IN the opening of this portion of Scripture, we will,

First, Consider its Scope; and then we will consider the words themselves; and give you a short Explication thereof; and then we shall draw that Practical Obser­vation from them, which the Lord bless unto your Edification.

[Page 2]As for the Scope of them (in the for­mer part of the 18 Verse), I have shewed you how the Apostle was acquainting us with the great benefit that sinners do re­ceive from the death of Christ; that I have (already) opened to you. Christ hath once sufferd for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.

Now (in the following Verses) the A­postle passeth on from the death of Christ, unto the life of Christ; and shews that we have not only benefit by a Christ dy­ing, but by a Christ living: For, Christ is our Saviour both ways. We are saved by his death, meritoriously; we are sa­ved by his life, as he lives for to see the purchased-blessings of his death made good to us. Now the Apostle in these words (I have already read) considereth the life of Christ two ways:

First, With respect to the world be­fore he came in the flesh; with respect to the old World, above Two thousand years before he came in the flesh; Je­sus Christ the Eternal Son of God was [Page 3] alive then: yea, before the World was, he was alive, and was God blessed for ever; by him the World was made. To the old World, even that world that was destroyed by the Flood, to that world he was a Saviour by designation; and he took care of them: The care of mankind, from the fall hath been deposited in the hands of Christ, he hath taken care of sin­ners from the fall of man into sin. Then,

Secondly, The Apostle does speak of the advantages that the Church hath by a living-Christ, upon his Resurrection from the dead (as he speaks in the 21 v.) The figure whereunto, even Baptism, doth also now save us, (then there comes in a Parenthesis). How does Baptism save us? Why, by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. When he was on earth he preach­ed the Gospel, promised pardon and sal­vation to the penitent believing sinner, and died for him when he had done preaching; and arose from the dead, and is gone to Heaven to make good every word.

[Page 4]We are now upon the consideration of the benefits that the old World had from Christ, above two thousand years before Christ was born in the flesh. Why, what was the benefit that the old World had? Why, Christ by his Spirit did send Noah, a Preacher of righteousness to preach re­pentance to the old Word: the Spirit of Christ was in Noah, by which Spirit Noah Prophesied of the destruction of the world. By which Spirit he was directed to build the Ark, to prepare for himself and those that should repent, for that time that the Floold should come upon the world. Christ by his Spirit preached then, to that world of sinners that were drowned then; and not only drowned, but their spirits damn'd: which was for disobeying Christ, for disobeying the Spi­rit of Christ in Noah.

Having now given you the Scope of the place, we shall proceed (accor­ding to that light I have) to give you the understanding of the words and phrases of this Scripture: for it seemeth to be a [Page 5] Scripture that is not without its difficul­ties. We will begin at the First:

First, What it is to be put to death in the flesh? (that we must enquire into).

Secondly, What is it to be quickned by the Spirit? What does the Apostle un­derstand hereby?

Thirdly, What is this preaching? What are,

Fourthly, These Spirits that are in pri­son? And what's the prison? And so we shall take in what follows in its order.

Being put to death in the flesh:

Who put to death? Christ. By whom? By the unbelieving wicked Jews, they were his accusers. Put to death in the flesh, by whom? By Pontius Pilate as his Judg. Put to death in the flesh, by whom? Why, by those Executioners that were employ­ed by Pontius Pilate to see him Crucified; The Jews, Pontius Pilate, and the Sol­diers put him to death.

Put to death in the flesh, What's that? That is after he was made flesh, he was put to death; as he was man, he hung [Page 6] upon the Cross: The loss of blood, and the anguish and pain, the nails in his feet, and in his hands kill'd him; he died there, his soul separated from his body; he cryed with a loud voice and gave up the Ghost: so he was put to death in the Flesh; that is, as to his human Nature. That is plain: The following words have more difficulty in them.

But quickned by the Spirit.

What's the meaning of quickned? And what's here meant by Spirit? (that we must enquire into, because it will tend to open the difficulty that lies in the follow­ing words): Quickned, (as the Greek hath it) Vivificatus autem spiritu, made alive, which is of the same import with quick­ned: he died as to his human Nature, but he did not continue in a state of death, but was made alive again. Christ that died for sinners, was made alive. What was made alive? That which was dead. What was dead? The man Christ; so that that which died for our sins, was made alive again; that is, raised from [Page 7] the dead, that's the meaning of it. There's nothing can be made alive, but that which was dead. The Apostle useth this word [...], for to signifie the Resur­rection of the body; and therefore in reason it may signifie so in this place, 1 Cor. 15.22, For as in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive: 'Tis the same word [...], made alive: that is, they shall be raised from the Grave. So here Christ died as to the flesh, but he was made alive: that is, he was raised from the dead: Raised, How was he rais­ed? (it follows) In or by the Spirit. What Spirit is here? Why it is that Spi­rit that did efficiently raise him; he was quickned in, or by the Spirit.

Now by this Spirit, say the Papists, is meant the human Soul of Christ. For this reason it cannot be meant of the Soul of Christ, because that the Soul of Christ being a creature, could never quicken, could never raise the dead body of Christ: For Christ was perfect God and perfect Man; as he was Man, he had a Soul and [Page 8] body; his Soul and body were creatures; and though the Spirit or Soul of Christ was an excellent, pure, holy Soul, with­out sin; yet it was not God, and had not an Almighty power. None but God could raise the dead: therefore the soul of Christ could never raise the body of Christ. What was it then? It must then be the Holy Ghost, it must be the Spirit of God, which is God, which is Almigh­ty, that can raise the dead, and did raise the dead Christ.

For what reason do I think that by Spirit is here meant the Holy Ghost? Why, I will tell you: Because all the Miracles that Christ, or his Apostles did, whether they healed the sick, whe­ther they raised the dead, or cast out De­vils, were all attributed to the Spirit of God, to the Holy Spirit of Christ. And therefore no wonder if the very Re­surrection of Christ be given unto the Spirit of God. And (if I mistake not) that is the meaning, or the import of the Apostle, in Rom. 1.3, 4, Concerning his [Page 9] Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh: And declared to be the Son of God, with power, according to the Spirit of holiness: Holiness in the abstract, that is by the Greeks commonly used for the concrete, and you may read it thus, Ac­cording to the Holy Ghost, he was de­clared to be the Son of God, with power, with the power of the Holy Ghost, by the Resurrection from the dead; he was raised by the Spirit of God, by which all works of Miracles were wrought, or done by Christ and his Apostles; he was raised from the dead by this Spirit.

