ther which is in heaven. Many will fay unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, &c. then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me ye that work iniquity. Matth. xiii. 49, 50. So fhall it be at the end of the world, the Angels fhall come forth, and fever the wicked from among the just, and shall caft them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matth. xxv. 46. The wicked Shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal, John v. 28, 29. The bour is coming, in which all that are in the graves hall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the refurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the refurrection of damnation. Rom. ii. 6. St. Paul tells us that there is a day of wrath, and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every foul of man that doth evil. 2 Theff. i. 7, 8, 9. that the Lord Jesus Shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty Angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jefus Chrift; who shall be punished with everlafting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. Nothing can be more plain and exprefs than thefe general declarations of the wrath of God against finners; that there is a day of judgment appointed, and a judge conftituted to take cognizance of the actions of men, to pafs a fevere fentence, and to inflict a terrible punishment upon the workers of iniquity.

More particularly our Lord and his Apostles have denounced the wrath of God against particular fins and vices. In feveral places of the New Teftament, there are catalogues given of particular fins, the practice whereof will certainly fhut men out of the kingdom of heaven, and expofe them to the wrath and vengeance of God, I Cor. vi. 9, 10. Know ye not, that the unrighteous fhall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators nor ido

laters,

laters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. So likewise, Gal. v. 19, 20, 21. The works of the flesh are manifeft, which are thefe, adultery, fornication, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, ftrife, feditions, herefies, envyings, murthers, drunkenness, revellings, and fuch like of the which I tell you before, as I have alfo told you in times past, that they that do fuch things fhall not inherit the kingdom of God. Col. iii. 5, 6. Mortify therefore your members upon earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupifcence, and covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things fake the wrath of God cometh on the children of dif obedience. Rev. xxi. 8. The fearful and unbelieving, (that is, those who rejected the Chriftian religion, notwithstanding the clear evidence that was offered for it, and thofe who out of fear fhould apoftatize from it) the fearful and unbelieving, and the abomiable, (that is, thofe who were guilty of unnatural lufts; not fit to be named) and murderers, and whoremongers, and forcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, (that is, all forts of falfe and and deceitful and perfidious perfons) fhall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the fe cond death.

And not only these grofs and notorious fins, which are fuch plain violations of the law and light of nature; but thofe wherein mankind have been apt to take more liberty, as if they were not fufficiently convin ced of the evil of them; as the refifting of civil authority, which the Apoftle tells us, they that are guil. ty of, hall receive to themselves damnation, Rom. xiii. 2. Profane fwearing in common conversation, which St. James tells us brings men under the danger of damnation, chap. v. 12. Above all things, my brethren, fwear not, left ye fall under condemnation. Nay our Saviour hath told us plainly, that not only for wicked actions, but for every evil and finful word, men are obnoxious to the judgment of God. So our Lord aflures us, Matth. xii. 36, 37. I say unto you,

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that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. He had fpoken before of that great and unpardonable fin of blafpheming the Holy Ghoft; and because this might be thought great feverity for evil words, he declares the reafon more fully, because words fhew the mind and temper of the man, ver. 34. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth Speaketh." The character of the man, is fhewn by his words," faith Menander. Profert enim mores plerumque oratio (faith Quinctilian) animi fecreta detegit; "A man's fpeech difcovers his manners, and the fecrets of his heart; ut vivit etiam quemque dicere, Men commonly fpeak as they live; and therefore our Saviour adds, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things: but I fay unto you, that every idle word, π îñua apg", by which I do not think our Saviour means, that men fhall be called to a folemn account at the day of judgment, for every trifling, and impatient, and unprofitable word, but every wicked and finful word of any kind: as if he had faid, Do you think this fevere, to make words an unpardonable fault? I fay unto you, that men fhall not only be condemned for their malicious and blafphemous fpeeches against the Holy Ghoft; but they fhall likewife give a strict account for all other wicked and finful fpeeches in any kind, though much inferior to this. And this is not only molt agreeable to the scope of our Saviour, but is confirmed by fome Greek copies, in which it is πᾶν ῥῆμα πονηρὸν, every wicked word which men fhall fpeak, they shall be accountable for it at the day of judgment. But this by the by.

