but what he should be; this is also one of the many that "will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."

12. There is also that free-willer who denies to the Holy Ghost the sole work in conversion; and that Socinian, who denieth to Christ that he hath made to God satisfaction for sin; and that Quaker, who takes from Christ the two natures in his person; and I might add as many more, touching whose damnation (they dying as they are) the Scripture is plain. These "will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."

But, fourthly. If it be so, what a strange disappointment will many professors meet with at the day of judgment! I speak not now to the open profane; everybody, as I have said, that hath but common understanding between good and evil, knows that they are in the broad way to hell and damnation, and they must needs come thither; nothing can hinder it but repentance unto salvation, except God should prove a liar to save them, and it is hard venturing of that.

Neither is it amiss if we take notice of the examples that are briefly mentioned in the Scriptures concerning professors that have miscarried.

1. Judas perished from among the apostles. 2. Demas, as I think, perished from among the evangelists. 3. Diotrephes, from among the ministers or them in office in the Church. 4. And as for Christian professors, they have fallen by heaps and almost by whole churches. 5. Let us add to these that the things mentioned in the Scriptures about these matters are but brief hints and items of what is afterwards to happen; as the apostle said, "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after." So that, fellow-professors, let us fear lest a promise being left us of entering into this rest, any of us should seem to come short of it. Oh to come short! nothing kills it, nothing will burn like it. I intend not discouragements, but awakenings; the churches have need of awakening, and so have all professors. Do not despise me, therefore, but hear me over again. What a strange disappointment will many professors meet with at the day of God Almighty-a disappointment, I say, and that as to several things:

1. They will look to escape hell, and yet fall just into the mouth of hell: what a disappointment will here be! 2. They will look

shut against them: what a disappointment is here! 3. They will expect that Christ should have compassion for them, but will find that he hath shut up all bowels of compassion from them: what a disappointment is here!

Again, fifthly. As this disappointment will be fearful, so certainly it will be very full of

amazement.

1. Will it not amaze them to be unexpect edly excluded from life and salvation? Will it not be amazing to them to see their own madness and folly, while they consider how they have dallied with their own souls, and took lightly for granted that they had that grace that would save them, but hath left them in a damnable state? 3. Will they not also be amazed, one at another, while they remember how in their lifetime they counted themselves fellow-heirs of life? To allude to that of the prophet, “They shall be amazed one of another, their faces shall be as flames." 4. Will it not be amazing to some of the damned themselves to see some come to hell that then they shall see come thither?-to see preachers of the word, professors of the word, practisers in the word to come thither? What wondering was there among them at the fall of the king of Babylon, since he thought to have swallowed up all, because he was run down by the Medes and Persians! "How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground that didst weaken the nations!" If such a thing as this will with amazement surprise the damned, what an amazement will it be to them to see such a one as he, whose head reached to the clouds-to see him come down to the pit and perish for ever like his own dung! "Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth." They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee, saying, Is this the man? Is this he that professed, and disputed, and forsook us? but now he is come to us again. Is this be that separated from us? but now is he fallen with us, into the same eternal damnation with us!

Sixthly. Yet again one word more, if I may awaken professors: 1. Consider, though the poor carnal world shall certainly perish, yet they will want these things to aggra vate their sorrow which thou wilt meet with

in every thought that thou wilt have of the condition thou wast in when thou wast in the world:

1. They will not have a profession to bite them when they come thither. 2. They will not have a taste of a lost heaven to bite them when they come thither. 3. They will not have the thoughts of, I was almost at heaven, to bite them when they come thither. 4. They will not have the thoughts of how they cheated saints, ministers, churches, to bite them when they come thither. 5. They will not have the dying thoughts of false faith, false hope, false repentance, and false holiness to bite them when they come thither: I was at the gates of heaven, I looked into heaven, I thought I should have entered into heaven. Oh how will these things sting! They will, if I may call them so, be the sting of the sting of death in hell-fire.

Seventhly. Give me leave now in a word to give you a little advice.