And now, That which follows will be somewhat clear: For if by being made alive, is to be understood the Resur­rection of Christs human Nature, and by the Spirit that raised that human Nature, is to be meant the Holy Ghost; then proceeds, by which, or in which, he went and preached. He went. Who went? Christ went. By which Spirit? by which Holy Ghost he went and preach­ed [Page 10] to the spirits in prison. Why, did Christ the Son of God preach to the old world before he came in the flesh? Yes, How? By his Spirit. What immediately? No, but by Noah, for he was a preacher of righte­ousness: Why all the Prophets they had their Prophetical gifts, and they had them all from the Spirit of Christ, 2 Pet. 2.5. — And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood up­on the world of the ungodly. You must know, all the preachers under the Gospel have their gifts from the Spirit; the Spi­rit is employed in sending them out: the Spirit assisteth them; the Spirit said, Se­perate me Barnabas and Saul: It was the Spirit which sent all the Prophets out; the Spirit of Christ sent out Noah, made him his Preacher. So then, by this Spirit of Christ Noah preached, or Christ preach­ed in Noah. To whom? To the Spirits in prison; that is, to the souls of those wicked men that are now in prison; that were in prison at the time when Peter did [Page 11] write. When God drowned the world, that was not all; their bodies lay float­ing upon the great Sea, but their souls went down into Hell. Well; but say you, Did Christ by his Spirit preach to them after they went to Hell? No. They were preached to when they were some­time disobedient, in the times of Noah; as in the verse following; the Spirits in prison, that were sometime disobedient. Disobedient to whom? To the Spirit. When? In the time of Noah; for they disobeyed Noah, regarded not his preach­ing, nor the building of the Ark; look­ed upon him as a mad-man, they took not the warning, and were swallowed up in the flood, and are now in prison for their disobedience; they were disobe­dient to the Spirit of Christ in No­ah.

The Papists, by the Spirits in prison, they would perswade you, is to be meant a Limbus Patrum, (as they call it) a mid­dle state between Heaven and Hell, wherein the Patriarchs were held until [Page 12] the time that Jesus Christ died; and that when Christ was dead, and his body in the grave (for that three days and nights) that Christ in his soul did descend into this Limbus, and there did preach himself unto the soul of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob, and the rest of those good Spirits that were alive in former days, and took them out of that state, and carried them to Heaven. Thus say the Papists; this is their Interpretation.

First, But this is not to be believed; because the Apostle speaks of such Spirits that were disobedient, not of the Spirits of the Fathers: for the very Papists themselves speak of no Spirits in their Lim­bus, but only good Spirits; But the A­postle (in this place speaks of none but disobedient Spirits.

Secondly, 'Tis a vain Interpretation; because if that their Limbus (or middle state) is only a receptacle of good Spi­rits: Why, they needed not to have preaching after their death to them; be­cause they believed while they were up­on [Page 13] the earth: and if they believed whilst upon the earth, they were justified; and if they were justified, their sins were ta­ken away: and what then should keep them out of Heaven? 'Tis a very imper­tinent thing to think, that Christ should go into their Limbus, to preach faith to them that have believed already.

Thirdly, Their Interpretation depen­deth much upon the interpreting the Spi­rit by which he was quickned; inter­preting that to be meant of his soul. But if that cannot be meant of his soul, but of the Holy-Ghost, then their notion falls to the ground: for they read it thus, Christ was dead in the body, but kept alive in his soul; by which he went and preach­ed unto these Fathers in their Lim­bo.

Lastly, The Scripture is plain, that Christ did not go down into any such middle-state; for he said to the Thief, This day shalt thou be with me in Para­dise. This can't be any middle-state, where Paul said, He saw and heard things [Page 14] that were unutterable. Well then, this is that the Apostle meaneth, that those Spi­rits that are now in prison, were sometime alive in the body as we, and they heard the preaching of the Spirit of Christ in Noah; but for their disobedience they were taken off by the flood, and their souls were laid up in Hell, as in a pri­son.

Now the Doctrine shall be this;

That the Spirits or souls of wicked men, (when they die) they shall as prisoners of Gods justice be dragged out of their bodies; and by the righteous sentence of God, shall be laid up in the prison of Hell, for their disobedience unto the Spirit of Christ, that preacheth in his Mini­sters.

All this is contained in the words.

In the opening of it, there are these things I shall speak to;

First, What are these Prisoners? Spi­rits.

Secondly, How are these Prisoners car­ried away to their Prison? By death (as [Page 15] those of the old world were by a death caused by the flood).

Thirdly, What's this prison? Hell.

Fourthly, What's the cause of their commitment? Disobedience, disobedience to the voice of the Spirit of Christ in his Ministers.

Lastly, Here is the justness of the Sen­tence implied; for inasmuch as they are Gods prisoners, so they are prisoners that are justly imprisoned. I pray God by what you and I hear of it (this day), it may never be any of our lots; that you and I may never prove any of these dread­ful Prisoners!

