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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>THE Godly Mans Gain; AND THE Wicked Mans Woe; OR, Good news from Heaven for the Righteous.</P>
<P>Plainly &s;hewing the wonderful manife&s;tati|on of the love of God to their &s;ouls, their ble&s;&s;ed and happy condition, both in this life and that which is to come.</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e, the dreadful condition of the wic|ked, their danger by rea&s;on of &s;in, becau&s;e the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven again&s;t the work|ers of iniquity.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, &s;ome &s;ea&s;onable warnings, and per|&s;wa&s;ions, for poor &s;inners to prepare for judgement, that they may be able to &s;tand in the evil day, and avoid tho&s;e vi&s;ible tokens of Gods fury, and their e|ternal ruine in flames of fire, prepared for the wick|ed, who delight to make void the law of God.</P>
<P>By Matthew Killiray.</P>
<Q><BIBL>P&s;al 9. 6, 7.</BIBL>
<P>Upon the wicked be &s;hall rain &s;nares, fire and brim&s;tone, and an horrible tempe&s;t, this &s;hall bee the portion of their Cup.</P>
<P>For the Righteous Lord, loveth righteou&s;ne&s;s, his coun|tenance doth behold the upright.</P></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>W. Thackeray,</HI> at the <HI>Black-Spread-Eagle</HI> and <HI>Sun,</HI> in the <HI>Old-Bayley.</HI> 1665.</P>
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<HEAD>The Godly Mans Gain, AND The Wicked Mans Woe; OR, Good news from Heaven for the Righteous.</HEAD>
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<BIBL>I&s;aiah 3. 10, 11.</BIBL>
<Q><P>Say yee to the Righteous, that it &s;hall be well with them, for they &s;hall eat the fruit of their doings.</P>
<P>Woe unto the wicked, it &s;hall bee ill with him, for the reward of his hands &s;hall bee given him.</P></Q>
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<P>_THe&s;e words, are the words of the Pro|phet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> unto rebellious <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> having &s;hewed them in the former ver&s;es, the trouble and confu&s;ion which comes by &s;in; It is the cau&s;e of the lo&s;s of Temporal and Spiritual enjoy|ments, thence ari&s;eth di&s;obedience to Parents, as you may read in the fift and &s;ixt ver&s;es, hee comes in the&s;e two ver&s;es read to you, to &s;hew that though it be a day of publick calamity, when
<PB N="3" REF="3" MS="y"> the &s;hews of mens countenances do witne&s;&s;e again&s;t them, and &s;hews their Sin as <HI>Sodome,</HI> yet then is there good news from Heaven for the Righteous &s;oul, here is glad tydings of peace and &s;afety for him, <HI>It &s;hall b&eacute;e well with him;</HI> here is all good things comprehended in this word, <HI>Well,</HI> it &s;hall go Well with him here, well with him hereafter; this &s;hall bee his comfort, this his joy, <HI>H&eacute;e &s;hall eat of the fruit of his Doings,</HI> and be &s;atisfied. But what &s;hall become of the Wicked? &s;hall it be &s;o with them? read the next ver&s;e, behold their doom and avoid it, if po&s;&s;ible, <HI>Woe to the Wicked, it &s;hall b&eacute;e ill with him, for the reward of his hands &s;hall b&eacute;e given him.</HI> Better for him hee had never been born, for eternal mi&s;ery is his Portion, hee hath done ill, and the fruits of his evil deeds &s;hall hee receive; not a word of mercy to him, not a word of comfort for him; he hath had his good things in this life, and the chil|dren of God their evil things; but now they are comforted, and he is tormented; they have the good &s;pirit, the Holy Gho&s;t, to comfort them, but the Wicked man, the evil &s;pirit to torment him; in a word, all the woes and denunciati|ons of wrath &s;hall bee executed again&s;t him, which are written in the Book of God. The ob|&s;ervation that I would note from the&s;e words, is this.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="4">
<P><HI>Doct.</HI> That in the mid&s;t of mi&s;ery, the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hath bowels of mercy for the Righteous per&s;on; but in the day of ac|count, h&eacute;e will have nothing but dregs of fu|ry for the Wicked, who &s;tudy to make void his Law.</P>
