I. Of Death.

OUt of the Dust was Man formed, and unto the Dust shall Man return: It is appointed for all Men once to die, Heb. 9.27. Death to the Wicked, is the end of all Comfort, and the beginning of all Misery, but Death to the Godly is a happy discharge, & freedom from Sin & Sor­row, and the only inlet to Peace and Happiness, the Saints Enjoyments shall be incomparable, when the Sinners Torments shall be intolerable; when a Sinner dies, he carries his bad with him, & leaves his good behind him. But when a Believer dies, he leaves all his bad behind him, & carries his good with him: The Sinner goes from Good to Evil; the Believer from Evil to Good: When a Saint leaves the World, his Flesh turns to Dust, & his Spirit returns to rest: When a Sinner leaves [Page 4]the World, his Body goes to Worms to be con­sumed, and his Soul to Flames to be tormented.

When you come into the World, you do but live to die again, when you go out of the World you do but die to live again. He that lives well cannot die ill: He that lives without fear, shall certainly die wthout hope. He that hath no grace in his Life, can have no true peace in his Death This King of Terrors, Death, levelleth the high­est Mountains with the lowest Valies; the Robes of Princes & the Rags of Beggars are both laid up alike in the wardrobe of the Grave, which is a bed to rest in, but not a Shop to trade in; there­fore go to your beds, as you were going to your Graves, and so close your Eyes in one World, as you would open them in another; & remember that God can as easily turn you into Dust, as he took you thence; to Day is your living day, tomorrow may be your dying one: In short, the Meditation of Death is the only Motive in order for a Preparation thereunto.

Therefore, Christian Soul, whosoever thou art consider the shortness of thy Life; & how uncer­tain Death is; he may come this Hour before the next. Thou art not sure when thou goest to bed at Night to take thy rest, whether thou shalt ever a­wake again, though never so well; & if so be thou awake in the Morning, whether thou shalt live till Night: for Death is the great Messenger of Mor­tality; & his coming is certain, but when, is un­certain: There is no resisting of his mighty Power when he comes. He sweeps all before him, both Rich and poor, Old and Young, it's all one to him [Page 5]for when their Glass is run, they must stay no long­er here, but to change this Life for a better or worse, according as thou hast spent thy time here whether in doing Good or doing Evil. Therefore dear Soul, put not off thy Repentance until ano­ther Day, for thou art not sure to see an end of this. Provide therefore that thy Bed may rather find thee fitted for God, than fit thee, & so order thy Estate and thy Soul, in thy Health, that when Death comes, thou mayst have nothing to do but to die. Let not thy Thoughts be how thou shalt live here, but how thou shalt live hereafter; mind not the vain pleasures of this World, which is but momentary; but rather pray to God for his Grace (without which you can do nothing that you may endure all Hard ships and Crosses here with patience and Comfort, and that you may do all the Good that in you lies to the Advancement of his Glory, and your Eter­nal Welfare

II Of Judgment.

MEditate upon Judgment, which is most strict: We must all appear before the Judg­ment-Seat of Christ, they who have been grace­less in their Days, will be speechless in this Day, they who would not come before his Mercy-Seat shall be forced to come before his Judgment-Seat those that would not believe his promises, shall tremble at his Threatnings; and indeed it must be very Amazing to see the Earth flaming, the Heavens melting, the Stars falling, the Graves open­ing, the Judgment hastening, the Sun and Moon declining, and Christ and his Angels coming: He [Page 6]that comes to raise the Dead, comes also to judge the Dead. Oh! this great Day, to great Sinners, will be a terrible & ghastly day, when they shall behold Christ coming in the Clouds, having the person of a Man, but the power of God; being crowned with Dignity, and guarded with Angels & enraged with Anger, and enabled with power to bring forth both High and Low, Rich and Poor to his Bar, where he will judge them, not by the whiteness of their Countenance, but by the Black­ness of their Consciences; and though he was guarded to the Cross with a Band of Soldiers, yet here he is guarded with a glorious Train of An­gels, You that make no account of his coming. what account will you make at his coming: therefore for the Lord's sake, meditate upon Judg­ment, for it is the only means to make you Judg­ment proof. O Christian, seriously consider this and repent of your Sins before it is too late, and break those Bands assunder that leads to utter Destruction, for there's no Repentance after Death, for after Death comes Judgment.