First, What are these Prisoners? Spirits, Souls: those immortal Souls that live and abide in you, while you are in this world. Your bodies they are like houses that are made up of clay, of earth: but a house is not without its Tenant. God hath made no body, but he hath made it for a Tenant. Every human body hath his Tenant: What's that? The Soul, the Spirit. It is that immortal [Page 16] Spirit that is in you, by which you live, move, act, reason; by which you see, hear, walk: all the motions that are seen, or done by any part of you, come from the Spirit, from the Soul. And as it is with an old house, or any house, if it be pull'd down, the Tenant goes out of doors; if it be fir'd down, the Tenant steps out of doors, and perhaps on the other side of the street, looking upon his house burning down: The house is burnt, but the Tenant's alive: So it is with you, when these bodies of clay of yours fall, are they drowned (with these of the old world); should they be burnt, should they fall by a Fever, or any other way; your souls (like Tenants) they come out: That living spirit in you comes out, you give up the Ghost, give up the Spirit. The body returns (saith Solomon) to the earth, your Spirit returns to God, to be judged. This is the Prisoner. But, O what a sad Prisoner is the soul of a wick­ed man, when stript of his body! He is a naked Prisoner, and a friendless Pri­soner; [Page 17] which are two sad circumstances of a prisoner. When God sendeth the Serjeant death, and seizeth upon the spi­rit of a wicked man, knocks at the door of his body; the body is fast bolted, locked, no getting in. What does death do? breaks down the Body, pulls it about his ears: sometime death drowns him, sometime death hangs him, sometime stabs him, sometimes he goes to Sea, and is cast away, sometimes a Cart goes over him; and so the poor soul of the wicked man is arrested; death lays hold of him, and drags him away to the Tribunal of God, and there is he in a naked condi­tion: naked of the world, naked of his body: A poor thing! When a wicked mans spirit is in the world, he hath a house, a body; and out of his body he hath the casements of his eyes to look through, and hath some kind of enjoyment in his meats and drinks. But when death comes, he pulls down the house about his ears, and the soul's drag'd away, and there is no more the [Page 18] light of the Sun, no more eating and drinking, no more the delights of the flesh. He is like the malefactor that hath committed some great crime, and the Prince sends the Officers, and they surround the house, and break it open, and drag him away in his shirt, and won't give him time to put on his cloaths. This is a sad sight. Just so will thy wicked soul, O thou wicked man, be dragged away without shirt, or hose, or shoe, out of the house of thy body. And when the poor prisoner, the spirit of a wicked man, is sent by death to the Tribunal of God, he is in a friendless condition. If a man is Ar­rested for debt, there may be some com­position; some good neighbours may come and say, Pray have pity, he is a poor man, he cannot pay you, he will pay you when he can, I will lay down somewhat for him: you have such a thing as that is here, that saves the poor man from prison. But alas! thou poor wicked soul that wouldest take no [Page 19] warning, but hast been disobedient to the Gospel, when death comes with a Commission from God, from Christ the great Judg of quick and dead, he seiz­eth upon thee, draggeth thee away; and perhaps, when thou art dragging away, thou lookest about, what, can I have no friend to intercede for me? O, for a little more time to repent in! A little more time to pay my debts in! What, will none lay down a ransome for me? No, No. Thou wicked man, while thou art in the body, Jesus Christ comes often in his Ministers, saying to thee, Thou wicked sinner, thou art ten thousand Talents in debt; Come sinner, believe in me, repent of thy sins against me, and I will pay all thy debts; I will discharge them all: but thou poor rebel wouldest not hear­ken to it, but thou wouldest go on, and run farther and farther. Now says Christ, I will have no more to do with him; Justice, seize upon him. Serje­ant of death, arrest him, drag him a­long [Page 20] with thee: bring him to my Tri­bunal, and there to prison thou must go: and now poor soul, thou hast no body to pay thy debts for thee; now thou must go, and pay them all thy self: but thou wilt never be able to pay the uttermost farthing; nay, thou art not able to pay one farthing.

Well, but whether must I go? To prison. What's that prison? Hell (man), that's the prison: so it is called a prison, Rev. 20.1, 2, And I saw an Angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon that old Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him: Where? why where he was loosed afterwards, for a time, Vers. 7, And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. This deep pit is here call'd a prison; this deep pit where the Devil is chained, is a prison, and thither must every arrested sinner be dragged into this pit, and laid in this prison, in [Page 21] chains, under darkness. Why, say you, Why is Hell call'd a prison (for these poor spirits to be laid in)?

Why, because of the resemblance that it hath to a prison. In these three respects Hell is called a Prison.

First, It's a place of punishment, as Prisons are.

Secondly, It's a place of Restraint.

Thirdly, It's a place of Abode.

1. A prison is a place of Punishment: Alas, your prisons are full of the instru­ments of punishment: Go into a prison, and there you shall see your dark dun­geon, without any light (or next to none), there you may see your Press-yard, where the malefactors are some­times press'd to death, and you may see the press, and the weights that are laid upon them: go into Prisons, and there you shall see Racks to torture men, to stretch them, to pull their limbs and members out of joynt; there you shall see Chains, Chains for the feet, for the hands, to bind them, to load them, to [Page 22] pain them. Prisons are places of punish­ment, torment, misery. Hell is called a Prison, because it is a place of pain and torment. Why, what is there in Hell that answers to these Racks, Presses, Irons, Chains? Why there is darkness, there's your Dungeon, utter darkness, extream darkness: For Misery, there is weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. For Torment, there is fire, everlast­ing fire that will never go out. There's a rack for the Spirit, there's the worm that never dieth. For a Jaylor, there's the Devil, that is in for his own fault, and to be tormented himself, and to tor­ment others. O! 'tis a sad Prison! to be under a cruel Jaylor, in Chains, and fire, with a worm gnawing at the very heart, under the wrath of God! This is a sad state, sinners! a sad state! The Lord help you to believe it. But you are apt to hear this as a Fable; but be­lieve it, you will find this true. The old world was as secure as you are. Re­pent, faith God, or I will drown you [Page 23] all, and (that which is more) I will damn you too: I will send your bodies to rot in the ground, and your souls to the Prison of Hell. Noah tells them so: Says God to Noah, Prepare thy Ark a­gainst the time: He did so. Why what did the rest do? They believed it not, they regarded it not: they thought Noah must say something, and they look't upon him as a Mad-man, and so you do Us. Sinners! take heed that death does not come and drag you a­way before you have repented, and o­beyed the voice of Christ in his Mini­sters. The old world because they did not repent, they were damn'd for not hearkning to Noah; and you shall be damn'd if you will not hearken to Us. The Lord awaken your sleepy souls, that you may not sleep the sleep of death; that you may not go down with your bodies to the Grave, and your souls to Hell.

But again, Hell is called a Prison, because it is a place of restraint; you [Page 24] can't go out when you please. Go to Newgate, they will talk with you through the grates, but they can't go out of doors, neither can friends come to them, but must ask the Jaylor leave: and if he hath commission to deny any, away you must go, though a Wife, though a Father or Brother: So, poor soul, when God hath stript thee of thy body, and laid thee in this Prison, thou shalt be restrained, and others restrain­ed from coming to thee; there's no friend to come to thee then. Noah preached to the old world in the body, and so we do to you; but when you have by your disobedience provoked God to cut you off, and lay your souls in this Prison, there's no coming to you, no preacher then, no Christ, and no Spirit to offer Salvation then: you are poor Prisoners restrain'd and kept from all manner of comfort. O saith the rich man in Hell, Father Abraham, O that some would come and give me but the refreshment of a drop of cold water [Page 25] to cool my tongue in this torment! No, says he, there's a gulf between us and you; 'tis a Gaol, and the Prisoner is bounded up by the Justice of God; and there is a charge, none shall come from us to you, nor from you to us. It's a Prison, you are restrained, poor sinners! Will you believe? No, you don't be­lieve. Because you dont believe, you will be damn'd: This damn'd the old world, and this will damn you, if you don't believe.

Thirdly, Hell is a Prison, as it is a place of Abode. When you are in Pri­son, if it be for debt, How can you get out? Why these Three ways you may get out of these Prisons.