<P>Here is good news for you, who have fought the good fight of Faith, who have contended earne&s;tly for the cau&s;e of Chri&s;t: a Crown of glory is prepared for them which &s;hall never fade away: There is mercy for them in the mid&s;t of mi&s;ery, joy for them in the mid&s;t of &s;orrow; the &s;miles of Gods countenance &s;hall cheer up their hearts, though they may have &s;orrow for a &s;ea&s;on, yet joy cometh in the mor|ning; the &s;weet and gracious carriage of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hall even Ravi&s;h their &s;ouls. That this is &s;o, <HI>that in the mid&s;t of mi&s;ery, the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hath bowels of mercy,</HI> &s;ee Heb. 13. 5. <HI>B&eacute;e content with &s;uch things as you have, for h&eacute;e hath &s;aid, I will never leave th&eacute;e, nor for&s;ake th&eacute;e;</HI> As if the Lord &s;hould &s;ay to any poor &s;oul in mi&s;ery, that is ready to di&s;pond or de&s;pair, under the burden of his afflictions, bear my hand patiently, bee content with &s;uch as you have, whether it be af|fliction, tribulation, or per&s;ecution in this world; I have prepared a better Kingdome for you, Ile never leave you, in &s;ix troubles, or in &s;even, <HI>Ile
<PB N="5" REF="4"> guide you by my Coun&s;el, and afterward re|ceive you into Glory.</HI> P&s;a. 138. 3. <HI>In the day when I cryed, thou an&s;wered&s;t m&eacute;e, and &s;trengthened&s;t m&eacute;e with &s;trength in my Soul.</HI> Though the world frown upon them, yet there is a &s;ecret &s;upport, there is an everla&s;ting arm that bears them up; his &s;weet and gracious car|riage to the Church, declares that they are the beloved of his Soul, they are his Darling, &s;ee Canticles 4. 8, 11. <HI>Come with m&eacute;e from</HI> Le|banon <HI>(my Spou&s;e) from</HI> Lebanon, &amp;c. <HI>thou ha&s;t Ravi&s;hed my heart, my Si&s;ter, my Spou&s;e, thou ha&s;t ravi&s;hed my heart with one of thine eyes, with one Chain of thy neck, how fair is thy love, my Si&s;ter, my Spou&s;e, how much better is thy Love than wine, and the &s;mell of thine ointments, than all &s;pices?</HI> and thus the Lord Je&s;us goes along, &s;hewing forth his Love in mo&s;t excellent tearms, to make the &s;oul more enamored of him: But now to &s;hew you why it is &s;o, or how it comes to pa&s;s, that the Lord is &s;o full of bowels of mercy towards the Righteous, I &s;hall give a few Rea&s;ons for it.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e they are tho&s;e whom hee hath Ran&s;omed, whom hee hath bought at a dear rate, even the price of his own blood. The&s;e are the per&s;ons, (the Righteous I mean) for whom hee was reviled, de&s;pi&s;ed, was in bitter
<PB N="6" REF="5" MS="y"> Agonies, and &s;uffered a cruel death upon the Cro&s;&s;e; And think you will he leave the&s;e in mi&s;ery, and not remember, hee is a God of mercy? will not hee &s;tay the&s;e with Flaggons, and comfort them with Apples, when they are &s;ick of love? The blood of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t was not &s;hed in vain, but he dyed that his might live, hee went thorow &s;orrows, that his might have joy, hee was Crowned with Thorns, that his might bee Crowned with Glo|ry. They are tho&s;e whom hee hath called out of darkne&s;&s;e into his marvellous light, for the&s;e he hath procured a &s;alvation, and an everla&s;ting Re&s;t, They &s;hall not be lead Captive at the Devils will, becau&s;e they are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Therefore &s;hall it go well with them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e they are tho&s;e whom hee hath Cho&s;en, and tho&s;e whom the Fathers hath gi|ven him; Therefore hath the Lord bowels of mercy for them. As hee hath accompli&s;hed his part on the Cro&s;&s;e for them, &s;o will hee ac|compli&s;h his part in Heaven for them. John 6. 36. <HI>Of all <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">at the Father hath given him he will lo&s;e nothing.</HI> They are the fruits of his death and Re&s;urrection, to the&s;e hee will bee a Father in time of trouble, when the world ca&s;ts them off, he will receive them into his pro|tection, hee will open his everla&s;ting arms, and
<PB N="7" REF="5"> receive them into his embraces, Chri&s;t will not lo&s;e his intere&s;t, hee will not lo&s;e tho&s;e whom hee hath cho&s;en, and whom the Father hath gi|ven him, but the light of his countenance &s;hall &s;hine upon them, and hee will compa&s;&s;e them about with mercy all the daies of their lives.</P>