Our Saviour likewife tells us, that men fhall not only be proceeded against for fins of commiffion, but for the bare omiffion and neglect of their duty, efpecially in works of mercy and charity; for not feeding the hungry, and the like, as we fee, Matth. xxv. and that for the omiffion of thefe, he will pafs VOL. V.

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that terrible fentence, Depart ye curfed, &c. So that it nearly concerns us to be careful of our whole life, of all our words and actions, fince the gofpel hath fo plainly and exprefly declared, that for all these things God will bring us into judgment. And if the threatenings of the gospel be true, what manner of perfons ought we to be, in all holy converfation and godliness?

Secondly, As the threatenings of the gospel are very plain and exprefs, fo are they likewife very dreadful and terrible. I want words to exprefs the leaft part of the terror of them; and yet the expreffions of fcripture concerning the mifery and punishment of finners in another world, are fuch as may juftly raise amazement and horror in thofe that hear them. Sometimes it is expreffed by a departing from God, and a perpetual banishment from his prefence, who is the fountain of all comfort and joy, and happiness; fometimes by the lofs of our fouls, or ourfelves. What fhall it profit a man to gain the whole word, and lofe his own foul? or, (as it is in another evangelift) to lose himself? Not that our being fhall be deftroyed; that would be a happy lofs indeed, to him that is fentenced to be for ever miferable; but the man fhall still remain, and his body and foul continue to be the foundation of his mifery, and a scene of perpetual woe and difcontent, which our Saviour calls the deftroying of body and foul in hell, or going into everlasting punishment, where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, where the worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. Could I reprefent to you the horror of that difmal prifon, into which wicked and impure fouls are to be thruft, and the mifery they must there endure, without the leaft fpark of comfort, or glimmering of hope, how they wail and groan under the intolerable wrath of God, the infolent fcorn and cruelty of devils, the fevere lathes and ftings, the raging anguish and horrible defpair of their own minds, without intermiffion, without pity, and without hope of ever feeing an end of that mifery, which yet is infupportable for one moment; Could I reprefent these things to you according to

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the terror of them, what effect muft they have upon us and with what patience could any man bear to think of plunging himself into this mifery? and by his own wilful fault and folly to endanger his coming into this place and state of torments? especially if we confider, in the

Third place, that the gofpel hath likewife declared, that there is no avoiding of this mifery, no hopes of impunity, if men go on and continue in their fins. The terms of the gofpel in this are peremptory, that except we repent, we shall perish; that without holiness no man shall fee the Lord; that the unrighteous fhall not inherit the kingdom of God. And this is a very preffing confideration, and brings the matter to a fhort and plain iffue. Either we muft leave our fins, or dy in them; either we must repent of them, or be judged for them; either we must forfake our fins, and break off that wicked courfe which we have lived in, or we muft quit all hopes of heaven and happiness, nay, we cannot escape the damnation of hell. The clear revelation of a future judgment is fo preffing an argument to repentance, as no man can in reafon refift, that hath not a mind to be miferable. Now (faith St. Paul to the Athenians), he ftraightly chargeth all men every where to repent, because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness.

Men may cheat themfelves or fuffer themselves to be deluded by others, about feveral means and devices of reconciling a wicked life, with the hopes of heaven and eternal falvation; as by mingling fome pangs of forrow for fin, and fome hot fits of devotion with a finful life; which is only the interruption of a wicked course, without reformation and amendment of life: but, let no man deceive you with vain words, for our bleffed Saviour hath provided no other ways to fave men, but upon the terms of repentance and obedience.

Fourthly, This argument takes hold of the most defperate and profligate finners, and still retains its force upon the minds of men, when almost all other confiderations fail, and have loft their efficacy upon

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