1. By breaking of them: but you can't break the gates of Hell, no you can't; you may clamber these walls, and come down by ropes: but there is a great gulf, that you may as well think of clambering the Stars, as to get out of this Prison. And again,

2. There is an other way, if you can't [Page 26] pay your debts, another may: But there is no paying for you out of Hell. Christ hath once done it, if you will repent he will pay all for you; but if once clapt into that Prison, Christs blood will profit you nothing. Or,

Lastly, By Pardon. If no body will pay the debt, the Creditor may forgive him: but believe it, sinner, you will never have such a pardon from God; for here's your time of pardon, if thou wilt repent, Christ he will pardon thee, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts: but if you die, no more pardon, no more offers of Grace; then thou art shut up for ever. 'Tis a Prison. Never man that was in Hell, got out of Hell more. So much for the Third.

Fourthly, What's the Crime (ha­ving discoursed of the Prison)? Wh [...]'s the Crime? Disobedience. That were sometimes disobedient in the days of Noah. To whom? To the Spirit of Christ. In whom? Noah Where [...] the old world. Why, did the Spirit [Page 27] appear in visible shape? No, but in Noah, a Preacher of righteousness. They hearkned not to Noah, and for that they perished: That is the great crime for which men have from the beginning of the world gone down into Hell, for their disobedience to the Spirit of Christ in his Prophets, and in his Mini­sters. Why, what were the sins that they were guilty of, that Noah called them to repent of? Why you shall see in the 6 Chap. of Gen. and the 5 ver. (they were a wicked sort of people, and made God repent that ever he made them, Gen. 6.5), And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. Here were wicked spirits, wicked souls: they are the principals in sin, and they are the principals in punishment. The wickedness of their hearts. Men are condemn'd for the wickedness of their thoughts, as well as for the wickedness of their lives, The 11, 12, 13, Verses, [Page 28] The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is fil­led with violence through them: and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Here are wicked hearts, and wick­ed lives; wicked thoughts, and wick­ed deeds: When God does imprison souls in Hell, it is for their wicked thoughts, as well as for their wicked lives; and some of you perhaps never take account of the wickedness of your thoughts; and yet God does take a a special account of your wicked thoughts. And in this state of sin they were a secure people, they feared no­thing; they went on in trading, and merry in their business, as the world is just now. As in Mat. 24.38, As in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and gi­vîng [Page 29] in marriage, until the day that Noah entred into the Ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the son of man be. They were sinners, wicked rebelli­ous sinners, and secure sinners, and Noah was sent to awaken them out of this se­curity, and called them to repentance, and threatned the wrath of God upon them if they did not repent. But (says Christ) they regarded it not; no, not to the very day that the flood came. And so it will be (says he) against the coming of the son of man. And is it not so now? Look about your streets, in the morning there you hear the clattering of your Shop doors, and setting out of your wares, and buying and selling; and when Breakfast, or Dinner, or Supper comes, you set down, and eat and drink; you lie down and rise again; and sometimes you go to the Change, and busie you are, like so many Ants; and here we Ministers of the Gospel come, like No­ah, we say, Repent, repent, for God hath [Page 30] appointed a day wherein he will judg the world for sin, by the man Christ Jesus. Yea, that he hath a prison to throw your souls in at death, where he hath dark­ness to affright you, and chains to bind you, and fire to burn you; and you mind us no more than these people did in the days of Noah; no, not you: till sickness comes, or the day of your death; and then you begin to bethink your selves, and cry, O that I had an Ark now! O that I had an interest in Christ! O that I had Grace and a title to Heaven! Now nothing but Christ, nothing but Grace, nothing but praying and sending for Ministers to come and talk with you. Here is a Customer come in, O don't talk to me now! O I must mind Heaven! But before that time, you are as careless as the old World was, until the flood came and swept them all away. O you poor fools! what do you do? you are busie for time, and regardless for eter­nity: Death is at your doors, and you know not how soon you may hear the [Page 31] blows and clattering about your body, and your house fall, and your souls hur­ried away; and yet do you mind no­thing but eating and drinking, buying and selling, and the like. What will you do? The Lord awaken you! Here you sit and hear me, and you are stupified many of you, you gaze upon me, you do not know what to think of what I say; and thou art questioning whether what I say be true; and thou art thinking to escape, but assure thy self sinner, that as sure as God is in Heaven, thou wilt not escape, if thou dost not believe now in this thy day, when God is calling upon thee, now hear his voice; but if thou goest on secure, as the old World, say you had warning, and that I gave you warning this day: God knows but be­fore seven days hence thou maist be in this prison. O come to Christ that your debts may be discharged. But you go away, go to dinner, and come again, make it a hearing-business, and do no more, and think your selves secure: [Page 32] This will not serve thy turn, poor sinner, no, no; no, this will not do. Go into thy Closet and down upon thy knees, tell God what a sinner thou art; tell him how much thou hast provoked him, and promise him to obey him for the time to come; and never give him rest till he hath given thee an interest in Christ, and an assurance of an Ark; and then go comfortably, man, about thy business, when thou hast got an assurance of an­other world. Noah might go and eat, and drink comfortably, he had an Ark to go into when the flood came; so thou poor soul if thou wouldst but repent and be­lieve in Jesus Christ, thou maist comfor­tably eat and drink, and buy and sell as thou hast occasion, for thou hast an Ark. But for thee to live in a wicked ungod­ly way, and take no thought for eter­nity: what wilt thou do sinner, when death comes and awakens thee? O that the Lord would awaken you this day! How few of you have been a hammer­ing upon this Ark? a making this Ark? [Page 33] I tell thee, (I will be a Prophet to thee, sinner!) thou wilt wish a thou­sand times that thou hadst taken this counsel. Be wise now in time; thou wilt repent that thou hast not prayed more, that thou hast not repented more. O do it now then, for the Lords sake; for when thou art once thrown into prison, thou art gone for ever. It is for the disobeying of the Gospel; and therefore the rich man in the Gospel cried, Father Abraham, I have brethren upon earth, O that some would go and tell them: no, no, says Abra­ham, they have Moses and the Prophets, if they will not believe them, neither will they believe, though one go from the dead. So then the rich man is in hell; how so? Why I did not believe my sin would bring me there? Why, did not Moses and the Prophets tell thee so? Yes, But I did not believe; O that some would come from the dead! so sinners, you go on in sin, why do you so? Because you do not be­lieve [Page 34] what will come of it. Why, did not Ministers tell you so? and they are sent of Christ to tell you so? hath not Moses and the Prophets told you so? Yes, yes; But you will not believe us, nor Christ, nor his Apostles, nor Mo­ses, nor the Prophets. Men will have their sins, and they will not fear being damned; though all the whole cloud of witnesses warn them, they regard them not. But though you will not regard them now, they will all come in as witnesses against you at that day. Had not you a Bible? Yes, but I could not read. But did not you hear it read, and had it preached to you? What can you say? But say you, here's a prison­er, and sent to prison too, for disobey­ing the Gospel; but is it justice for God to send men to prison for not hearkning to a company of prating Preachers? Prating! God will vindi­cate us from prating; I tell you, we come with our Commission from God to you, and Christ speaks by me, and [Page 35] by every Minister that cometh to you; and if you reject us, you reject him; if you reflect upon us for prating, you may as well say, it is a prating Christ. We beseech you in Christs stead to be re­conciled to God. We come not with our own words, but the words of the Lord we bring and preach.