<P N="3">3 Why hath God bowels of mercy for the Righteous? becau&s;e God hath peculiarly promi|&s;ed to the&s;e, and none but the&s;e, that he will be a Father to them, and they &s;hall be his Chil|dren.</P>
<P>Now beloved, hath not a Father yerning bo|wels of affection towards his childe, doth not he love his own, and cheri&s;h his own more affe|ctionately then he doth anothers, if he &s;ee them wronged doth not hee right them, even &s;o the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as a Father is very pityful, and very loving, and affectionate toward his Children, Oh how his &s;pirit is grieved to &s;ee his grieved, when his children are mole&s;ted, and de&s;pi&s;ed, it pierceth into his &s;oul, and pre&s;ently he is ready to deliver them, he will never leave his comfortle&s;&s;e, but he will come unto them, hee will bee with them in joy and &s;orrow, in pro&s;perity and adver&s;ity, in life and death, and at la&s;t will lead them into his heavenly habita|tion, that they may partake of the glory pro|mi&s;ed, and receive the reward of their righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, even the &s;alvation of their precious
<PB N="8" REF="6"> &s;ouls. Thus have you heard why the Lord Je|&s;us Chri&s;t hath yerning bowels of mercy towards the Righteous. Indeed many more might be gi|ven, but the&s;e I think are enough to &s;atisfie a|ny rea&s;onable &s;oul, and now let mee proceed to make a little improvement of it by way of u&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. U&s;e of Exhortation: Let it bee to exhort you who are Righteous in the &s;ight of God, you to whom Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath bowels of mercy, to be continually lifting up prayers and prai&s;es with your whole heart and &s;oul unto the Lord, who hath tran&s;lated you out of darkne&s;&s;e into his marvailous light, and out of the Kingdome of Satan unto God, that hee &s;hould take pity of you when you were in your blood, when the Prie&s;t, and the Levite pa&s;t by, that Chri&s;t the good Samaritain &s;hould look on you, and heal you. Oh admire this goodne&s;&s;e of God! and been not &s;lothful, but be fervent in &s;pirit, &s;erving the Lord, that hath had &s;uch compa&s;&s;ion on you, that hath wa&s;hed your &s;ouls in his own blood, that hath purged your con&s;ciences from dead works, what, will not you &s;erve the Lord with fear and trembling? you to whom the Lord hath revealed him&s;elf in Love and Mercy, oh be ex|horted in the fear of God, to live an&s;werable to tho&s;e injoyments you enjoy, and are like to bee partakers of.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="9" REF="6">2. U&s;e of comfort and con&s;olation to poor dejected &s;ouls, who go mourning all the day long, here is good news for you converted &s;in|ners, you who have felt the mi&s;ery under the burden of &s;in, and do believe and endeavour to avoid the power of Satan, and the wrath of God, and do believe what Chri&s;t hath done for your re&s;tauration and &s;alvation, and have thank|fully accepted of him as your onely Saviour and Lord, on the terms that hee is offered in the Go&s;pel, as one that calls, ju&s;tifies, &s;anctifies, and brings at la&s;t to everla&s;ting glory. Hold up your heads poore &s;ouls, and open the everla&s;t|ing gates of your &s;ouls, that the King of glory may come in in tryumph; Hitherto you have clouded the bright rayes of his glory, now o|pen your eyes and your &s;ouls, that you may behold it, learn to &s;ay with <HI>David,</HI> Why art thou ca&s;t down O my &s;oul, why art thou di&s;|quieted within mee? hope thou in God, who will yet bee the light of my countenance and my God: hold up your heads, you have cau&s;e to rejoyce, O ye Saints and Servants of the mo&s;t high God, you need not fear what man can do unto you, it &s;hall bee well with you, you &s;hall have joy when others &s;hall have &s;orrow, you &s;hall have peace when others &s;hall have trou|ble, you &s;hall enjoy eternal life, when others &s;hall have eternal death to their portion, and