O ye Drunkards, Swearers, Lyars, Whoremongers, Covetous, and Oppressors of the Poor, you that do despite to the Spirit of Grace, & will not hearken to the many loving Calls & invitations of Al­mighty God by his Spirit & Ministry, take notice that this Day of God's Wrath will be a Day of Ter­rors to you, which will make your Hearts sink within you, your Countenance to change, your Joints to be loosed, when the Terrors of the Al­mighty at this time shall seize upon you; there­fore [Page 7]saith the Apostle, 1 Cor. 5.11. Knowing the Terrors of the Lord, we perswade Men. This Day will be a Day of extream Sorrow and Anguish to the Wicked, Prov 1.20. When your Fear shall come as desolation, and your Destruction as a Whirlwind Zeph. 1.15. That Day is the Day of Wrath, a Day of Trouble & Distress, a Day of Wastness & Desolations. Therefore, whoever you are, let your daily Pra­ctice be in piety, doing good to those that stand in need of your Help, as far as your Circumstances will let you, being Charitable & Compassionate, ever striving against the Temptations of the Devil slighting the foolish pleasures of this World, ac­counting them, as they are, nothing but vexation of Spirit, but be always minding those that are Eternal; for if you expect to be any of those Souls that dwell in those Mansions of Bliss and Happi­ness, you must fear God, and keep his Commandments; for that is the whole Duty of Man.

III. The Torments of hell, and dismal State of the Wicked.

THe third thing necessar, is to meditate upon Hell, which is most dismal & terrible: Oh a dreadful Place, where the Devil is the Jaylor, Hell the prison, Damnation the punishment, Eternity the Time, Brimstone the Fire, and Men and infe­nal Spirits the Fuel; to endure this, will be intol­lerable; and to avoid it, will be impossible. Christians, this present Day is the Day of God's Long-sufferings, but that will be Mans eternally. Oh what Hells there is in hell, the loss of God, the loss of Christ, the loss of Saints, the loss of Angels the loss of all Good, and the gain of all endless, [Page 8]caseless, and remediless Torments: The Smoke of their Torments doth ascend for ever. Rev. 4.12 and 20.10. Oh that you would think of this end­less and bottomless Lake.

Consider, that if thou but once dropest into Hell thou wilt be as far from Coming out at the end of a Thousand Years, as at thy first en­terance: So if that all Men that ever have or shall be created, were, Briarehus like, hundred handed and should at once take Pens in their hundred­hands, and do nothing else for Ten Hundred Thousand of Millions of Years, but sum up in Fi­gures as many hundred thousand Millions as they could, yet could they never reduce to a total, or confine within number, this trisyllable Word [E­ternal] or that Word of Four Syllables [Everlasting

Now let such as forget God, but seriously con­sider this. It will not be an Imprisonment during the Kings pleasure, but during the King of King's pleasure. It is not a Captivity of Seventy Years like that of the Children of Israel in Babylon; for that had an end; nor like a Captivity of Seven­ty Millions of Generations, for that also in time would be expired, But even for ever. The wicked shall live as long in Hell, as there shall be a Just God in Heaven.

Here we measure Time by Days, months, years; but for Eternity, there is no Arithmetician can number it, no Geometrician can measure it: For suppose the World were turned into a Moun­tain of Sand, and that a little Wren should come every Thousand Years, and carry away from that heap but one Grain of the Sand [Page 9]what an infinite number of Years would be spent and expired, before the whole heap would be fetched away? But admit a Man should stay in Torments so long, and then have an end of his VVoe, it were some comfort to think that an end would come: But alas! when he hath finished his task a thousand times over, he shall be as far from an end of his anguish, as ever he was the first hour he entered into it. Now suppose thou shouldst ly but one Night grievously afflicted with a raging fit of the stone Stranguary, Toothach, Pangs of Travel, or the like; though thou hadst to help & ease thee, a soft bed to ly on, friends about thee to comfort thee, Physicians to cure thee, all Cordial and Com­fortable things to asswage the pain; yet how tedious & painful would that one Night seem unto thee? How wouldst thou toss and tumble, and turn from one side to another? Count­ing the Clock, esteeming every Minute a Month, and thy pre­sent Misery unsupportable. What then will it be to ly in Flames of Fire? (To which our Fire is but Air in comparison) Fire & Brimstone keept in the highest Flame by the unquench­able Wrath of God, World without end; where thou shalt have nothing about thee but Darkness and Horror, Wailing and wringing of Hands, desperate Yellings and gnashing of Teeth: Thy Old Companions in Vanity and Sin, to Ban and Curse thee; the Devils insulting over thee with Cruelty and Sorrow; the never-dying Worm of Conscience to feed upon thy Soul and Flesh for ever and ever. O everlasting E er­nity! an ever-dying Life, and an ever-living Death