Well, but is it just for God to damn me thus eternally in a prison, because I will not repent of my sin? Yes. Why?

First, because God does it.

Secondly, because thou deserv'st it.

God! why what is he? A righte­ous God, a just God, just in his nature, righteous in all his ways; and when he does pour out his plagues upon sin­ners, the Heavens glorifie his Justice, and cry Hosanna's to him. See how God is applauded in his severe acts of Justice upon men: Rev. 15.1, 3, And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven Angels, having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. Ver. 3. And they [Page 36] sung the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints. Go An­gels, pour out the plagues full of my wrath upon yonder rebellious sinners. And when the Angels come upon this work, Righteous, O Lord God Almigh­ty art thou, thou loving King of Saints: Thou loving King of Saints that hast mercy for thousands, and ten thou­sands of them that love thee: But for them that hate thee, Just and righte­ous art thou, O God, in all thy ways of pouring out plagues full of thy wrath upon men. O sinner, the Angels will shout up the Justice of God for pour­ing down the wrath of God upon you. So sinner, do but think of it; suppose thou Drunkard wert to die to night, and to be dragged to the Tribunal of Christ, and to receive this sentence, Go, get thee down to thy fellow-pri­soners that have disobeyed the voice [Page 37] of my Son. O poor Drunkard! for thee to hear thousands of Angels (pre­sently) shout, and say, Righteous and just art thou, O Lord God, for sen­ding that Drunkard to hell. O we knew with what a hard heart he per­sever'd in his sins, notwithstanding all the calls and warnings given him by the Spirit of thee our God in thy Mi­nisters. Rev. 16.5, Thou art righte­ous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. Angels admire God for judging thus; that is, for judging the spirits of wic­ked men to hell; and afterwards for raising their bodies, and uniting spirit and body together, and throwing down both into hell. Now,

Secondly, Thou hast deserv'd it, sin­ner; thy crime deserves it: What is the crime? The crime is disobedience, rebellion, stubborness, obstinacy in sin; men are damn'd for that. The wicked world had evil thoughts, were full of evil thoughts and imaginations conti­nually, [Page 38] they were full of violence, full of oppression. Were they damned for that? Yes; but not only for that. What then? why it was because they were told (by the Spirit of Christ in Noah) the wickedness of these thoughts, how they angred God, and God repented that he made them; but notwithstanding this, they would go on; this is that which damns the sin­ner; 'tis not barely, because a sinner, but it is because when he is called up­on (by the Ministers of Christ) to re­pent, he will not repent. You poor sinners, you have lived lives without God, without Christ, prayerless lives, drunken lives, unclean lives, Sabbath-breaking lives; shall these damn me? no sinner, if thou wilt now (while Christ speaks by his Ministers) hear­ken to his voice, and not harden thy heart against the Call of the Gospel; these shall not damn thee, if thou wouldst but repent and confess them to God, and give thy self up to Christ, [Page 39] to be ruled and governed by him: God for Christs sake will then blot them all out, and they shall never rise up in judgment against thee. What is it damns me then? why this, That thou art a Drunkard, and wilt be so; a Swearer, and wilt be so; an unclean person, and wilt be so; a prayerless man, (thirty or forty years) and wilt not call upon God: Thou art an ob­stinate sinner, a rebellious sinner; though Christ calls by one Minister, and another, yet thou regardest it not: 'tis for this that God will throw thee to hell; and how just a thing is it for thee to be damned for stubbornness? If a child hath committed a fault, and will be reclaim'd, the father will for­give him; but if he will go on still in his stubbornness, the natural affections of the father will be turned to hard­ness. You see the Prodigal when he came home crying, I have sinned a­gainst heaven and before thee: father let me be as one of thy hired servants: [Page 40] The father meets him, falls about his neck, and kisses him, takes him home, and says, My son was lost, and is found: he was dead, and is alive again; and there was joy and rejoicing. But if this son now after he had spent all, and continued with his harlots, and never had thought of returning, he might have died & rotted there in that field with the swine. So sinner, if thou wilt still keep to thy swinish lusts, and there lie and die, and rot, and go to hell, God does not matter thee, Christ will not regard thee. But if it comes into thy heart, Lord I am in a starving condition, here I am, a rebel, an un­clean person, a drunkard; I am a wea­ry, I see I am undone; I come to thee, father. Go now, and he will accept of thee, and receive thee. But if thou art stubborn and rebellious, and wilt go on, thou maist expect no other, but that God will inflict upon thee, hell to thy soul at death, and at the Resurre­ction, hell to soul and body.

[Page 41]But there are Aggravations of this thy stubbornness, for thou art stub­born,

First, Against the tenders of mercy that are made to thee.

Secondly, Against the long-suffer­ing of God to thee. And,

Thirdly, Thou art stubborn, not­withstanding thou hast had so much warning.

And these things will justifie God, and lay a foundation for condemning thee in thine own Conscience: As,

First, Mercy, mercy! I will par­don their iniquities; let a wicked man forsake his sins. What then? I will have mercy upon him, and will a­bundantly pardon him. Here are ten­ders of mercy offering strength to help thee to conquer thy lusts (accor­ding to that of the Prophet), O ye simple ones, how long will ye love sim­plicity? Are you blind? I will teach you. Are you weak? I will strengthen you. How wilt thou do it? I will [Page 42] pour out my Spirit upon thee. Hast thou a mind to have Grace? He will give it thee. Hast thou a mind to have the Spirit of Grace and Suppli­cation? He will bestow it upon thee. But for thee to go on in sin, and re­ject pardon when offered: What canst thou say for thy self?