<PB N="10" REF="7"> &s;o let mee leave you in the bo&s;ome of your Fa|ther &s;ucking from the brea&s;ts of his con&s;olation, and let mee &s;peak a little to the wicked, to tho&s;e who will not have the Lord of life to Reign over them. Something I &s;hall &s;peak, to &s;how them their danger and de&s;perate condi|tion, and &s;omething by way of per&s;wa&s;ion, to per&s;wade them to come in to the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that they might not bee the objects of his fury at the great day. And when I begin to &s;peak of the&s;e things, I confe&s;&s;e it &s;eems ter|rible to mee, and makes mee almo&s;t afraid; people will run out of their wits when they hear it, but a little experience &s;hewing us that ma|ny are like a Dog bread up in a Forge or Fur|nace, that being u&s;ed to it, can &s;leep though the hammers are beating, and the fire and hot Irons flaming about him, when another that had never &s;een it would be amazed at the &s;ight: &s;o thus they who have ten or twenty years heard talke of the danger of enduring the wrath of God at the day of judgement, but &s;ee it not, nor feel any hurt, they think it is but talke, and make nothing of it, and thus they thank God for his patience, <HI>Becau&s;e his &s;entence is not executed &s;p&eacute;edily therefore they &s;et them|&s;elves to do evil. Eccle&s;.</HI> 8. 11. This con&s;i|deration moved mee, and awakened my &s;oul, that I might unburden my con&s;cience before
<PB N="11" REF="7"> you, and &s;peak the truth in God and lye not. And Oh that I could reach your hearts, Oh that who&s;oever reads this little book, might fear and tremble, and that &s;eeing his danger he may endeavour to avoid tho&s;e unquenchable flames of the fury of Gods wrath, &s;ee 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. 10, 11. and tremble when you read it, <HI>For w&eacute;e mu&s;t all appear at the Iudgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, good or bad. Kn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">wing therefore the terrours of the Lord we per&s;wade men.</HI> 'Tis to you I am to &s;peak who have done ill, woe to you, for the reward of your works &s;hall bee given you, and what is that? Nothing but hell and horrour, nothing but the fury of Gods wrath; a &s;ad &s;entence &s;hall bee pa&s;&s;ed on you, &s;hall make your hearts to tremble then, though you will not tremble now.</P>
<P>1. Let us inquire wherein this horrour con|&s;i&s;ts, that is, fir&s;t in the &s;entence of condemna|tion it &s;elf, which expre&s;&s;eth the mi&s;ery they are judged to.</P>
<P N="1">1. They are cur&s;ed, and that denounceth a people de&s;tinated and adjudged to utter un|happine&s;&s;e, and to all kinde of mi&s;eries without remedy; and their cur&s;edne&s;&s;e is de&s;cribed in the next words; <HI>depart from m&eacute;e into ever|la&s;ting fire, prepared for the Devil and his
<PB N="12" REF="8"> Angels;</HI> from whom mu&s;t they depart? from that God that made them in his Image, from the Redeemer that Bought them with the price of his blood, and offered to &s;ave them freely, for all their unworthine&s;s, and many times intreated them to accept his offer, that their &s;ouls might live; from the Holy Gho&s;t, the &s;anctifier, and comforter of the Faithful, who &s;trove with their hearts, till they quenched and expelled him: Oh &s;ad departing! who would not then chu&s;e to depart from all the friends hee had in the world, or from any thing imaginable, from his life, from him&s;elf, if it were po&s;&s;ible, than from Chri&s;t; <HI>Depart,</HI> from what? from the pre&s;ence of the Judge, from all future hopes of &s;alvation for ever, from all po&s;&s;ibility of ever being &s;aved, and living in the joyful inheritance of the Righteous. And then con&s;ider</P>
<P N="2">2. Whether mu&s;t they depart? 1. Into fire. 2. Into that fire, which is prepared for the De|vil and his Angels. 3. Into everla&s;ting fire, not into a purifying, but into a tormenting fire, and thither wilt thou go without remedy, no Chri&s;t now to intercede for thee; in vain now to repent, and wi&s;h you had not &s;lighted your &s;alvation, or &s;old it for a little plea&s;ure for the fle&s;h, it will bee then in vain to cry, <HI>Lord open to us;</HI> Oh &s;pare us! Oh pity us! Oh do not ca&s;t us into tho&s;e hideous flames! Oh do not turn us among