O then be think thy self of this Word Eternal and everlast­ing, and ponder upon it; yea do but indeed believe it, and it will be enough to break thine Heart, and make it to relent and repent, and thereby prevent the Wrath to come; it will put thee to demur, what have I done? What am I about? Whither will this Course tend? How will it end? What will become of me if I go on in Chambering and Wantonness, Sut­feiting and Drunkenness, Strife and Envying, Swearing, Pro­faneness and the like? O then break off thy Sins without delay, and let there be an healing of thine Errors.

The Schools affirm, that the best torture in Hell exceeds the greatest that can be devised; for should we first burn off one Hand, then another after that, each Arm, and so all the Parts of the Body, it would be deemed intolerable, and no Man would endure it for all the Profits and Pleasures this World can afford; and yet is nothing to the burning of the Body and [Page 10]Soul in Hell: Should we endure ten thousand years tormen [...] in Hell, it were grievous, but nothing to Eternity: Shou [...] we suffer one Pain it were miserable enough; but if ever w [...] come there, out Paines shall be for number and kinds, infinite­ly varions, as our pleasures have been here: Every sense and Member, each power and faculty both of Soul and Body sha [...] have their several Objects of wretchedness, and that without intermission, or end, or ease, or patience to endure it, Lu [...] 12.5. and 16.23. Mat. 3.12. and 5.22, and 22.23. O th [...] Men would strip Sin of its disguises, and wash off its flatteri [...] Colours, and look into its odious Nature, and to the cons [...] ­quential Evils of it in the next World! O that they would consider they hang by slender Strings, (a little Breath th [...] expires every Minute) over the Bottomless pit, and that with in a little while nothing will remain of the pleasures of Sin but the undying Worm, and the ever-living Flames,

There is a way to keep a Man out of Hell, but no way to get a Man out of Hell: Though the wheat and the Cha [...] grow together, they must not lie together; so in Hell the [...] shall not be a Saint among those that are tetrified, nor in Heaven a Sinner among those that are glorified,

The Sea of bitter Damnation shall not be sweetned with the least drop of Compassion. Oh Christians, will you pity [...] Body that is going to the Block, and will you not pity a Soul that is going to a Bottomless pit?

VVhat a sad Visitation is that, where the Black Horse of Death goeth befo e, and the Red Horse of wrath followe [...] after: Oh how intollerable must it needs be, where one Deat [...] comes upon the Neck of another.

A Mans condition in this Life may be honourable, and yet his state, as to another Life may be damnable: It is better to go with poor Lazarus to Heaven, then go with rich Dives to Hell: Therefore let us strive to go to Heaven by contem­plation, that we may avoid going to Hell by condemnation.

Consider further, and add Extremity to Eternity, and then think of Hell. (as it truly is) Hell indeed; for if the Ague of a Year, or the Cholick of a Month, or the Rack of a day, or the burning of an Hour, or the Minutes twitch of a Tooth be so unsufferable here, what is Millions of Thousands of years, nay Eternity of unspeakable Torments in Hell; and instead of being abated, continually aggravated by infernal Fiends, whose Society alone would be hideously frightfu & amazing.

Now what Heart would not bleed to see Men run headlong to these Torments that are thus endless and intolerable? Oh that it were allowed to the resolute and desperate Ruffians of [...]hese our days, that Swear and Curse, Drink, Rob, and Kill, [...]nd Blaspheme, to have but a sight of this Hell, how would it Charm their Mouths, Moderate their Spirits, and astonish their Hearts; nay, if they could have but the leaft glimpse [...]hereof, they would rather chuse to be pined to Death ten thousand times over, than willfully commit one Sin that would send them thither.