Again, These tenders of mercy are made with long-suffering. There are a great many sinners (I am afraid some here are not yet Converted), who all for a long time have heard Sermons: God hath been calling upon you. As God said of the old world: Here is a wicked people, What shall I do with them? What? Why Justice might have said, destroy them. No, saith God, they are a rash giddy-headed-people, I will give them warning. How long? Why almost one hundred and twenty years. So sinner, God saw thee Drunk, heard thee Swear: Ju­stice might have said, cut him off: No, saith God, I will try him with an­other [Page 43] month of Sermons, another year of Sermons; I will try what my Children, that are his Friends, will say to him. O sinner! The long-suffer­ing of God waiteth upon thee. Grace cries, repent, and I will pardon thee: Repent, and I will give thee my Spi­rit: though thou art a wicked Rebel, I will not snatch thee away; I will let thee live five years longer, ten years longer: O, if thou goest to Hell, what will Conscience say? O thou art a stubborn sinner. Thou must say, Righteous art thou, O God, in all thy ways, and just in all thy judgments. I might have been in Heaven, but I would not; and now I am in Hell, and that justly; because I preferred my lusts before God.

Lastly, Never say, 'tis an unjust Sen­tence; because God gives you warn­ing: There is the merit of the cause. If nothing will do, Why then take notice God gives you warning. He does not let you go on, and say, let [Page 44] them alone, I will be even with them at length: He might have done so: No, but in pity to poor sinners, he gives them warning. Sinner, repent, saith God, and be reconcil'd to me; come and lay hold upon Christ, for else I will damn thee. Take notice of it, there is a Tophet prepared, and everlasting burnings prepared, a worm that never dieth: and I tell thee be­fore-hand what it will cost thee, and yet sinners will go on still. Never complain that God hath done thee wrong, he hath offered to give thee his Spirit to sanctifie thee, and save thee. But if thou wilt not, after all, thank thy self if thou goest to Hell. O sinners, What will you do? Will you imitate the old world, or imitate Noah? Why, if you imitate the old world, you see then what a desperate course you are running; you are run­ning your bodies to the Grave, and your souls to Hell: For when the flood came there was not one spared: [Page 45] The flood takes whole Families; they look gastly one at another: Father, what shall I do (saith the child)? And when the world was full of cries and scrieks, and they all drowned, one would have thought this was e­nough, yet God had no pity upon them; for as soon as they were dead, their disobedient souls were laid in Prison.

Well now, say you, What shall we do? Why, obey the Gospel, This is your Duty. Obey Christ Jesus speak­ing by his Spirit in Us, poor men, that are the Ministers of Jesus Christ; for we are but as instruments to convey the mind of the great God to you; for certainly, what I have Preached to you, is no other than the word of Jesus Christ, and he will make it good. O get into some corner, and cry mightily to the Lord, and pray Christ to pay all your debts for you; and that the blood of Christ might take away all your iniquities, and that you [Page 46] might have an Ark to save you from the fire that will burn the world; as Noah had an Ark to save him and his house from the flood that did drown the world; and then you are safe, and never safe till then. The Lord awaken you, that you may take warn­ing, and not go away and mind no more what you have heard, than they did, and so be lost as they were.

IN the former words you have an account given you of the Destru­ction of the old world by the flood. They were all drowned, Men, Wo­men, and Children. God neither spared the grey-headed-sinner; no, nor the sucking-infant; children of wicked and Rebellious Parents, he drowned them all. The reason of this wrath of God that was poured out upon them, was their Disobedience; their disobedience to the Spirit of Christ, by which Noah Preached to them. What did he Preach? He Preached to them Repentance, called them to repent and reform their lives; and if they would not, God would [Page 48] drown them all. Why what were their sins? Why, the very thoughts and ima­ginations of their hearts were evil, and that continually. They were men of wicked hearts, they were devising no­thing but mischief, they thought of nothing but the satisfaction of their lusts. I wish it be not the case of some here. I am sure it is the case of every unconverted sinner, the imaginations of his heart are evil, and that conti­nually; for he does defile even his good thoughts with unbelief.

And their sin was likewise the sin of their lives. Their hands were full of violence, they were oppressors, they were cruel, they were bloody; and besides this, they were secure and wanton, and they minded nothing but eating and drinking, and marrying, and giving to marriage, their whole hearts were taken up in these things. No man enquired after God, no man regarded the voice of God in his ser­vant Noah. God waited upon them, [Page 49] (after he had sent Noah, and fore­warn'd them) above a hundred years; (and that while, was Noah a building his Ark), but they despised the long-suffering of God, which should have led them to repentance: and at length the threatned Judgment came upon them, and they were drowned, all, but eight persons. This is not all, God did not only destroy their bodies, but like­wise (we read here in the Apostle Pe­ter) their Spirits were laid in prison, in the infernal Prison of Hell for their disobedience to the voice of Christ. Having already spoken to this; The Doctrine that I raised from this was, That those wicked men (while they are in their bodies) that will not obey the voice of Christ in his Ministers, but live and die impenitently, their souls by the righteous judgment of God shall be condemned unto the prison of Hell: For what is said of this old world, will be verified of every impenitent sinner here, that dieth in his impeni­tent [Page 50] state; Lord, who is it that does be­lieve thy report? Few sinners (the Lord knows) do regard it. God knows his word is little believed. We do as little believe these things now, as the old world did: and as the flood came upon them before they were a­ware, so the spirits of some here (God knows, as Jeremy said, I do not desire to see that evil day) may be in these Prisons before they believe them. Death (sinners) is coming, which will drag you to the Tribunal of Christ; and assuredly Christ will do you justice: I say, he will do you ju­stice. He that will be faithful to his promises that he makes to belie­vers that obey the Gospel, he will be faithful to do justice to those that are disobedient. He will give you all your Mittimus's, he will lay you fast enough; and when he hath laid the Chains on, take them off if you can. I know (through your unbelief) what I say, seems to you but as a Fable: [Page 51] So did the drowning of the world ap­pear to be; but they found it true, and so will you, if ye repent not. It amazeth me, my Brethren (when my faith at any time is but raised to the close of these truths of God; it ama­zeth me) to look upon your faces, to see how indifferently you look, how carelesly you look; you look up-and-down this place as if these things did not concern you: but the reason of it is, you do not believe, your un­belief ruins you, and will ruin you for ever. What man that really was in his wits, and did believe a Hell, would venture upon those sins that will certainly bring him thither? But you slatter your selves in your unbelief, that there is no punishment to the wicked, nor reward to the godly; and so you go on in sin: These things are true (my Brethren), your Consci­ences must bear me witness they are true. No man or woman that are in their wits, and did really believe an [Page 52] eternal Torment that is laid up for the disobedient to the Gospel, but they would obey be-times, they would not go on hardening their hearts a­gainst God: but you do not believe. We shall presently make some enquiry into the reasons of it.