<PB N="13" REF="8"> Devils, do not condemn thy Redeemed ones! but all &s;hall bee in vain, you cry and you call too late, the gates of Heaven are &s;hut again&s;t you, you have &s;inned, therefore you &s;hall &s;uffer; the coals of his fury &s;hall alwaies bee burning of you, but you &s;hall never be burnt; con&s;idering the company you &s;hall have, none but torment|ing Devils, this will aggravate your mi&s;ery; and the time it &s;hall endure, not only a year, or ten years, or a hundred years, but for ever; you &s;hall bee alwaies con&s;uming, but never con|&s;umed; as the ble&s;&s;edne&s;s and joy of the God|ly is perpetual, &s;o &s;hall al&s;o the torments of the Wicked. Oh poor &s;inner! that reade&s;t or hear|e&s;t the&s;e lines, I be&s;eech thee, in compa&s;&s;ion to thy &s;oul, con&s;ider how fearful the ca&s;e of that man will bee, that is newly doomed to the ever|la&s;ting fire, and is haled to the execution with|out remedy. The time was, when Repentance might have done thee good, but then all thy Repentings will bee in vain; now while thy day of vi&s;itation la&s;teth, had&s;t thou but a heart to cry and call for mercy in faith and fervency, thou mighte&s;t bee heard, but then praying and cry|ing will do thee no good; &s;hould&s;t thou roar out in the extremity of thy horrour and amazement, and be&s;eech the Lord Je&s;us, but to forgive thee one &s;in, or to &s;end thee on earth once more, or try thee once again in the fle&s;h, whether
<PB N="14" REF="9"> thou would love him, and lead a holy life, it would bee all in vain; &s;hould&s;t thou be&s;eech him by all the mercifulne&s;s of his nature, by all his &s;ufferings and bloody death, by all the mer|ciful promi&s;es of the Go&s;pel, it would bee all in vain; nay &s;hould&s;t thou but beg for one daies re|prieve, or to &s;tay one hour before thou wert ca&s;t into tho&s;e flames, it would not bee heard; how earne&s;tly did <HI>Dives</HI> hog of <HI>Abraham,</HI> for one drop of water to cool his tongue, becau&s;e hee was tormented in the flames, and what was hee the better, hee was bid <HI>Remember the good things h&eacute;e had in this life,</HI> and that remem|brance would torment him more. Chri&s;t will not bee intreated by the ungodly, but hee will &s;oon &s;top thy mouth, or leave thee &s;peechle&s;s and &s;ay, Remember man that I did once &s;end thee a me&s;&s;age of peace, and thou would&s;t not hear it, I did once &s;toop to be&s;eech thee to return, and thou would&s;t not hear, I be&s;ought thee by the tender mercies of God; I be&s;ought thee by all the love that I had &s;hewed thee, by my holy life, my cur&s;ed death, by the riches of my grace, by the offers of my glory, and I could not get thee to for&s;ake the world, to deny thy fle&s;h, to leave one beloved &s;in; for all this, I waited on thee many a day, and year, thou would&s;t not con&s;i|der, and return and live, and now 'tis too late, my &s;entence is pa&s;t, and cannot be recal|led,
<PB N="15" REF="9"> away from me, get thee hence, <HI>thou work|er of Iniquity,</HI> Mat. 7. 22, 23. Ah! be|loved friends, what a ca&s;e is then the poor de&s;|perate &s;inner left in? how can you that read or hear, once think without trembling, of the condition that &s;uch forlorn wretches will be in, when they look above them, and &s;ee God that hath for&s;aken them, becau&s;e they for&s;ook him fir&s;t; and when they look about them, and &s;ee the Saints on the one hand, whom they de|&s;pi&s;ed, now &s;entenced unto glory, and the Wicked on the other hand, whom they accom|panied and imitated, now judged with them to everla&s;ting mi&s;ery; when they look below them, and &s;ee the flames that they mu&s;t abide in, e|ven for evermore, and when the Devil begins to hale them to the execution; Oh poor &s;ouls! now what would they give for a Chri&s;t, for a promi&s;e, for a time of Repentance, for a Sermon of mercy, which once they &s;lept under, or made no account of; how is the ca&s;e altered now with them? who would think that the&s;e are the &s;ame men, that made light of all this on earth, that &s;o &s;toutly &s;corned the reproofs of the word, that would be worldly, and fle&s;hly, &amp; drunk, &amp; proud; let preachers &s;ay what they would, and perhaps hated them that did give them warn|ing; now they are of another minde, but all too late; now would they draw back, and lay