IV. OF HEAVEN.

THe Fourth necessary thing, is to meditate on Hea­ven, which is most joyful, Matth. 25.30. Come ye blessed, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you. Oh, who can re­veal the Glorys of Heaven, or what tongue can express the everlasting pleasures that's there? There's no Care, nor Sor­row, nor Toil, nor Labour, no Vexation to disturb your Quiet: There's all Peace, never ceasing peace: There's all the Divine Souls, as Angels, Saints, Prophets, Martyrs, Sera­phims and Cherubims, and all the Coelestial Quier, breath forth in their Harmonious Voices, Eternal Halelujahs & Songs of Praises to the All glorious Almighty, and Everlasting God blessed for evermore. There every righteous Soul that de­parts hence, goes and receives a white Robe and an everla­sting Crown of Glory; and dwells in that Land of Peace. and drinks of the Rivers of pleasures, and not for time, but for E­ternity; an Eternity, I say, that will never have an end, there they behold the beauty of the blessed God seated upon a Throne of divine Majesty, with his dearly beloved Son, (our blessed Saviour) on his right hand, & admire the gloriousness thereof, there they themselves outshine the Sun in bright­ness; there they continually hear Sounds of harmonious Mu­sick; possessing continual Joy and endless Comfort. There is Mirth without Sadness, Light without Darkness. Pleasure without Pain, Life without Death, Rest without Labour, Plen­ty without Poverty, and Gain without Loss: VVho would not but work for this Glory with the greatest diligence, and wait for it with the greatest patience. Oh what Glo­rys are there in Glory, Crowns of Glory, Vessels of Glory, a VVeight of Glory, a Kingdom of Glory. Here Christ puts [Page 12]His Grace upon his spouse, but there he puts his Glor [...] upon her: In this Life the Believers have some good things but there the best are reserved for thee. Heaven is not only a Possession promised but a Possession putchased: VVhen our Contemplations are in Heaven, then we injoy a Heaven upon Earth. Do we delight in good Company? VVhat pleasure then shall we enjoy in the Company of Saints and Angels, in whom there is nothing but Joy, Comfort and delight. Do we desire Riches, Honour, Beauty, Pleasure, long Life, or whatever else can be named to be delectable, no place so glo­rious by Creation, nor so beautiful with delectation, so Rich in Possession, so Comfortable for Habitation, not so durable for lasting. There are no Estate but inheritance no inhe­ritance but Kingdoms, no House but Palaces, no Noise but Musick, no Robes but Scepters, no Garments but Robes, no Seats but Thrones no covering for Head but Crowns, Rom. 8.17. Tit. 3.7. Heb. 9.15. Mat. 31.34. 2 Tim. 4.8. Gal. 4.7, 1 Pet. 3.9.10. Mark 10.23.24.25. Rev. 7.3.

There we shall see the blessed Face of God, who is the Glory of all sights, and the sight of all Glory; yea, our selves shall out-shine the Sun in brightness, Mat. 13 34,

In short our Joy will there be full, and none shall be able to take it from us, or lessen it; Solomon in all his Glory and Royality to this, was but a Spark of light in a Chimney to the Sun in the Firmament: Absolom's Beauty to that is but Deformity: Samson's strength to that is but infirmity: Me­thusalem's Age to theirs, is but Minority; yea, how little, how nothing are the poor and Temporary enjoyments of this Life in comparison to those we shall enjoy in the next, 1 Cor. 2.9. Nay Paradise, or the Garden of Eden, was but a wil­derness compared with this; and if the Gates be of Pearl, and the Streets of Gold, what then are the inner Rooms, the Pre­sence Chamber of the great Monarch of Heaven and Earth? what then may we think of the Maker and Builder thereof, who there will be all in all unto us, as Meat to taste, Beauty to our Eyes, perfumes to our Smell, Musick to our Ears; and what shall I say more, but as the Psalmist saith, Glorious things are spoken of thee thou City of our God, Psal. 87.8 Rev. 3.2, 3. and 21.10, to the end. That which makes Heaven so full of Joy is, it is above all Fear; and that which makes Hell so full of Horror is, that it is below all Hope. The Vessels of Grace shall swim in the Ocean of Glory, Here all [Page 13]the Earth is nothing for one Man, but there one Heaven is enough for all Men.

