334 A SERMON OF REPENTANCE. but once a day, or once a week, to bestow one hour in serious consideration of their latter end, and the everlasting state of saints and sinners; and of the equity of the holy ways of God, and the iniquity of their own, we cannot prevail with them. Till the God of heaven doth overrule them, we cannot prevail. The witness that we are forced to bear is sad :. it is sad to us ; but it will be sadder to these rebels, that shall one day know that God will not be outfaced ; and that they may sooner shake the stable earth, and darken the sun by their reproaches, than outbrave the Judge of all the world, or by all their cavils, wranglings, or scorns, escape the hands of his revenging justice. But if ever the Lord will save these souls, he will bring their misdoings to their remembrance. He will make them think of that which they were so loath to think ón. You cannot now abide these troubling and severe meditations; the thoughts of God, and heaven; and hell ; the thoughts of your sins, and of your duties, are melancholy, unwelcome thoughts to you ; but O, that you could foreknow the thoughts that you shall hava of all these things ! even the proudest, scornful, hardened sinner, that heareth me this day, shall shortly have such a remembrance as will make him wonder at his present blockishness. O, when the irresistible power of Heaven shall open all your sins before you, and commandyou to remember them, and to remember the time, and place, and per- sons, and all the circumstances of them ; What a change will it make upon the most stout or stubborn of the sons of men ; what, a difference will there then be between that trembling, self-tormenting soul, and the same that now, in his gallantry, can make light of all these things, and call the messenger of Christ, who warneth him, a Puritan, or a doting fool ! Your memories now are somewhat subject to your wills ; and if you will not think of your own, your chief, your everlasting concernments, you may choose. If you will choose rather to employ your noble souls on beastly lusts, and waste your thoughts on things of nought, you may take your course, and chase a feather with a childish world, till, overtaking it, you see you have lost your labor. But when justice takes the work in hand, your thoughts shall be no more subject to Your wills ; you shall then remember that which you are full loath to remem- ber, and would give a world that you could forget. O, then one cup of the waters of oblivion would be of inestimable value to the damned ! O, what would they not give that they could but forget the time they had lost, the mercy they abused, the grace which they refused, the holy servants of Christ whom they despised, the willful sins which they committed, and the many duties which they willfully omitted I I have often thought of their case when I have dealt with melancholy or despairing persons. . If I advised
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