<PB N="16" REF="10"> hold of any thing, rather than bee dragged a|way into tho&s;e flames, but there is no re&s;i&s;ting; Satans temptations might have been re&s;i&s;ted, but his executions cannot; Gods Judgements might have been prevented by faith and prayer, and a holy life, but they cannot bee re&s;i&s;ted, when they are not prevented; glad would the mi&s;erable &s;inner bee, if that hee might but turn to nothing, or that hee might bee any thing, rather than a Rea&s;onable Creature, but their wi&s;hes are all in vain, there is but one time, and one way for a &s;inners deliverance, if hee fail in that one, hee peri&s;heth for ever; all the world cannot help him after that, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. 26. I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in a day of &s;alvation, behold now is the day of &s;alvation, <HI>Rev.</HI> 3. 20. <HI>Behold I &s;tand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voyce, and open the door, I will come in to him, and &s;up with him, and h&eacute;e with m&eacute;e,</HI> but for the time to come hereafter, hear what the Lord &s;aith, <HI>Pro.</HI> 1, 24, 25, 26. <HI>becau&s;e I have called and you refu&s;ed, I have &s;tretched out my hand and no man regarded, but they have &s;et at naught all my coun&s;el, and would none of my reproof I will al&s;o mock at your calamity,</HI> I <HI>will laugh when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as de&s;olation, and your de&s;tructi|on as a whirl-wind, when di&s;tre&s;s and an|gui&s;h
<PB N="17" REF="10"> cometh upon them; then &s;hall they call upon m&eacute;e, but I will not an&s;wer, they &s;hall &s;&eacute;ek m&eacute;e early, but &s;hall not finde m&eacute;e, for that they hated knowledge, and did not chu&s;e the fear of the Lord. They would none of my coun&s;els, they de&s;pi&s;ed all my reproofs, there|fore &s;hall they eat of the fruit of their owne way, and b&eacute;e filled with their own devices, for the turning away of the &s;imple &s;hall &s;lay them, and the pro&s;perity of fools &s;hall de&s;troy them, but who &s;o hearkneth to me, &s;hall dwell &s;afely, and &s;hall bee quiet from fear of evil.</HI> This God him&s;elf hath plainly told you, and Oh! that you would con&s;ider of it in time; will you thus wilfully &s;in, and think to e&s;cape the wrath of God? nay, let me tell you, <HI>except you like|wi&s;e repent, y&eacute;e &s;hall all likewi&s;e peri&s;h;</HI> all the world &s;hall not, cannot &s;ave you, no Act of Indemnity &s;hall be pa&s;&s;ed upon you, you have &s;inned, and you &s;hall &s;uffer, and Gods name &s;hall be ju&s;tified by it, and Ah! that your con|&s;ciences would be awakned by a &s;erious appre|hen&s;ion of the deadly torments, and &s;moaking flames that &s;hall certainly one day ceize upon your body, and that the fear of it might move your hearts into a relenting and repenting frame, and your &s;ouls might bee affected with the ways and truths of God, which are both plea&s;ant and peaceable, and in them you &s;hall finde et<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">nal life.</P>
<PB N="18" REF="11">
<P>And now I have in brief &s;hewn you the dan|ger of re&s;i&s;ting the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;uffer mee to per&s;wade you, and Oh that you would be per|&s;waded, before the woes and denunciations of Gods wrath be pronounced again&s;t you! Oh that you would beleeve that one day you &s;hall re|ceive the fruit of your doings, will you &s;uffer your &s;ouls to &s;ink in the la&s;t day, for want of care and &s;elf-pre&s;ervation? Oh that I could per&s;wade you by the tender mercies of God, by that pre|cious blood of the immaculate Lamb of God, to awake pre&s;ently, and re&s;olve to lo&s;e no more time, but &s;et upon the work. Oh that there were &s;uch a heart in you, as you were truly willing to follow the gracious guidance of the Lord, and to u&s;e tho&s;e &s;weet and rea&s;onable means which he hath u&s;ed in his Word, that you may be rea|dy for the day of the Lord, for you will not bee able to make any &s;hift to keep your &s;ouls from continual terrours, as long as you remain in a carnal and unregenerate condition; let the &s;ud|den approach of death and judgement continu|ally move you, and the terrible apprehen&s;ions of the falling into tho&s;e furious flames prepared for the wicked, rou&s;e up your &s;leepy &s;ouls from &s;in and &s;ecurity. How do you think to e&s;cape at the la&s;t day, you that never once trembled at the thoughts of that great day. Let mee per&s;wade you to confirme your thoughts in the belief of
