Serm.CXXIV. Of the Certainty of a Future Judgment. 143 always writing, and making a faithful Recordof all the paffages of their lives; and that. there PolutnesJball one day be produced and opened, and men (lead be judgedout of the things that are written in them g and all our thoughts, words, and actions(halt pafs under a molt fevere tryal and examination. Or if mendo believe thefe things, they Rifle and.fupprefs this belief, and detain thisgreat truth ofGod in unrighteoufnefs 5 they do not attend to it, and confider it, that it may have its due aweand influence upon their lives. For it is not imaginable, that if men were poffe(t with a firmbelief and perfwafion of this great and terrible day tithe Lord, they fhould be fo carelefs and fecure, as we fee they are, and have fo little regard to what theydo ; that they fhould pats whole days, and weeks, and years, in thegrofs negle& of God and Religion, and of their immortal Souls; that they fhould fpend theirdays in vanity, and their years in pleafure ; that they fhould live in a continued courfeof impiety and profanenefs, of lewdnefs and intemperance, in the curled habits of fwearing and curling; which are now grown fo common a- mong us, that a Man cannot walk in the Street, without having his ears grated with this hellifh noire and that they fhould go on in thefe courfes, without any great regret and difturbance, as ifno danger attended them, as if Juftice were afleep, and all their A&ions wouldbe buried with them, and never rife up againft them. What can we refolve this into, but either into habitual or a&ual Atheifm and In- fidelity? Either men do not at all believe a Judgment to come ; or elfe they do not a&wally confider it, and attend to the natural and proper confequences of fuch a be- lief ? One of thefe two is neceffary. It feems very hard to charge the generality of wicked men with habitual Atheifm and Unbelief, but that the Spirit of God inScri- pture fooften does it. Pfal. 14. r. The fool bathfad inhis heart, there is noGod. How doth that appear? It follows, They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that dothgood. And Pfal. 36. I. The tranfgreffon of the wicked faithwithin my heart, there is nofear ofGod beforehis eyes. David (peaks as if the wicked pra&ices of men did convince him, that they had no belief and apprehenfion of a God. Nay, even after thofe clear difcoveries which theGofpel bath madeof a future Judgment, our Saviourfeems to foretel a general Infidelity among men, at leaf} asto this particular Article of a future Judgment, Luke 18. 8. Neverthelefs when the Son ofman /ball come, ¡ball he.find faith upon the earth ? And St. Peter tells us, 2 Pet. 3. 3, 4. That there (ball come in the !aft daysfcoffers, walking after their own lufis, andfaying, Whereis the promife ofhiscoming ? That is, deriding the belief andexpe&ation which the Chriftians hadof a future Judgment. But to be fore, if thegenerality ofmen be not already funk thus low, as to disbe- lieve thefe things, yet this at leaft is evident from the lives of men, that they are ftrangely inconfiderate, and guiltyof the moltgrofs and (timid inadvertency that can befal reafonable Creatures. For I dare appeal to any Man ofunderftanding and ferious confederation, Whether a greater folly and madnefs can be imagined, than formen to profefs in good earneft to believe, that there is a day fhortly coming, wherein they (hall appear before the impartial Tribunal of the great Judge of the World, and all the A&ions of their lives thatl be ranfack'd and laid open, and that there is not any thing that ever they did, that (hall efcape a feverecenfure 5 yea, and farther to be perfwaded, that as it (hall upon that Tryal appear, that they have demeaned themfelves in this World, they {hall be fentenced to an eternal and un- changeable ftate, of Happinefs or Mifery, in the other World; and yet after all this convi&ion,tolive at fuch a mad and carelefs rate, as noman in reafon can live, but he that is undoubtedly certain of the contrary of all this, and verily perfuaded in bis heart, that not one fyllableof what the Gofpel fags concerning thefe matters, is true; this is fo incredible a (cupidity and folly, that did not frequent and undenia- ble experience makeus lureofthe truth of it, out of meet charity and refpe& to hu- maneNature, it were not to bebelieved. Confider this all ye thatforget God, and put far from you the evil day ; confider and (hero your felves men, 0 ye tranfgrejjors ! who profefs tobelievea future Judgment, andyet run the hazardofit, as if ye had no fear and fufpicion ofany inch thing. 11. Having confidered, not without wonder and a{toni(hment, what manner of Perfons the generality of men are, notwithltanding all the afTurance we have of a future Judgment, let us in the next place confider, Seeing there things Jhalt be, what manner ofpertns we ought to be in all holy converfation and godlieeefs, waiting for and haftning unto the coming of the day of God, as the Apoftle argues, 2 Pet. 3. 11, I 2. How ,l
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