1. Dost thou love thine own soul? Then pray to Jesus Christ for an awakened heart for an heart so awakened with all the things of another world that thou mayest be allured

to Jesus Christ. 2. When thou comest there beg again for more awakenings about sin, hell, grace, and about the righteousness of Christ. 3. Cry also for a spirit of discerning, that thou mayest know that which is saving grace indeed. 4. Above all studies apply thyself to the study of those things that show thee the evil of sin, the shortness of man's life, and which is the way to be saved. 5. Keep company with the most godly among professors. 6. When thou hearest what the nature of true grace is, defer not to ask thine own heart if this grace be there. And here take heed

1. That the preacher himself be sound and of good life. 2. That thou takest not seeming graces for real ones, nor seeming fruits for real fruits. 3. Take heed that a sin in thy life goes not unrepented of, for that will make a flaw in thine evidence, a wound in thy conscience, and a breach in thy peace; and a hundred to one if at last it doth not drive all the grace in thee into so dark a corner of thy heart that thou shalt not be able, for a time, by all the torches that are burning in the Gospel, to find it out to thine own comfort and consolation.

6. They that are slothful have seldom or never good fruit; so also it will be with the soul-sluggard.

7. They that are slothful, they are chid for the same; so also will Christ deal with those that are not active for him. Thou wicked or slothful servant! out of thine own mouth will I judge thee; thou saidst I was thus and thus; wherefore then gavest not thou my money to the bank? &c. Take the unprofitable servant and cast him into utter darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

1. What shall I say? Time runs, and will ye be slothful?

2. Much of your lives are past, and will you be slothful?

3. Your souls are worth a thousand worlds, and will you be slothful?

4. The day of death and judgment is at the door, and will you be slothful?

5. The curse of God hangs over your heads, and will you be slothful?

6. Besides, the devils are earnest, laborious, and seek by all means, every day, by every sin, to keep you out of heaven and hinder you of salvation; and will you be slothful?

7. Also your neighbours are diligent for things that will perish, and will you be slothful for things that will endure for ever?

8. Would you be willing to be damned for slothfulness?

9. Would you be willing the angels of God should neglect to fetch your souls away to heaven when you lie a-dying, and the devils stand by ready to scramble for them?

10. Was Christ slothful in the work of your redemption?

thee, how would I pity thee! How would I bemoan thee! Oh that I could, with Jeremiah, let my eyes run down with rivers of waters for thee! Poor soul, lost soul, dying soul, what a hard heart have I that I cannot mourn for thee! If thou shouldst lose but a limb, a child, or a friend, it would not be so much, but, poor man, it is thy soul; if it was to lie in hell but for a day, but for a year, nay, ten thousand years, it would (in comparison) be nothing; but oh it is for ever! Oh this cutting ever! What a soul-amazing word will that be which saith, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING fire!" &c.

Objection. But if I should set in and run as you would have me, then I must run from all my friends, for none of them are running that way.

Answer. And if thou dost thou wilt run into the bosom of Christ and of God, and then what harm will that do thee?

Objection. But if I run this way, then I must run from all my sins.

Answer. That is true, indeed, yet if thou dost not, thou wilt run into hell-fire.

Objection. But if I run this way I shall be hated, and lose the love of my friends and relations, and of those that I expect benefit from or have reliance on, and I shall be mocked of all my neighbours.

Answer. And if thou dost not, thou art sure to lose the love and favour of God and Christ, the benefits of heaven and glory, and be mocked of God for thy folly, ("I will laugh at your calamities, and mock when your fear cometh;") and if thou wouldst not be hated and mocked, then take heed thou, by thy folly, dost not procure the displeasure and mockings of the great God; for his mocks and hatred

12. And lastly. If all this will not move, I tell you God will not be slothful or negligent to damn you, (whose damnation now of a long time slumbereth not,) the devils will not neglect to fetch thee, nor hell neglect to shut its mouth upon thee.

Sluggard, art thou asleep still? Art thou resolved to sleep the sleep of death? Will neither tidings from heaven nor hell awake thee? Wilt thou say still, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, and a little folding of the arms to sleep? Wilt thou yet turn thyself in thy sloth as the door is turned upon the hinges? Oh that I was one that was skilful in lamenta

thee in terrible times, even when tribulation and anguish taketh hold on thee; which will be when death and judgment comes, when all the men in the earth and all the angels in heaven cannot help thee.

Objection. But surely I may begin this time enough a year or two hence, may I not?

Answer. First. Hast thou any lease of thy life? Did ever God tell thee thou shalt live half a year or two months longer? Nay, it may be thou mayest not live so long. Aud therefore,

Secondly. Wilt thou be so sottish and unwise as to venture thy soul upon a little uncertain time?