<PB N="19" REF="11"> this, that you &s;hall &s;uddenly appear at the Bar of Gods ju&s;tice, and there &s;halt be brought to an|&s;wer for thy deeds done in the fle&s;h, whether good or evil, what then wilt thou be able to &s;ay before the great God, then it will be too late to &s;ay, <HI>Lord be merciful to m&eacute;e a &s;inner,</HI> then &s;hal you wi&s;h too late, that you had done the good, and the acceptable will of God? and that you had left the Creature, and &s;erved the Creator. Then &s;hall you be ready to cry out, wo is mee, how &s;hall I be able to bear this heavy and dreadful burden of the wrath of God? Oh how &s;hall I live among tho&s;e &s;corching and never dying flames? How &s;hall I be able to endure tho&s;e fearful &s;hriecks, and &s;ad complaints of tho&s;e damned &s;ouls? and then beholding the &s;weet harmony that is among the glorified Saints, their conti|nual ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e &s;hall more amaze thee, then wilt thou wi&s;h thou weart received into their &s;weet &s;ociety; Then wilt thou be ready to &s;ay, <HI>Lord receive m&eacute;e into thy Kingdom.</HI> But alas thou had&s;t thy good things in this life, therefore nothing but wrath and cur&s;e is thy portion, this will be thy condition, unle&s;&s;e thou in time con|&s;ider, and carefully prepare for the comming of the Bride, I would lay down a few helps and directions, to poor &s;educed and deluded &s;ouls, that &s;eeing their danger, they might al&s;o look out for a Recovery.</P>
<PB N="20" REF="12">
<P>The fir&s;t <HI>Direction,</HI> Labour to get your &s;ouls e&s;tabli&s;hed in this belief, that the judgement of the great day is at hand, and that you mu&s;t an&s;wer for all your deeds done in the fle&s;h; friends, &s;hut not your eyes again&s;t the light. If you do not believe &s;uch a day is at hand, you will never prepare for it, it is the word of the God of truth, certainly you dare not give him the lye. <HI>John</HI> 5. 28, 29. <HI>The hour is coming in which all that are in their graves &s;hall hear his voyce, and &s;hall come forth, they that have done good to the Re&s;urrection of life, and they that have done evil to the Re|&s;urrection of damnation.</HI> Heb. 9. 27. <HI>It is ap|pointed to all men once to dye, and after death to Iudgement.</HI> Nothing more true then this, and dare you live without the faith of this.</P>
<P N="2">2 <HI>Direction.</HI> Make it the bu&s;ine&s;s of your lives to be ready for that day. All other bu&s;ine&s;s &s;hould depend upon this, what el&s;e have you to do but to provide for eternity, and to u&s;e the means pre&s;cribed in Gods Word? remember when you awake every morning you are nearer to eternity, and that the day of your account is at hand, and when you go to bed, examine your hearts, what you have done in preparati|on for the la&s;t day, are you ready for judgement, or are you not? Con&s;ider a while with your &s;ouls, doth not the Scriptures &s;ay, <HI>Except a
<PB N="21" REF="12"> man b&eacute;e born again, h&eacute;e cannot enter into the Kingdome of God.</HI> Joh. 3. 3. <HI>And this is the condemnation that Light is come into the World, and men love Darkne&s;s rather than Light, becau&s;e their d&eacute;eds are evil.</HI> See the ca&s;e of the unprepared &s;oul, at the great day Mat. 25. <HI>Ca&s;t the unprofitable &s;ervant into utter dark|ne&s;s, there &s;hall b&eacute;e w&eacute;eping and gna&s;hing of t&eacute;eth. But tho&s;e mine enemies who will not have me to reign over them, bring them hither and &s;lay them before m&eacute;e.</HI> Mat. 22. 12, 13. <HI>Friend, how came&s;t thou hither not having a wedding garment? and h&eacute;e was &s;p&eacute;echle&s;&s;e, then &s;aid the King to the &s;ervants, binde him hand and foot, and take him away, ca&s;t him in|to utter darkne&s;&s;e.</HI> Labour to bee ready for the great day.</P>
<P N="3">3 <HI>Direction.</HI> Get faith and repentance &s;own in thy heart, or el&s;e thou &s;halt never bee accep|ted or ju&s;tified by the blood of Chri&s;t. Without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God, and with|out repentance no &s;alvation. Oh make not a light matter of &s;in and mi&s;ery, lea&s;t thou bee pre&s;&s;ed by them into infernal flames, but re|pent from the bottome of thy heart, and bee grieved for this, that thou did&s;t not repent &s;oon|er; Turn to the Lord with thy whole heart, and let God bee in all your thoughts, then hee will pardon and pa&s;s by all your iniquities, and re|ceive
<PB N="22" REF="13"> you graciou&s;ly, and pre&s;ent you as pure and &s;potle&s;s before the throne of his Father, and then you &s;hall bee taken into his embraces, and have his banner of love &s;pread over you.</P>
