our hopes have raised us to the expectation of; when we fhall be eafed of all our pains, and refolved of all our doubts, and be purged from all our fins, and be freed from all our fears, and be happy beyond all our hopes, and have all this happiness fecured to us beyond the power of time and change; when we fhall know God and other things without ftudy, and love him and one another without measure, and ferve and praise him without weariness, and obey his will without the least reluctancy; and shall still be more and more delighted in the knowing, and loving, and praifing, and obeying of God to all eternity.

How should these thoughts affect our hearts, and what a mighty influence ought they to have upon our lives? The great difadvantage of the arguments fetched from another world is this, that thofe things are at a great distance from us, and not fenfible to us; and therefore are not apt to affect us fo ftrongly, and to work fo powerfully upon us. Now, to make amends for this difadvantage, we fhould often revive these confiderations upon our minds, and inculcate upon ourselves the reality and certainty of these things, together with the infinite weight and importance of them. We fhould reafon thus with ourselves: If good men fhall be fo unspeakably happy, and confequently wicked men fo extremeJy miferable in another world; if these things be true, and will one day be found to be fo, why should they not be to me as if they were already prefent? why should not I be as much afraid to commit any fin, as if hell were naked before me, and I faw the astonishing miseries of the damned? and why should I not be as careful to serve God, and keep his commandments, as if heaven were open to my view, and I faw Jefus ftanding at the right hand of God, with crowns of glory in his hand ready to be set upon the heads of all those who continue faithful to him?

The lively apprehenfions of the nearnefs of death and eternity, are apt to make mens thoughts more quick and piercing'; and, according as we think ourfelves prepared for our future ftate, to tranfport us with joy, or to amaze us with horror: for the foul that is fully fatisfied of his future blifs, is already entered into heaven, has be

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gun

gun to take poffeflion of glory, and has, as it were, his bleffed Saviour in his arms; and may fay, with old Simeon, Lord, now lettest thou thy fervant depart in peace; for mine eyes have feen thy falvation. But the thoughts of death muft needs be very terrible to that man who is doubtful or despairing of his future condition. It would daunt the ftouteft man that ever breathed, to look upon death, when he can see nothing but hell beyond it. When the apparition at Endor told Saul, To-morrow, thou and thy fons fhall be with me, thefe words ftruck him to the heart; fo that he fell down to the ground, and there was no more ftrength left in him. It is as certain that we shall die, as if an exprefs meffenger fhould come to every one of us from the other world, and tell us fo: why fhould we not then always live as those that must die, and as those that hope to be happy after death? To have thefe apprehenfions vigorous and lively upon our minds, this is to have our converfation in heaven; from whence alfo we look for our Saviour, the Lord Jefus Chrift; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working of that mighty power whereby he is able even to fubdue all things to himself.

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SERMON

IX.

Of the end of judgments, and the reason of their continuance.

ISAIAH ix. 12. 13.

For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is Stretched out fill. For the people turneth not unto him that fmiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hofts.

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'N the former part of the 12th verfe, the Prophet threatens that Ifrael fhould be brought into great diftrefs, and be fet upon by enemies on every fide, the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and that they thould devour Ifrael with open mouth. And though this

was

was like to be a very fore and dreadful judgment; yet he foretells, that this would not stay God's hand, nor fatisfy his anger; because he forefaw, that they would still grow worse, and continue impenitent: For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is ftretched out ftill. For the people turneth not unto him that fmiteth them, neither do they feek the Lord of hofts.

In which words there are these two things very ufeful at all times, but at this time efpecially molt proper and fcafonable for our confideration.

1. The defign and intention of God in fending judg ments upon a people; and that is, to reclaim them from their fins; implied in these words, For the people turneth not to him that fmiteth them: which intimate to us, that this is the end which God aims at in his judgments, to take us off from our fins, and to bring us to himself.

2. The reafon of the continuance of God's judgments; because the people were not reclaimed by them. And this is fully expreffed in the text: that therefore God's anger is not turned away, but his hand is ftretched out Still; because the people turneth not unto him that fmiteth them, &c.

Of these two I crave leave to speak, as plainly and briefly as I can.

