Book v1. !Looking unto 'jltftt.S. C~ap. 2.Sect:. 9· 639 b~n H;.ven or Heli7nd I befeech y~-~-wliit-isa·y-e-a-r,-o-r-tt-v-o,----'o'-r ten? what is an hundred, or athoufa<{d years to the days of eternity.? bow f~eedily is this gone? and bow endlefs is that rime, orererniry thlt 1s to come? 1s lt not lugh time then ro prepare our lamps to trim our fouls, to watch, and fall:, and pray, and meditate, and eo re– member tl;at for all our de<ds, good or evil, God will bring us to judgment? herein is our conformity to Chrill's coming ; before he comes he prepares for us, oh let us againfl: his coming prepare f~r him. . . . 2. Chrifi at his coming w!ll fummon all Ius Samc.sto anfe, to affend, and to come eo him in rhe clouds. 0 lee us fummon aur fouls to anfe, to afcend. and eo go ro Chnfi m the Heaven>.· Wl;ar Chrift will do really at that day, let us do fpirirually on this day. lJ; was the prodigal's faying, ltvill arife, andgo to my Father, and fay ttnto him. We Luke 15· , g, are naturally lluggifh, we lye in a bed of fin, and fecuricy; and we are loath to arife, to afcend, and w go ro God. Oh then let us call upon our own fouls! Awak!, ewa'<.e Debor•h! why art thou (o heavy Omy{e11l? lecusf\ir upourfpirirs, confciences wills, atfe<9:ions every day; let us wind them up, as a man dorh his watch, that it may be in a continual motion. Alas! alas! we had need to be continually flirring up the gifts ' and graces that are in us; it is the Lord's pleafure that we lhould daily .come to him, he would have us on the wing of Prayer, and on the wing of Meditation, and on the wing of Faith, bewouldhaveus to be llill ariling, afcending, and mounting up in di– vine contemplation to hi, Majefiy. And is it' nor our dury, and the Saints difpofition to be thus ( Whetherfoever the dead c.rcafs u, thither will the Eazles refort: if Chrill: Matth. 24.2S. be in Heaven, where f11ould we be but in Heaven with him? For where your treafure i;, there willyour hearts ba 11l{o. Ob that every morning, and every evening, at leall, our hearts would arife, afcend, and go to Chrifl: in che Heavens. 3 . Chrifl: will at lafl: judge all our fouls, and judge aJ.I ihe wicked to eternal flames , oh let us judge our felves, chat we may not be jutlged of the Lord in that fad jadgment: If we W011ld jHdge our [elves (faith the Apoflle) we jhould not be judged. •Good reafon 1 Cor. n. 3 ,; we have to conform to Cbrill: in this point, or otherwifc how lhould we efcape the judgment of Chrifi ac the lafl:day? but in what manner lhould we judge our felves ? 1 anfwer ----- 1. We mull: feareh out our fins. 2. We mufl confefs them before the Lord. 3. We mu~ condemn our fdvcs, or pafs a fentence againll our own fouls. 4· We mufi plead pardon, and cry mightily to God in Chrifl: for the remiffion of all thofe lins whereof we have judged our felves, aud condemned our felves. I. We mufl:fearch out our fins . Winnotll yourfelvesOpeopk, not worthy to be beloved, zeph. 2. r. there lhould be a firi<9: fcrutiny to find our all theprophanenefs of our hearts and lives, ail our fins again[! light, and love, and checks, and vows; winnow your [elves. If you will nor, I pronounce to yoil from the eternal God, that ere long the Lord will come in the donds, and then will he open the black book wherein all your fins are written, he will fearch / emfalcm with candles, he will tome with a fword in ltis l1and to fearcb <>Ut all fecure fitlners every where, and then will all your fins be difcovercd to all rbe World. 0 that we would prevent this by our fearch and fcrutining a forehand. 2. We mull confefs our fins before the Lord ; we mull: fpread them before the Lord as Hcz.ck.jah did his letter ; onely in our confeffions obferve thefe rules; As1. Our confdlion mull: be full of forrow, I will declare my iniquity ( faith D~vid) I Pfalm 38. 18. will be forry for my fin. His confeffions were dolorous confeliions ; he felt fm, and it ~roughr upon him as an heavy burthen, 'Thry were too heAvy for ·m•: There's. nothing Vcr. 4· m rhe World can make ari heart more heavy , than when lt feels the we~ghr and heavinefs of fin. 2. Our confeliion mufi be a full confeliion, we mull: pour it our. Thus David fiiles one of his Pfalms, ..ti. pra,erof the affli&ed whm he u overwhelmed, aridpo11rethout Pfalm 102, hu complaint ilefore the Lord. \'Ve muft pour our our complaints, as a man poureth wa- Preface. rer out of avdfel. .Ari{e, cry out in the night, in the b•ginning of the watches, pour Lam 2 19 ' out thine hear; lik! water before the face of the Lord. Waterruns all out of a velfel, · · ' when you rurn r-he mouth downward, never a fpoon-full Will then flay behind. fo lhould we pour ou~ our beans before God, and (if it were poliible) leave not ~fin unconfolfed, at leafi for the kinds, if not for the particular fins. ' 3. Our confeliion mull: be with full aggravation ; we fl10uld aggravate our fins by all che circumll:anccs, that may lhew them odious. Thus Peter when he had denyed Chrifi, it is faid rhar he thonght thereon, and he wept; He thought rhereon, Ol' he Matth. 1 4-7" c~f!: .
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