<P N="4">4 <HI>Direction.</HI> Let it bee the daily care of your &s;ouls to mortifie fle&s;hly de&s;ires, and overcome the world, fle&s;hly de&s;ires and carnal &s;elf will draw you off from God. This therefore mu&s;t bee the earne&s;t work of thy life, to &s;ubdue this fle&s;h, and to &s;et light by this world, and re&s;i&s;t the devil that would de&s;troy thee; live loo&s;e from all things in this world, if you would bee ready for another world, you mu&s;t not live af|ter the fle&s;h, but mortifie it by the &s;pirit; <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 13. If you would be accepted in the la&s;t day, and bee able to give up your account with joy, this mu&s;t bee the cour&s;e of your life; then hee hath promi&s;ed to receive you graciou&s;ly, and to take you into his everla&s;ting re&s;t.</P>
<P N="5">5 <HI>Direction.</HI> As you renew your Life, &s;o day|ly renew your Repentance, and do all your works, as men that mu&s;t bee Judged for them at the la&s;t day; Oh that you would remember when temptations are upon you! how careful you &s;hould bee of your words and thoughts; if you &s;eriou&s;ly remember you mu&s;t bee judged for what you have done, and give an account for e|very talent received, certainly you would not be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o vain, &s;o carnal, and &s;o dead to the things of
<PB N="23" REF="13"> God; were you fully convinced that you mu&s;t an&s;wer for all, were God in all your thoughts, the Devil would bee under foot; Oh that poor mi&s;erable &s;ouls! would before it bee too late, lay to heart the&s;e things, and remember what they are born for, and what will bee the i&s;&s;ue of an ungodly, carele&s;s, unrepenting life.</P>
<P N="6">6 <HI>Direction.</HI> Bee in this vigilent and obedi|ent cour&s;e, that with confidence you may re&s;t upon God as a Father, and upon the promi&s;e of acceptance, and remi&s;&s;ion, through the merits and interce&s;&s;ion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; look up in hope to the glory that is &s;et before you; &s;erve not droopingly, but with love and joy, and filial fear; get into communion with the Saints, take heed you bee not excluded by your unworthy walking, le&s;t you bee ca&s;t out of the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t and his Saints for ever. And that I might draw to a conclu&s;ion, I would &s;ay to poor &s;in|ners, Judgement is near, bee prepared le&s;t thou bewail when it is too late. Oh! that the Lord would open your eyes, and turn you to him&s;elf; and then the judgement day will not bee dread|ful to you; then your Saviour whom you have obeyed, will not condemn you, but if you will be ob&s;tinate, when the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t is reveal|ed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in fla|ming fire, taking vengeance on them who know not God, and obey not the Go&s;pel of our Lord
<PB N="24" REF="14"> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, you who have re&s;i&s;ted his will, &s;hall bee puni&s;hed with everla&s;ting de&s;truction, from the pre&s;ence of the Lord, when the day of the Marriage of the Lamb comes, and the re|ception of the Saints into glory, then you who are not prepared for the Bridegroome, the door &s;hall bee &s;hut again&s;t you, and though you cry <HI>Lord, Lord open to us,</HI> you &s;hall bee repul|&s;ed with a <HI>verily I know you not;</HI> when others long, hope, and wait for comfort, then &s;hall you fear and tremble at the remembrance of it. And Oh! that the words contained in this little Book, might move &s;ome poor <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ouls to a &s;erious view of their lives and conver&s;ations, whether they are tho&s;e to whom the Lord will &s;ay, <HI>Woe to you wicked, you &s;hall receive the fruit of your doings:</HI> that you may in time prepare for judge|ment, that when the time of your departure is at hand, you may bee able to look back on the good fight you have &s;ought, and the cour<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> you have fini&s;hed, and the faith you have kept, and may confidently conclude, that henceforth there is laid up a crown for you, of Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, which the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Judge, &s;hall give you at the la&s;t day, and not to you only, but to all them; who love his appearing, that you may bee able to &s;ay, even &s;o <HI>come Lord Ie&s;us, come quickly.</HI> Amen.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="14">
</DIV1>
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</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
