Seim. C;XVIII. zn order to Repellta/ace. 3 better, neither his Mercies nor his Judgments. Ira. r. z, 3. Hear, 0 Heavens! andgive ear, 0Earth ! For the Lord bath fpoken 5 I have nouri bed and brought up Children, but they have rebelled againfi rise. The Ox knoineth his owneh, and the if lr$ Nailer s Crib: but Ifrael doth not know, my People Both not confider. And fo likewife he complains, that his Judgments had no effe& upon them. ver. 5. Why fháuld ye be f Bitten any more ? 2ewill revolt more andmore. Well therefore may it be laid of us, ask was of them in the Verfe before the Text, They are a Nation void of knowledge, neither is there any underfianding in them. And the With that follows in the Text, is as feafonable for us as it was for them, 0 that they werewife, that they u Jerflood this, that they would confider their latter end ! And byparity ofßeafon, this may likewife be applyéd to particular Perlons, and to perfwade every ;One of us to a ferions Conlideration of the final Iffue and Conlequençeof our A&ions. I will only offer there two Arguments. L That Confideration is the proper AFi of realnable Creatures, and that ,.whereby we (hew our (elves Men. So the Prophet intimates, Ifa. 46. a Remem- her this, and Phew yourfeIves men; bring it again to mind, O ye tranfereffors ! that is, confider it well, think of it again and again, ye that run on fo furioufly in a linful Courf;, what the end and iffue of there things will be. If ye do not do this, you do not /hewyour felves men, you do not a& like reafonable Creatures, to who it is peculiar to propofe to themfelves tome end and defign of their A&i- ons ; but rather like brute Creatures, which have no underffanding, and aft only by a natural inflin&, without any Confiderationof theend of their Afions,' or of the means'conducing to it. II. Whether we confider it or not, our latter end will come; and all thole difmal Confequences of a finfol Courte, which God bath fo plainly threatned, and our own Confciences do fo much dread, will certainly overtake us at Ian; and we cannot, by not thinking of thefe things, ever prevent or avoid them. Death will come, and after that the Judgment, and an irreverfible Doom will pats upon us, according toall the evil that we have done, and all the good that we have negle&ed todo in this Life, under the heavy weight and preffurewhereof we mutt liegroaning, and bewailingour felves to everlafling Ages. God now exercifeth his Mercy and Patience and Long- futfering towards us, in gxpeftation ofour amendment; he reprieves us onpurpofe that we may repent, and in hopes that we will at lait confider and grow wirer ; for he is not willing that any Amidperiflr, but that all !humidcome to Repentance : but if we will trifle away this day of God's Grace and Patience, if we will not confider and bethink our felves, there is another day that will certainly come, Thatgreat and terrible Day of the Lord, in which the Heavens (hall paf: away with a great noife, and the Elements !hall melt withfervent heat ; the Earth alfo, and the works that are therein /hall be Burnt up. Seeing then all thefe things ¡hall be, let us confider ferioufly what manner ofPer- fenswe ought to be in all holy Converfation and Godlinefs, waiting forand hafining un- to the coming of the Day of God ; To whom be glory nowandfor ever. SFR
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