of <HI>Jo&s;aphat,</HI> the dead will pre&s;ently ari&s;e and pre&s;ent them&s;elves. But to the li|ving which remain on earth, the voice of the Archangel will not be enough, the voice and command of God mu&s;t be added. What means this? That it is ea&s;ier to rai&s;e a dead man to life, than Convert an ob&s;tinate Sinner. This will &s;ooner come from his Grave, than that will leave his wick|ed life. This will &s;ooner awake from the &s;leep of death, than that will ri&s;e from the Lethargy of Sin. And God is &s;ooner heard in Graves than in Towns and Cities.</P>
<P>But my ob&s;tinate Sinner &s;till replies, that the mercies of God are above all his Works. That he will not the death of a Sinner, but rather that he be converted and live. That his Mercies have mo&s;t of all triumphed in the hour of death. He has invited, even then, the wor&s;t of Sinners to pardon. <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> after a wicked life, became a Penitent. He invited <HI>Judas</HI> with a ki&s;s of Peace, and &s;aved a Thief on the Cro&s;s. It's very true, but here lies an errour that has Peopled Hell. Are you &s;ure, or do you only hope that he will invite you? <HI>Vix dici pote&s;t,</HI> &s;ays St. <HI>Aug. quantos haec inanis &s;pei umbra deceperit. It can hardly be expre&s;&s;ed how many this empty &s;ha|dow of vain hope has deluded.</HI> Serm. 100. de temp. This it was that ruined <HI>Judas</HI> and made him <HI>dux eorum qui compre|henderunt
<PB N="22" REF="12"> J&s;um. Captain of them that apprehended Je&s;us.</HI> And whence &s;o great boldne&s;s, &s;uch hardne&s;s of heart in an Apo&s;tle, a worker of Miracles, who had lived three years in the School and Company of Chri&s;t? St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> found the Origin and di&s;covered it for the In&s;truction and Correction of the like to him. <HI>Confidebat nimium in lenitate Magi&s;tri, quae res illum magis confudit, &amp; omni venia privavit. He confided too much in the Meekne&s;s of his Ma&s;ter, which did more confound him, and deprive him of all pardon.</HI> The &s;weet behaviour of Chri&s;t to him, which ought to have made him love him more dearly, rendred him odious and de&s;picable. He never &s;aw him hurt any one, but do good to all, and therefore he betray'd him, becau&s;e he did not fear him, but vainly confided in his Mercy. And tho' <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> clos'd his wicked life with a peni|tent death; yet his gracele&s;s Son <HI>Ammon</HI> following the vi|cious &s;teps of his Father died as he lived. Nor mu&s;t you urge tha example of the good Thief. For in the day the Son of God died to redeem man, &s;ome extraordinary priviledge might be granted. But turn from the right hand to the left, it is a &s;hort pa&s;&s;age, and you will &s;ee, that tho' he was converted and &s;a|ved, yet his Companion, and a thou&s;and of the &s;tanders by, died as they lived. This then is an error the blind may &s;ee palmed on your &s;elf, not upon God. For he prote&s;ts by the mouth of the Wi&s;eman, <HI>Prov.</HI> 1. That he called, and you re|fu&s;ed, you de&s;pi&s;ed his Coun&s;els, neglected his reprehen&s;ions, and therefore he will laugh in your de&s;truction, and &s;corn when tribulation and di&s;tre&s;s &s;hall come upon you. <HI>Then,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>they &s;hall invocate me, and I will not hear them.</HI> Oh dear Sinner! What a terrible menace is this to a poor Soul, to be for&s;aken at the la&s;t, and ca&s;t off by Almighty God.</P>
<P>But he has Eyes and will not &s;ee, Ears and will not hear, Feet and will not walk. He has affectedly lulled his Con&s;cience a|&s;leep with the drunkenne&s;s of his &s;ins, the Trumpet of Death and Judgment cannot rouze him; and he intends to awake at his death, and live to heaven, who living was dead to Grace. Would you know what becomes of him? A Me&s;&s;age is di&s;patch'd, for Mercy has given him over, and Ju&s;tice will