I. The defign and intention of God in fending judgments upon a people; and that is, to reclaim them from their fins. This indeed is the intention of all God's difpenfations towards us in this world. The end of all his mercies and benefits is, to take us off from fin, and to oblige and win us to our duty. So the Apostle tells us, Rom. ii. 4. that the defign of God's goodness, and longfuffering, and forbearance towards us, is to lead us to repentance.

And this is the way wherein God delights to deal with us. The way of judgment and feverity is that which he is more averse from; a courfe which he unwillingly takes with us, and not without fome difficulty and reluctancy. He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men: and were it not that we are fuch perverse creatures, as not to be wrought upon by kindness, fo wild as not to be tamed by gentle ufage, God would not handle us in any other way. It is our obstinacy and intractableness

intractableness to the methods of his goodnefs which constraineth, and almost forceth him against his inclination, to take the rod into his hand, and to chastise us with it. He would draw us with the cords of love and the bands of a man, as he expreffeth himself in the Prophet; but we will not follow him: and therefore we provoke him to turn thofe cords into whips, and to change the gentle methods of his kindness into ways of harshness and severity.

And yet, when he comes to take this course with us, he ftill, like a kind and tender-hearted father, aims at our benefit and advantage. He defigns kindness to the fons of men, by all thofe judgments which do not kill them, and cut them off from the opportunity and possibi lity of improving them. If he fends evils upon us, it is that thereby he may do us fome greater good: if he afflicts us, it is not because it is pleasant to him to deal harfhly with us, but because it is profitable and neceffa ry for us to be fo dealt with: and if at any time he im bitter our lives by miferies and fufferings, it is because he is loth to fee us perifh in pleasant ways, and chufeth rather to be fomewhat severe towards us, than fuffer us to be utterly undone.

This Mofes declares to have been the great end of all the fevere providences of God towards the people of Ifrael in their long wandering in the wilderness, and all the difficulties and hardships they were there exercised withal for the fpace of forty years: Deut. viii. 15. 16. Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery ferpents and fcorpions, &c. that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.

So that the afflicting providences of God are not only apt in their own nature to do us good, but, which is a more exprefs argument of the divine goodness, God intends and aims at this end by them: he does not fend judgments upon this theatre of the world for his fport and paltime, nor fet on one part of his creation to bait another for his own diverfion: he does not, like fome of the cruel Roman Emperors, take pleasure to exercise men with dangers, and to fee them play bloody prizes before him.

Nay,

Nay, he does nothing that is severe out of humour and paffion, as our earthly parents many times do. Indeed he is angry with us for our fins; but yet fo as still to pity our perfons: and when his providence makes ufe of any fharp and cutting instruments, it is with this merciful defign, to let out our corruption; if he cafts us ' into the furnace of affliction, it is that he may refine and purify us from our drofs,

So that though the judgments of God be evils in themfelves; yet, confidering the intentions of God in them, they are no real objections against his goodneèfs, but rather arguments for it; as will appear if we confider these three things.

1. That the judgments of God are proper for the cure of a far greater evil of another kind.

2. They are proper for the prevention of far greater evils of the fame kind.

3. They are not only proper to these ends, but in many cafes very neceffary.

1. The judgments of God are very proper for the cure of a far greater evil of another kind; I mean, the evil of fin. We take wrong measures of things, when we judge thofe to be the greatest evils which afflict our bodies, wound our reputation, and impoverish our estates. For those certainly are far the greatest which affect our nobleft part; which vitiate our understandings, and deprave our wills, and wound and defile our fouls. What corrupt humours are to the body, that fin is to the fouls of men; their disease, and their death.

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Now, it is very agreeable with the goodness and mercy of the divine providence, to administer to us whatever is proper for the cure of fo great an evil. If we make ourselves fick, that is our own folly, and no fault of the phyfician: but we are beholden to him, if he recover us, though it be by very bitter and unpleafing means. temporal judgments which are fhort of death, are properly medicinal and if we will but fuffer them to have their kindly operation upon us, they will work a cure; and how grievous and diftasteful foever they may be for -the prefent, they will prove mercies and bleffings in the iffue. Upon this account David reckons afflictions among the happy bleffings of his life: Pfal. cxix. 71. It is

good