--·'------------------------- Chap. VU. Of D E A T H. 441 of highcll: importance? It may be, fays the fecm·e Wretch, God will give me Repentance at !all:. as he did to others. Remember you fpeak of that that moll: nearly concerns your Ti ,(,_ 1 , ;. Soul 'and dare you venture the Salvation of an immortal Soul upon a naked poffibility of :r-"' c,~Gn.nv receiving Grace? What reafonable Perfon would neglea a Difeafe that may prove deadly, iz';,.'t,. t!.~;; and rely on extreme Remedies? And can you be guilty of fuch a cruel indifference, fuch a defperate carelefnefs, as to leave eternal Salvation a~d ~amnation to a peradventure? 2._ Confider how many thoufands have died in th~1r Sms, and of them great numb~rs Vixdici pott:O. chcn.D1,d fal~acious hope_s of. rep~nting at lafr. DMgoras the Athcifr, t~l~t denied a go~ ~~t~~l't:~ix::'i'~ vermnO"Providenccof thmgsmthis lower World, the Sphere of MutabJ!Jty, whenonebraclcc~peric. for his°Convi&ion fbewed him in the ·t· Temple of Neptune many votive Tables, con- T.' A•t· taining the grateful acknowledgments of thofe who by addreffcs to the Gods in dange. t .n. - rous ll:orms, had arrived fafc at their Ports; and ask'd him, Whether he had obferv'd thofe numerous Teflimonics for Divine Providence? He reply'd, I fie tbem; but bow ma. T11111 • 'D' having invocated Neptune, yet perifb'd in the Ocean, and never came to pay their Vow; for Deliverance? 'Twas Impiety in him to argue fo againft God's difpollog Providence; but it may be juftly faid to thofe who' negle& their prefent Duty, prefuming upon fome Examples of his glorious Goodnefs on thofe who were cpnverted and favcd in theirapfJ~~~~~~~s;,~i~:J'Fa'fe ~";,a~:~? t';,~ ~n:~~tl~;r~~~f~~ei~1~~o:f,~f.. ~~~~,t~~,~~'n,t~n~~~~ to delay Repentance, are fuddenly cutoff? the firll: fymptom of their licknefs is Death. And what the Angel with fuch folemni ty declar'd, tbat Tim• fhould be no more, is verified concerning them by an unexpe&ed diffolution. How ·many, when lick, hope either by the Vigour of Nature, or the Virtue of Medicines, to overcome the Difeafe? and this hope is cherifl1'd by the mortal kindnefs, the cruel deceit of Friends, who are unwilling to difcover their danger, Jell: their Spirits llJould link under the apprehenlion of it. And thus deluded, many never fee Death till they feel it, and rerifb for ever in their Impenitence. How many that are guilty and gracclefs, when d1 l:ant from Death and Hell but a few hours; yet from Atheifm are fecure as Jonah, who llcpt in themidll: of a Tcmpefl at Sea? The Tenour of their Livesdifcovers this to be Divine Vengeance, they are feiz'd by a Spirit of Slumber, and pafs without fear into the flate of everlafling Defperation. How many arc deceived with the appearance of Repentance, and 'mill:ake a falfe Peace for a true, and affwage the anguifh of Confcience by palliating Remedies ? Their for row for Sin, :~:~c~~r~;~ s~Y~~ti~~f7luli~dsa~f't~e~~i:J:a~,~anir/rTr~~~f~~~u~a~ft;~;~~ ~;,~;~ht~~o;~ Trufl when near brcakmg; fo they are very hberal of the promifes of amendment when they are near dying. From hence they vainly prcfume that God is reconciled to them, whofe all-difcerning Eye fees the inward fprir.g of their Sorrows, arid the principle of all their Religious Refolutions is the guilty fear of Eternal Judgment. Now a falfe Tranquillity is more terrible than the fiorms of a troubled Spirit: for thofe who hope upon decertful grounds, are m the moll: hopelefs fiate, negle&mg what JS requifite in order to Salvation. Thus innumerable pafs in a Cloud of DeluGon to the Kingdom of Darknefs. And how many who have lived in carelefs fecurity, as if they had made a Covenant with Death, when Confcience is awakcn'd, and looks into the depth of their Guil t, when they fee Death before them attended with Judgment, and Judgment with an everlall:mg Hell, as we read of Sijira, who from extreme Fear pafs'd to extreme Security; fo on the contrary, thefe fclf-deceivers from fecurity have fallen into defpair. Then Truth and Confcience, that were fo long under unrighteous Rcfiraints, break the Fetters, and ter~ ribly charge the Sinners: Then innumerable A&, which they thought td be.innocent, appear to be Sms; and Sm, that they made hght of, to be lllfimtely evrl, and m the highefl: degree hateful to God. And fometimes by the fuggell:ions of the Enemy of Souls, t hey are overwhelmed with Defpair, and their !aft Error is worfc than the firll:. The Devil makes his advantage of the timorous Confcience, as well as of the feared: Solitude is his Scene, as well as the noify Theatre;. and by contrary ways, either Prefumption or Dcfparr1 brrngs Smners to the fame end. He changes Ills Methods according to their Difpofitrons; the Tempter turns Accufer, and then fuch who had but a dim fiaht of Sin before, have an over-<juick fight of i~, and are fwallowed up in an Abyfs of Co~fuGon : The Condrtton of fuch IS extremely mrfcrable. 'Tls obfervcd by thofe who are bitten with a mad Dog, that their Cure'is extreme -!-difficult, if not impo!liblc ; for being tormented t MiiH,inium with Thirft, yet are fo fearful of Water,_ that the fight of 1t fometimes caufes fudden Con- ?~~~g~::& vulfions and Death: This is afignificant ErtJblem of a defpairingSoul : For whe11 in- fin & ,g_'l" raged Conf~1ence bttes to the qu1ck, the gwlty Pcrfon lill'd with Efiuations and Terrors, mecu cru~1 1 ~ ardently tlurlls for Pardon, yet fearfully forfai{CS his owri Mercies; .Whatever is pro~ ~~~ i~~:"~~ pounded to encourage Faith in the Divicic.Pnimifcs; he turristd jdflify his Infidelity, fiocn. cdfl M niin ~ Repro:
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