We come now to the other part, wherein you have an account of a few that are saved. A few! Lord, What a few! Eight persons out of a world of men and women. I do not know but the world at that time was as full of men and women as it is now; for the world was at that time about Fifteen hundred years old, and they lived many years: so that it is likely that there was a very numerous com­pany of people; and that there were great Cities, and great Kingdoms up­on the earth. What a strange thing is it, that of a world of people there should be found but eight persons that would believe a God! And yet 'tis certainly so, there was but eight per­sons [Page 53] saved; all the rest were drowned for their disobedience to the voice of the Spirit of Christ in Noah. Why were no more saved? Because there did no more believe. They did not believe that God was in good-earnest, they did not believe that God would send the flood, as Noah threatned: they looked upon Noah as a mad-man to build an Ark they knew not for what. Just so does the world now, they look upon poor, humble, be­lieving Christians, as a company of melancholy distracted persons, that look sadly, and pray much, and weep much, and hear much, and are afraid of sinning; and all this while they are but busie about their Ark: and they cry, what a stir is here that these people make? I will tell you what the meaning of it is: why this world is to be burned, and these poor souls are providing against the burning of the world: The wicked must be turn­ed into Hell, and all the Nations that [Page 54] forget God; and these poor, praying, humble Christians do believe, fear, and tremble; and that is the reason that they live not as you live, but take that care that they do, to prepare a­gainst that great day of the Lord. And were not you desperately blind and foolish, you would do so too? There were eight persons (saith Peter) saved. Which were they? All of one Family, Noah and his Wife; there was the three Sons of Noah, and their three Wives, Gen. 7.7, eight per­sons in one family, they were sa­ved, they were saved from the de­luge, they were saved from being drowned. God knows whether all these were saved from hell (too) of these eight. For of these, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, there was (one of these Sons) Ham, that did laugh at his fa­thers nakedness, and God afterwards cursed him; so that whether he was eternally saved, is not a thing certain unto us. But this is sure, all these eight [Page 55] persons did believe the deluge would come, or else they would not have entred into the Ark, for if any of them had looked upon it as a meer old do­ting fancy of their father, they would have been ashamed to have gone into the Ark; but at the set-time before it began to rain, they all went, there­fore they all did believe the word of the Lord, that the deluge would come. It's true they received an encourage­ment by the miraculous bringing of all creatures into the Ark to save them alive. Wherein few, eight persons were saved by water. Saved by water! there may be a double sense:

By water as an instrument; for that very water that was the instrument of destruction to the enemies of God, be­came a means of salvation to these eight persons; for it bore up that Ark wherein the lives of these eight per­sons were. It may be rendered,

Thus again, But they were saved by, or through water, saved through the [Page 56] danger of water, carried in the Ark through, or upon the water.

The Observation that I raise from it, is this,

That though many have the means of Salvation offered them, yet there are but few that make use of these means, and do obtain Salvation by them.

The old World had the means, as those eight persons had the same means; they were told of it, they were a hundred years told of it, God waited long enough; there were ma­ny had the means; if they had repen­ted, the flood had not come; or if more had repented, they had been sa­ved. But these eight did believe, and they were saved by water, the rest had as good means as they, but they did not repent upon it, they did not believe upon it.

This should be an awakening Con­sideration to us, that though God does afford the means of Salvation to mul­titudes, [Page 57] yet there are a very few that do make use of those means, and are saved by them: I say 'tis an awaken­ing Consideration. Here is England, a great and populous Country, here is London a great City, a City that hath some hundred thousands of souls in it, they have all the means as the old World had; the Gospel is preached up and down the City, and up and down the Suburbs; the voice is every where, throughout all your streets. Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent, for there is a day of judgment, and Christ is made the Judg of quick and dead, that will give to every man according to his works. You have all the means, but alas, how few of England, how few of London, or of Southwark are like to be saved by these means! for how few do be­lieve what we preach? How few do repent upon their seeming profession of repentance, and believing? How few reform their lives? how few are [Page 58] converted in Southwark, in London, in England, so as to be healed by the grace of God! How few! Many are called (as Christ saith) but few chosen. Why here is perhaps three or four hun­dred people here, you have been call­ed every one of you to repent, but when God that searcheth the heart, cometh for to examine the truth of our repentance, and of our faith, how few, how few in likelihood will there be found penitent? how few! alas, it was always so: Many called, a whole world called to repent, but eight be­lieved. But perhaps you will say, that was an notorious wicked world, that old world; but surely the world is grown better since. Truly, there is reason it should, because they have that judgment to awaken them; but we will show you that the hearts of men have been desperately wicked, all along to this day; yea, under the richest means that ever God hath afforded the world, from the beginning to this [Page 59] very day. And we will take the seed of Abraham, and give you several in­stances thereof: God promised Abra­ham, that he would give him a seed that should be as the stars of heaven, and would take that seed into a Cove­nant with himself, and that he would be their God, and they should be his people. What a wonderful blessing was this, for the great God to marry himself to a people? And he gave them the Covenant of Circumcision for a memorial of this Covenant, of this betrothing; he gave them the O­racles, and the Promises, and was with them, in the midst of them; he was the King of them, he made War and Peace for them, fought for them, and defended them. They had all the means of Salvation, the best means that the world had in those days. But you will see how few of them made use of those means of grace that God afforded them.

