Rom. 2. 16. to that Rule: therefore fays St. Paul, God will judg the Secrets of Men by Chrift Jefus, according to my Gofpel. Every Man may know in this Life how it will go with him in the next, if he will impartially examine himfelf by the Divine Word: for all thofe whom the Gofpel pronounces righteous, the Judg will acquit; but fuch whom the Gofpel condemns for their Wickednefs, fhall not ftand in Judgment. Rom. 2. 6, God will render to every Man according to his 7,8,9,10. deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well

doing, feek for Glory, and Honour, and Immor tality; Eternal Life. But to them that are con tentions, and do not obey the Truth, but obey Unrighteoufnefs, Indignation and Wrath, Tribulation. and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth evil, of the Jew first, and alfo of the Gentile. But Glory, Honour, and Peace to every Man that worketh good; to the Jew firft, and alfo to the Gentile for there is no refpect of Perfons with God. Some have had the vanity and folly to fay, that they doubted not but God Almighty would have fome regard to their Extraction and Quality, and make fome allowances to them more than to others of an inferior rank, when they should appear before his Tribunal: But the Scriptures are exprefs, that God regards no Man in Judgment for his external Circumftances, but will proceed with the fame steddinefs and impartiality with the Rich as the Acts 10. 34, Poor: God is no Refpecter of Perfons; but in every. Nation be that feareth him, and worketh Righ teousness, is accepted with him. But,

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4. We are to confider the immediate Confequences of the future Judgment, both with regard to the Righteous and the Wicked: The Mat. 25.46. Wicked Shall go away into everlasting Punishment,

but

but the Righteous into Life eternal. To all good Men the Judg will fay, Come ye bleffed of my Fa- Mat. 25. 34. ther, inherit the Kingdom prepar'd for you from the Foundation of the World: But to all the Wicked, Depart from me, ye curfed, into ever- Ver. 41. lafting fire, prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels. Thefe different Sentences fhall determine the final State of good and bad Men for ever: Therefore 'tis call'd in Scripture the Eternal Judgment, from which there can be no Appeal. I shall not now go about to defcribe the Joy of those happy Souls who at that time fhall be acquitted, or the Mifery and Torment of thofe that shall then be condemn'd; but only observe, that the Sentence of the Judg will fix both the one and the other in an unalterable ftate.

Thus have I gone over the two general Heads of Difcourfe I propos'd to infift upon: It only remains, that I tell you what ufe we should make of this awful Subject, futable to the fad Solemnities of a Funeral. And tho divers Inferences might be properly deduc'd from this Difcourfe, I fhall only at prefent addrefs my felf to two forts of Perfons, and fo conclude. And, (1.) If it's fo unreafonable, as you have heard, for young People to walk in the way of their hearts, and in the fight of their eyes; how much more is it fo, for thofe to act thus, who are advanc'd in years? For antient People to act with the precipitation and rafhnefs of Youth, to abandon themselves to extravagant Mirth and Jollity; is one of the most unreasonable and abfurd things in the world. Yet how many, that are ready to drop into the grave, please themselves with the glitter and pomp of this World, and are continually running into Hh 2

all

all exceffes of riot! Surely the time paft is more than enough, that thou haft spent in Sin and Folly: Is thy Sun juft fetting, and art thou as vain as in the heat of Youth? Art thou on the brink of the grave, and yet as prodigal of thy Time as if thou hadst an Age before thee? Good God! what folly, what madness are these People guilty of? Oh that they did but know the things that belong to their Peace, before they are hid from their eyes! Oh that I could but prevail with antient People, who have spent all their days in fin and folly, to pause a little, and think over what they have been doing, and what an account they are able to give of their Time and Talents to the Judg of the World! Methinks thofe that are old in fin fhould blush and be confounded, when they fee young ones devoted to God betimes, who have made a progrefs in Religion, and are almoft ripe for Heaven; while they, unhappy People! have not taken one step towards it, but have been all their lives treafuring up wrath against the day of wrath, and the fearful Revelation of the righteous Fudgment of God. Awake, awake, thou that fleepeft! Arife from the Dead, and Chrift fhall give thee Light! Delay not one moment longer; flee to Jefus the only Saviour, left your Hearts fhould be harden'd thro the Deceitfulnefs of Sin.

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(2.) To you that are young, to whom the Wife-Man' principally addreffes himself. If the future Judgment is fo certain and fo extenfive, and shall be impartially administer'd and attended with fuch awful Confequences as you have heard; then how reafonable is it, that you often think on this Judgment, and fpeedily prepare for it?

If

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12.

If you believe there fhall be a future Judgment, often meditate upon it; and seriously confider what manner of Perfons ye ought to be in 2 Pet. 3. 11, all holy Converfation and Godliness, waiting for and haftening unto the coming of the day of God. Often think with your felves, that you fee the Son of Man coming in flaming Fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God, nor obey the Gofpel; that you fee the Throne fix'd, and the Books open'd, out of which you are to be judg'd; that you hear the found of the laft Trump, faying, Arife ye Dead, and come to Fudgment. If thou didst but often think thus, and get thy Faith strengthen'd in this great Article, it would certainly have the fame effect upon thee, as if all these things were actually prefent. And confider with thy felf, that if this Day be fo amazing at a distance, that the thoughts of it even chill your Blood and Spirits; with what inexpreffible horror shall unprepar'd Sinners be ftruck, when it comes to be prefent! Will you not think of this, O ye diffolute Sinners? Now, it may be, you are admir'd and carefs'd for the profane Sallies of your Wit, when you reflect on a crucify'd Saviour; but what will you do when the Judg cometh? and how near the last great and terrible Day is, we cannot tell: For it will come as a Thief in the night, and as a Snare upon all them that dwell on the face of the whole Earth. But however that be, whenever you are feiz'd by Death, you'll be paft all Opportunities of correcting the Disorders of Life; fo that the danger of being unprepar'd for Death must needs be the fame as to be unprepar'd for the Day of Judgment: for the Day of Death will as effectually determine the State of individual Hh3 Perfons,

Perfons, as the laft Judgment fhall that of the whole World. Therefore in the height of all your Pleasure, pause a little, and confider, That for all these things God will bring you into Judgment; and labour that, whether prefent or abfent, you may be accepted of God in Chrift: As was the Care of that young Perfon, who defir'd that this Text might be preach'd on at his Funeral, hoping probably that it would be of fome ufe to thofe young People that might furvive him.

Mr. George Stennett was well known to you in this Affembly, concerning whom I have feveral things to fay that are praife-worthy, and that deferve the imitation of young People. He confecrated himself very early to the Service of the Sacred Trinity in Holy Baptifm: and when he had thus evidenc'd his Love to the Redeemer, by fubmitting to his Authority and Example, he did not imagine that his Work was done, but did frequently look into his State, and examin'd himself by thofe Characters he found defcriptive of true Christians in the Word of God.

It pleas'd God to exercife him with a languishing Sickness for feveral months, till his Body was wafted and decay'd: Sometimes he had Doubts and Fears, and thro the Temp tations of Satan was ready to question his Intereft in Chrift, and did most importunately defire the Affurance of the Love of God: and, what was very remarkable in his Sickness, he retain'd an extraordinary Tenderness of Confcience, being afraid of every thing that look'd like Sin. In the former part of his Illness, he was defirous to live: but when he drew near

the