Therefore, Sirs live so, that the word which hath brought Salvation unto your Souls, may bring your Souls to Salvation. We must first shine in Grace, before we can shine in Glory.

Be willing to want what God is not willing to give. Man is such a Debitor to God, that he can never pay his due to God; we are so far from paying the utmost farthing, that at the most we have not a farthing to pay; there is no Man but hath received more good then he deserveth, and none more Evil; and therefore should be contented, tho he enjoy but little good, and not discontented though he suffer much evil, 1 Tim. 6.8. A Christian is to submit to the Will of God's disposing, as well as to the Will of God's commanding, A gracious Heart should be never out of heart; if God be not willing to give thee Riches, O then be willing to want Riches: If God be not wil­ling to give thee Health, O then be thou willing to want it.

O Christian submit thy will to Gods Will, that Soul shall have his will of God, who desires nothing but God's Will. Do you but take care of that which belongs to God, and God will take care of all that belongs to you.

Now let us consider a little, what signifies these silly foolish Pleasures here to those that are in Heaven; these pleasures which are but momentary, to those that are Eternal: What if we suffer a little sorrow here, for thirty or fourty Years; which is but a small while to enjoy an Eternity in Happiness hereafter, is it not better than to partake of the pleasures of this World, and to have our fill of our beastly delights, and to be damned in Hell for it forever after!

Oh consider also how much of your precious time is wasted and spent, and how little of your great Work is done; hath nor your rest stolen away half your time, and your lust the other? your Work is great, and your time is short; you have a GOD to honour, a Christ to Believe in, a Soul to save a Race to run, a Crown to win, a Hell to escape, and a Heaven to make sure of; you have many Temptations to withstand, and many Afflictious to bear many Mercies to im­prove, and many Duties to perform, therefore O Christans redeem the time because the days are evil, Ephes [...] 5.15, O that every step your Souls take, might be towards Heaven, and that you would make sure of God to day, because to [...] you are not sure of your selves: Therefore for the Lords sake [Page 14]improve your time and for your Souls sake redeem your time. The Lawyer will not lose his Term, the Waterman will not lose his Tide, the Trades-man will not lose his Exchange time, the Husband-man will not lose his Season, and will you lose your Season? If you lose your Season, you lose your pre­cious soul. There is but one Heaven, and if you miss of that you will certainly take up your Lodging in Hell.

I must sum up all with these Exhortations: Let me beseech you who are young Men & young Women, to remember your Creator in the days of your youth, that is to serve God, to love God, to Honour God, and to obey God in your youth­full Days; for the Flower of Life is of Christ's setting there­fore let it not be of the Devil's plucking, Oh young Peo­ple, if you be now sick of the will not, in Old Age you will die (perhaps) of the cannot; if God's to day will be too soon for thy Repentance, thy tomorrow will be too late for his Exceptance: Let nothing be done in this World which cannot be answered in another, nor nothing undone which may be necessary in another. He that departs this World in Faith shall be saved, but he that departs from the Faith shall be dam­ned. Therefore I say unto you all both old and young, with St. Paul 1 Cor. 15, 58. Be stedfast, unmoveable always abound­ing in the Works of the Lord, for as much as you know that your Labour is not in vain in the Lord.

some Holy Directions to die well.

MY Brethren, what doth the Lord require of you, but to do Justice, to love Mercy, and walk humbly with God and to break off with your Sins, and to take no more pleasure or delight in them, but hate and abhore them for the future, and uterly cast them behind your backs, & to press forewards to the Mark of the prize of the high Calling in Christ Jesus our Lord: for time is hastening and coming on, wherein it shall be said, He that is unjust, let him be unjust still and he that is filthy let him be filthy still, and he that is righteous let him be righteous still &c. The infinite Holy and heart search­ing God watcheth, seeth, and takes a strict Account of all your Actions, and they will find you out, and if not truly repented of and pardoned, they willly down with you in the Grave, and follow. you in another World, and meet you at God's [Page 15]dreadfull Bar, and be open to the view of the whole World. Sin is a bad Bedfellow, and a worse Grave-fellow.

