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which the Dead-man must be fent to do, is to perfuade them to repent, and that to this end, That they may not come into the place of torments. They are Perfons that are in love with their Sins, and delight themselves in the yain pleasures of this life; and have no love at all for Holiness, nor can find any pleasure in a Sober and Religion Life. They are Perfons, who, that they may not difquiet their Minds, nor leffen their delight, and worldly Pleasures at prefent, with the Thoughts and Fears of an after-reckoning, are not willing to believe what in the Holy Scripture. they are told of Heaven and Hell, but live as fecurely, and as merrily as they can; banishing, as much as is poffible from their Minds, the thoughts of either. This is plainly the Temper. of those Persons who are to be perfuaded.

Secondly, We are next to confider what Arguments the Holy Scripture affords, proper for the moving and perfuading fuch Perfons to repent, and to love God, and to live a boly, fober and religious: Life. And we find them to be fuch as thefe.

1. God is, in the Holy Scripture, difcover'd unto us to be altogether fuch an one, as when we are at leifure to confult our own Reason, it will; tell us God muft be, that is, a Being infinitely per fect in Power, Wisdom and Goodness, on whom we and all things depend for our Being and Preservation; and hence it is our Intereft to obey him, and an unnatural Thing to do otherwife. Hence alfo is he moft worthy to be loved by us, and obey'd in Love, being the firft, Supreme and chief Good, and without whom nothing can be good. He is always defcrib'd to us as a moft Holy God, whom no unboly thing can pleafe, fecing unboliness is contrary to

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his Nature, and as he is God' he cannot but bate it, and must therefore be highly difpleafed with every one that continueth unholy without Repentance.

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2. We Men in the Holy Scripture are made known to our selves to be the Work of God, and to be made in the Image of God, and to be the principal Objects of God's love, and care here on Earth. We are told how he hath made and fitted many good Things for us, and hath made and fitted to enjoy them. That he hath given us fuch a nature, as that we may be fenfible of his Goodness towards us, and of the Obligations thereby laid upon us to Love and Obedience, and of the happiness that we have, and may have in the Enjoyment of bis Love and Favour; and confequently of our own Intereft to ferve and pleafe him in all Things, and of the great lofs we must needs have, if by difobeying him, and continuing impenitent, we difoblige and offend him. In as much as we fin against him, or difregard him, but we fin againft our felves, and deftroy our jelves by the lofs of his Love.

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3. We are in the Holy Scripture made acquainted with all the Particulars of his Will, and our Duty, and may difcern his Goodness to us in every Branch of it. Whatever He requireth of us we find to be Holy, moft fuitable to his own holy nature, and Juft, our own reafon being judge, and judging according to the most perfect Rules of Equity; and Good, perfecting and dignifying our Nature, and promoting the Happiness of the World. Rom. 7. 12. In the old Teftament all is thus fummed up, Mic. 6. 8. To do justly, and to love Mercy, and to walk bumbly with our God.

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And to the fame purpofe in the New Testament. Thus Tit. 2. 12. To live foberly, and righteously, and godly in this prefent World. Or more briefly, according to our bleffed Saviour, To love the Lord our God with all the heart, and our Neighbour as our felves. All this is undeniably agreeable to our nature; and the Promifes encouraging us to do Things in themselves fo reasonable, are exceeding great and glorious, the endlefs Fruition of God himself, and of all Foy and Blessedness in Him in his Kingdom of Glory. All amounts but to this, to do our felves good, and to allow our own Nature it's Right, and to honour God on Earth, that we may be happy in him for ever, fo that to call us to Repentance, is but to call us to return, and be reconciled to our happiness, and to come to our Wits again, and Live like our felves, after an Fit of Madness.

4. We are in the Holy Scripture encourag'd not to difpair, becaufe of our paft Sins, how many or great foever; or because of any prefent weakneffes or imperfections; feeing that God therein declares himself to be gracious, merciful, and long fuffering, pardoning Iniquity, Trangreffion and Sin; and that his mercy endureth for ever, and he wills not the death of a Sinner, but would have him turn from his Wickedness and live. He will not have any to be miferable, but them alone, who againft all his gracious Tenders of Mercy and Life, wilfully and needlefly chufe their own Mifery. He hath of his own pure Goodness, fo order'd all Things by JESUS Chrift, that none of our unwilling Failings fhall ever hurt us, nor any fin that we in time are truly humbled for, and repent of, fhall be charg'd upon us. He hath affu

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red us, That Strength fhall be given us upon our confciencious ufe of fuch means as he hath ordain'd; and that if we fuffer any thing in our pursuit of happiness by Repentance, and a Holy Life, it fhall turn to our good in the greater meafures of Glory; and that whatfoever we now deny our felves in, for the Love which we bear unto him, it shall be recompenfed unto us an hundred Fold.

5. In the Holy Scripture God hath told us as well what the Impenitent, as what the Penitent is to expect from him; what the one is to fear, as well as what the other is to hope for. If any one fall into the Pit of Destruction, it cannot be because he had not notice of it, or was not warn'd to take heed to his fteps. God hath not left us ignorant of his Power, that he can caft both Soul and Body into Hell; nor of his Purpose, that they who obey not the Gospel of Chrift fhall be punished with everlasting Deftruction, and lie in unquenchable Fire prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels.

Now, who can fay, that either these Things are not fufficiently declar'd in the Holy Scripture, or that these are not the propereft motives to perfuade Men to Repentance. If any one think that these are not enough, let him say what more he would have. Is it the Teftimony of one fent from the Dead?

Thirdly, Let us now therefore confider what Reason we can find to hope this fhould perfuade Men to Repentance, fooner than all that we find in the Holy Scripture. Could fuch an one make us know any more, or ufe any other Arguments to perfuade us, than God in the Holy Scripture hath

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done? Or could he give us better affurance of the Truth he fhould discover, than we have of the Truths in the holy Scripture? If neither, then to what purpose should fuch an one be fent? To try

all this.

1. Let us fuppofe Lazarus to be fent, as the Rich Man defir'd, to perfuade his Brethren to repent. What could he to this end tell them but this. That he whom they once knew to be so very poor, and fore upon the Earth, and whom they fo much defpifed, whilft he was alive in this World,was now in a very happy and comfortable Condition ever fince he died; that the Angels had carried him into Abraham's Bofom, whither he alfo was well affur'd, that all fincere Penitents fhall at last be carried. He could tell them alfo, That as he lay above in Abraham's Bofom, he faw their Rich Brother a great way below him tormented in Flames; and that he heard him cry out most lamentably, and beg that a drop of Water might be allow'd him to cool his Tongue, and that this was denied him. That upon his earnest Entreaty, Abraham had fent him unto them, to warn them to repent before it fhall be too late, left when they leaft think of it, they also go into the fame place of Torments.

This is it whereof the Dead Man must be the Intelligencer to his Brethren. And might they not understand a great deal more than this by hearing the holy Scripture? Hath not that informed us, that not only all Men of the Rich Man's Temper, but that all wicked Men of what fort foever, dying impenitent, fhall be tormented in Hell; and that not only fuch pious Beggars as Lazarus, but all pious Men, who repent of their Sins, and bring forth

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