Ambrose - Houston-Packer Collection BX5200 .A49 1674

yet loll:: writ in durable marble, yet perifh; _writ in a monument equal to a c,. lofTu, yet be IgnominiOUS. 0 were you but Wntln thiSUovk__of i1je 1 your names fhould never di~, never fuff~r any 1gnommy! It IS an ax10me moll: true, They th,tt P.te wrimn, m the etern,d leaves of IJeavm,Jha/1 nevw be lVrapfed m the cloudy ji>ms ofdark,_.ejfe. Here then is the joy of S1111ts, at that DaJ of Doom th1s book_. !hall be opened, and all the elect whom God hath orda1ned to falvatJOn,fhall fee 1t,read it,hear it, & greatly rejoyce at it The Difciplescafbng_out dev1ls, return With miracles in their_ mouths, o Lord (fay Luke 10.. 22they) eve" dcvds arejtJb)ct~ to uuhrottgh thy N~wu._ Tme, (faith Chrifl) IJaw Satan as tzghtnmg fa!lfrom heav~n: not Wtthjiandmg m thu rejoyce not> that ihe fpirits arefub~ jc[f 11moyou, b1tt rath.er rcJo7ce becaufe your nar;Jes are 1'rit:en itt. Heaven, Luke 1 o. 20 . And woll1my the Sa10ts rCJoyce ~hat h~ve their name~ written 10 Gods book__, they fhaU fee them (to thetr comfort)wnt 10 letters of gold, penned with the Almighties finger >ngraven w1th a pen of a Diamond: thus will this book give in the evidence, and accor~ dingly will the Judge proceed to fentence. Vfl 1 • Confic.ler (thou that readeft) what book} one day muft be fet before thee: a time will come when every thought of thy heart, every word of thy mouth, every glance of the eye, every moment of thy time, every office thou haft born, every company thou hart ufed, every fcrmon thou haft heard, every action thou hall: done, and every omiffion ofany duty or good deed thou hafl: left undone, !hall be feen in thefe bookJ at the firrt opening of them : thy confciencc !hall then be fuddenly , cleerly, and univerfaUy inlargcd with extraordinary light to look upon all thy life at once; Gods memory !hall then fhine forth, and !hew it felf, when all men looking on it as a re/leering glaffc they fhall behold all the paffages of their mif- fpent lives from their births to their burials. Where is the wicked and deceitful man? Wilt thou yet commit thy villainies, treacheries, robberies, murthers,debates, and impieties? Let me tell t,hee (if fo) to thy hearts grief. all thy fccr~t fins and clofet-villainies, that no eye ever lookt upon (but that which is~ th<lufand times brighter than the Sun) !hall then be difclofcd, and laid open beforeAn– gels, men, and devils, ond thou !halt then and there be horribly, univerfally, and ever. laftin 6 1y a01amed: never therefore ago about to commit any fin, becaufe it is midnight or rhat the doors arc lockt upon thee:fuppofe it be concealed,& lie hid (in as .great dark, neffe as it was committed till Doomefday again, yet then !hall it out with a witneffe, and be as legible in thy forehead, as if it were writ with the brightefl: frars, or the moll gli!tering Sun-beam upon a wall of chryftal. Vfl 2 • As you mean the good of your fouls, amend your lives, eaU your !elves to accouat while it is called to day , fcarch and examine all your'thoughts, words, and deeds, and proftrating your fclves before God, with broken and bleeding affections, pray and fue for affurance that your names are written in that Eook__.f l1fe.] This will be the joy of ,.. le is a que- your hearts, the pe~ce of yuur fouls, the reft of your minds: yea, how glad will you llicn,wherher then be to have *<~11 thefe book} laid open ? by this means (I fpeak it to the comfort of all the {inn<> of true-hcarted Chrifti;;ns) fh~ll your obedience, and repentance, and faith, and love, Gods people and zeal, and patience, &c. come to light and be known. God is not unrighteou~ to ~~i~:~b:, ~~~·;:· forget your works of labour and love. No, all mufl: out, efpecially at that day when oa,? lomefay, the bo'kJ !hall be open,our workJ "~anifefted,and as we have done,Co mufr we be reward• they fn•ll be ed; for then he j/Jall retvard everymtm ae<·ording to his workJ. mmlfc:l\c:,l,, not (or their ignominy or coo(ofion, bur only thou rh~ gooctcdfc: and grace: of Gael may be mz,te rhe more iiiuRri: ous; .an•l for dtis 1!tc: y urge, M.•sTb. 12. 3.1. 2 Cor. S· 10. R etJ 20. 12. Othcr'i lay, they fhall not be .manifdlt'l!· r. Bcetll:e Chnft in his fcnrcncc onc:ly enumcnneHhe good wades they had done. bur rakes eo nouce of d~~:lf fins. z Befaufc ehis ~g1 ees bcf\ with thofc c~p1 effions, 1har God blottcth out our fins, "'n1l thar rhcvuc shroY. nio· ro T!icbottomc of rhe lea. ~. Becaure <..tu il1 is theirhri,legroom, frirnd,'a.tvocace; an cl how ill would ir ~ccomc cue in (uch rcliuions to ~.ccufc or !.1)' open thck fin\? Which of there opinioos is uucll, is hant ro f~;y, Heb. 6. ~o, The books arc opmed, and now are the matters to be examined: there is lirll: a.,;,..,, and then a trial, . _ The LalV-book__whereby we are triedcontains three leaves, Namre, th<L~w, end the Gofpel: the Gentiles muft be tried by the firft, the unbelieving Jews anci Gentiles by the fcc0nd, and th·c faithful Jews and Gentiles by the Iall. Thofe that confeffc noGod by nature, mufl: be judged by the law of nature: thofe that confeffc a God, no Chnrt, mufr be judged by the Law QfGod withoutthe merit~ of Chril\.: thofc that c?nfell'e God the Father, and believe in God the Son, !hall be JUdged by the Gorpd, whtch re– concileth us to God the Father by the merits of Chrill:. Atheifts by the fa-y of fl"ature, Infidels by the law of God Chriftians by the Gofpel of our Savwur ChnH. To the fratutes of the former who ~an anfwer? Our hope is in the latter, we apfeal to the, Gofpd,

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