Therefore whatsoever it is now your duty to do both to God and Man, now set about and do it with all your might Ecclesiasticus 9, 10. Now before the Decree comes forth, and the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you,

1, Be very carefull and diligent in those means that are ap­pointed for your Salvation. 2 Pet 1.10. Make your Calling and Election sure, &c. It is our present work and business to make sure of Eternal Happiness and Blessedness; for there is no landing at the Shore of Felicity, without sailing in the Back of Fidelity; till you make sure of Salvation, you will never be free from Temptations. Strive to enter in at the streight Gate, Luke 13.

2. Therefore pray without ceasing. 1 Thes, 4, 14. Pray con­tinually though you be not always at Prayer; our daily wants call for dayly Prayers; every Morning put up your Prayers to the most high God, Maker of Heaven and Earth: let it be your first Work and your last Work. You that would be Christians indeed, and not in outward shew and Profession only, lock up your hearts with prayer, and give God the Key, and he will preserve you, and then you may sleep without any fear of dan­ger. O you will never want a praying time, if you do not want a praying frame O the strength and vertue of divine Prayer, it will fetch Fire from Heaven, yea an Angel from Heaven to fetch a Peter out of Prison. They that pray heartily and in Faith, may be fully assured they shall [...]peed happily, Thirdly take all opportunities and embrace them, for the hearing of the good Word of God; for faith comes by hearing of the Word preached, 4ly. Live in Love and Charity to­wards all Men, your greatest Enemies as well as your best Friends. 1 Joh. 1.18. My Children let us not live in Word, nei­ther in Tongue, but in Love and in Truth. Let your Love be real and true, and not selfish, Gal. 5, 14 Love thy Neighbour as thy self: And he that is wanting in this great work doth no [...] rightly and truly love himself, [...]his Love is called an old com­mandment, and a new Commandment it is as old as the Law of Moses, and as new as the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Natural and Moral Man may love his Friend, but the true Christian indeed loves his Enemies. A Christian should wish the best to them that wish the worst to him 5ly. eye humble Christians, Matth. 11.29, A Believer is like a [Page 16]Vessel at Sea, the more it fills the more it sinks; none so humble on Earth, as those that live highest in Heaven. Where humility is in the Corner stone, there Piety is the Top Stone; th [...] Cloth of Humility should always be worn upon the Back o [...] Christianity, If you were but to go to the graves of thos [...] that are gone before you, you there would see their bone [...] scattered, their Eye wasted, their Flesh consumed, their mouth corrupted, that it is like were lofty ones. Where be now their ruddy Lips, their lovely Cheeks, their fluent Tongues their sparkling Eyes? Are they not all gone and come to nothing? and so will you be e're long; Therefore what cau [...] have ye to be proud of these things. 6thl If we have go [...] into Gods favour, let us be sure to labour to keep his favo [...] whilst we live, and then certainly we shall die in his favour

Oh, whoever you be that happen to read these few Line let me beg of you to make Religion your main Business hearing, reading, praying and believing

Do nothing in this World but what you can answer in another. For we shall all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ, & 2 Cor. 5, 10. To Die well is a long Art which thou hast bu [...] a short time to learn; they that have long furnished themselves with all spiritual Means▪ find work enough to vanquis [...] and overcome all their spiritual Enemies; How then sha [...] thou careless Soul, if thou wilt not take hold of this Oppo [...] tunity, be in hopes to effect it, when the onset of the Enem [...] shall be most strong and prevalent; and thou thro' pains in th [...] Body, and perplexities, and distractedness of mind very wea [...] and no ways able to resist; when Impediments shall be mult [...] plied and helps diminished, thy distraction great, thy inclinatio [...] little, and Leisure none; for at the hour of Death there [...] so many and great things will cause thee to die, that tho [...] shalt have neither mind, nor time, nor strength to die we [...]

Therefore, as thou desirest the everlasting Welfare of th [...] precious and immortal Soul, let what has been desired of th [...] in this small Piece, be strictly observed and done without d [...]lay, that so you may be everlastingly happy with God a [...] his Holy Angels in the highest Heavens,