<PB N="23" REF="12"> no longer indure him; perchance the &s;ame that was brought to King <HI>Ezechias</HI> on his Sick-bed. <HI>Di&s;pone domui tuae, quia morieris tu &amp; non vives. Take order with thy hou&s;e, for thou &s;halt die, and &s;halt not live, I&s;a. ch.</HI> 38. <HI>v.</HI> 1. A di&s;temper &s;ei|&s;es him, he is carried to his Bed, his affrighted Friends run to his aid, with weeping Eyes they beg of him <HI>Now,</HI> for <HI>Now</HI> is the time, or <HI>Never,</HI> to think on his Soul, to repent and re|concile him&s;elf to God, they mind him with mo&s;t earne&s;t in|treaties, of his &s;o often repeated promi&s;es, <HI>I will, I will, when I come to dye.</HI> And what does this deluded Soul an&s;wer? Thanks be to God he is not &s;o ill as to think him&s;elf at that point, in that extremity as they Imagin, who wou'd have him die before his time, or mode&s;tly to hinder them from re|peating what he would not hear, he gives his Friends many thanks in very obliging terms, and &s;ays he will do it &s;peedily as &s;oon as the dulne&s;s of his head clears up, the pain at his heart relents, which at pre&s;ent hinder him from performing any thing, with the &s;eriou&s;ne&s;s a bu&s;ine&s;s of that importance re|quires. Je&s;us! As he &s;poke he fell out of his Sen&s;es, he has lo&s;t his &s;peech, his eyes are &s;et in his head, he breaths no more, he is dead. A puni&s;hment ju&s;tly due to the merits of his Crime, that he who living never rai&s;ed his Eyes to Heaven to de&s;ire it, dy|ing &s;hould not ca&s;t them down on hell to fear it, who living never thought on God, dying &s;hould forget him&s;elf. I am &s;orry I can't comfort his &s;ad and afflicted Friends with a <HI>Requie&s;cat in pace. The Lords peace be with him.</HI> The Antiphon that I wou'd have Sung before and after every Funeral P&s;alm, &s;hou'd be that mo&s;t true Sentence of St. <HI>Aug. It is the puni&s;hment of every &s;in|ner, that he forget him&s;elf when he comes to dye, who whil&s;t he lived was forgetful of God.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;tian Auditory. You are all created to eternal happi|ne&s;s, all born to Immortal Glory, and con&s;equently you have all Souls to &s;ave. But <HI>qui fecit te &s;ine te,</HI> &s;ays St. <HI>Aug. non &s;alva|bit te &s;ine te. He that made you without you, will not &s;ave you without you.</HI> Your concurrance with the grace and calls of Al|mighty God, is of nece&s;&s;ity to Salvation. If you have been e|ver called and neglected it, how do you know you &s;hall ever
<PB N="24" REF="13"> be called again. If you have not been yet called, perchance the fir&s;t is the la&s;t. You have &s;een what &s;ad and lamentable ends have attended the Delayers. I have &s;hewn the &s;tubborn Sinner how difficult a thing it is to do Pennance in the la&s;t hour, and laid down the rea&s;on too, of the &s;ad <HI>Exit</HI> of one of thy Compa|nions. And will nothing move thee? Will nothing mollify thy &s;trong heart? Come along withme to the Throne of Mercy. If I can't convince thee, I le try at lea&s;t if I can confound thee. Let's go to Mount <HI>Calvary.</HI> With your leave Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, room Courteous Souldiers Devout <HI>Magdalen</HI> you have heard already an all-pardoning <HI>Remittuntur tibi,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Thy &s;ins are forgiven thee.</HI> Ca&s;t up thy Eyes then, O Sinner, and look if thou can&s;t for &s;hame. It is thy God that thought him&s;elf mi&s;e|rable unle&s;s thou wert happy; who after three and thirty years Preaching, Sweat, and Labour for thy &s;ake, died that thou maye&s;t live eternally. He is naked to cloath thee with the Robes of Immortality. He bows his Sacred head to give thee a ki&s;s of Peace, he &s;tretcheth forth his arms to embrace thee, he has his &s;ide pierced to open thee a pa&s;&s;age to his heart to &s;hew he loves thee; he is crowned with Thorns to Crown thee with a Diadem of Immortal Glory. Tho&s;e Wounds from Head to Foot are thy Sins.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ip&s;e autem vul|neratus e&s;t prop|ter &s;celera no|&s;tra, I&s;a. <HI>53.5.</HI></NOTE> He has made a Bath of his pretious blood to heal them. Tho&s;e wounds are &s;o many to|kens of his bleeding love. Tho&s;e wounds are &s;o many elo|quent mouths that cry to thy &s;tony heart, <HI>repentance, repen|tance.</HI> But I have &s;omething more to &s;ay, for thy God does yet more. He has written thee with wounds in his hands, for he cannot forget thee, with the&s;e he pleads thy cau&s;e in Heaven to his eternal Father. I hear the holy Spirit with un|&s;peakable groans cry out for Mercy. And does not this melt thee into Sorrow and Compa&s;&s;ion? Art thou not yet a Penitent? I leave thee then to plead thy own cau&s;e at the mo&s;t &s;evere Tribunal of Divine Ju&s;tice. But you, O Father of Mercies, by the bitter death and pa&s;&s;ion of your mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed Son, grant that &s;o &s;ad and lamentable an end may never happen to any one here.</P>
<CLOSER><HI>In nomine Patris,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Amen.</HI></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