We will begin with this great peo­ple [Page 60] of Jacob coming out of Egypt. (The Lord help you to consider what I am speaking; for many, because they are Christians, and are baptized, they be­lieve they shall be saved; but you are deceived. Just like the old World, they eat, and they drank, they mar­ried, and gave in marriage, and never dreamt that God was angry with them, and would drown them; and so do these people of England, never think that God does intend to burn them.) Now you shall see what advantage they made of the means, and you may read as in a glass the condition of Eng­land, and the most parts of the world at this day, Numb. 1.45, 46, So were all those that were numbred of the chil­dren of Israel▪ by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel: Even all they that were numbred were six hundred thou­sand, and three thousand five hundred and fifty. These were the people that [Page 61] God brought out of Egypt into the Wilderness, and afterwards led to Canaan, the seed of Jacob, six hun­dred thousand, all men, from twenty years old and upward: How vast must be the number of Women and Chil­dren, and young men also, that were below twenty years old! above six hundred thousand fighting men! An Army of twenty thousand is a great Army; but a hundred thousand, that is much more: But here was an Army of six hundred thousand fighting men, besides Women and Children. What had God done for this people? I will tell you what God had done for them: why, they were in Egypt under a cru­el hard-hearted Pharaoh, they were groaning under their burden, and God remembers his Promise made to Abra­ham, That he would visit his seed, and bring them into Canaan. God cometh by Moses, and commanded them to go; They are my people saith God, let them go and serve me. I will not let [Page 62] them go, saith Pharaoh; why who is your God, that I should obey him? God at length sends one plague upon him, and then another; and then another, and then a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, an eighth, a ninth, a tenth; ten Plagues God sent upon him before Pharaoh would let them go. When they were gone, they came to a Red Sea, (I am telling you, my Brethren, the works of God for his people in the days of old, remember them, my Bre­thren, they are written for your ex­ample, they came to a Red Sea) now thinks Pharaoh I have got them in a trap, I will follow them, I will pur­sue, I will overtake, I will destroy them; but God makes the Red-Sea divide, and bringeth them all through; but Pharaoh and his Host assayed to follow, and God makes the Sea to close and drowned them all. Well, God car­ries them from thence to Mount Sinai, and there was thundrings and light­nings, and gave them his Law, and his [Page 63] Cove­nants, and did as it were solemnly marry that people to himself, promi­siing them if they did but do what he bid them, he would be their God, and fight their battels, and give them counsel in all their straits, and be a defence round about them. Away he leads them then, and gives them a Symbol of himself; for if they march­ed by night, there was a pillar of Fire; if by day, there was a Cloud went with them. A wonderful con­descension, that God should do so with them! They come into a Wil­derness, they want bread, they begin to murmur; Well, saith God, they shall see what it is to be my people; he gives them bread from Heaven, rains down Manna: They want wa­ter; Well, saith God, they shall not want water; he commandeth Moses to strike a Rock, and there came streams out of it, and those streams followed them where ever they went up and down the Wilder­ness; [Page 64] they wanted Water no more. What now became of this People? Here is a good God, he lets them want nothing; he works wonders for them, and delivers them with a mighty hand, and gives them Angels food to eat, and water out of a Rock to drink; and here he numbreth them in the Wilderness, Six hundred thou­sand fighting men. What did these people do? Do! Surely they loved God, and were obedient to his Law, and would never murmur against him more. But did they do so? No, you shall see how that before Forty years came about, God cut off all these Six hundred thousand men, and left their carcases to rot in the Wilderness, and swore in his wrath, they should never enter into his rest. Notwithstanding he had done all this for them, they so provoked him to wrath, and so a­bused all the means of mercy, that God cut them all off: See also, Numb. 14.28, 29, 30, Say unto them [Page 65] (saith God), As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you. What had they said in his ears? They had mur­mured against God, and said, God hath brought us and our children into the wilderness to destroy us. Well, saith he, I have heard your murmuring, and for your murmuring against me, your carcases shall fall in the Wilder­ness; and all that were numbred of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which you have murmured against me. Doubt­less ye shall not come into the Land concerning which I sware to possess you of, save Caleb the son of Jephu­neh, and Joshuah the son of Nun. There were six hundred thousand men, and amongst them there was but two men that did believe that Promise that God made to Abraham, that he would give them Canaan for an Inheritance. O read to day as in a glass here, the infi­delity of England, and the World; [Page 66] for as face answers to face in a glass, so does the face of the generality of the men of the world, answer to the fa­ces of the unbelieving Israelites, and old unbelieving World. But saith he, For your little ones, which ye say shall be a prey; No, (saith God) your little ones shall go into the Land, and shall possess it; for they knew nothing of your murmuring. But as for you, there is not a man of you shall enter into the Land. Well, go a little farther, (for the instances are many,) I will pass by all the dealings of God with this very people under the Judges, where you may read that they were as many times captivated (for their re­bellion against God) as they had a Judg raised up among them; but we will pass by the time of this people under those Judges (because the time will be short for me to relate all the dealings of Christ with this Church) and we will come to those Twelve Tribes, after they came into [Page 67] Canaan, and were divided into two great Kingdoms, Ten Tribes under Jeroboam, and Two Tribes under the Posterity of David, two mighty King­doms; all of them that had, or might have had the Oracles, Promises, and Covenants, all of them had the Bi­ble, and might have used it. But what did they do with it? They cri'd them­selves up, (just like England) The Church, the Church; The Temple of the Lord; and boasted of their privi­ledges, that there was no people in the world like them; and that if God should cut them off, he knew not where to find another people. See now what became of them; We will con­sider the Ten Tribes first. In the first of Kings, the 19, and the 11 and 14 Verses. And it was so, that when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in a man­tle, and went out, and stood in the en­tring in of the Cave; and behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What dost thou here, Elijah? And he said, [Page 68] (Elijah said) I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant, thrown down thine Altars, and slain thy Prophets with the sword, and I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. Here were Ten Tribes, a great Kingdom, a peo­ple of the Lord, that had the word of the Lord, and the great Prophet of the Lord Elijah among them, who called them to Repentance, and told them God was angry with them for forsaking Him, and his Covenant. Why, but how many of this Kingdom did so? Why truly, for what Elijah could see, he could not see one man, that did keep Covenant with God. I only am left alone. Why what did the rest do? Why they have all forsaken thee. This is strange! What! the seed of A­braham, all gone! What they, whose fathers God delivered out of Egypt; and brought them through the Red-Sea, and fed them with Manna, and [Page 69] gave them water out of a Rock! What, forget it all! Ai, forget it all. They have left the Lord, and forsaken his Covenant. What have they done with the Prophets of the Lord? Knockt them o' the head, slain them, kill'd them, thrown down his Altars, and no worshipping of God; and yet these were the men that were the seed of A­braham, that had all the means of grace offered them; God had given them many a call, they had the word to do it, and his Prophets to do it, and yet we see they all left him. It is true (as God said afterwards in reproving Eli­jahs judgment in the case, I have a few more, my Kingdom are not all gone) saith God, I have reserved seven thou­sand, that keep Covenant with me. Ai, but (my Brethren) what are seven thousand to a whole Kingdom? What if God may have seven thousand in England to keep Covenant with God? What if twenty thousand? What are they to compare to those many hun­dred [Page 70] thousands that are in England? Here you see many are called, but few chosen; many are taken visibly into a Covenant, but there are few that are spiritually in Covenant with God. Well, what became of these Ten Tribes? these that had the Oracles, Covenant, and Promises among them? What became of them? Why you shall see what became of them, (no good, you may be sure, God pays them off their old scores at length) God is a long time in reckoning, but be sure he will do them justice in the end. He will do it, 2 King. 17.18, there you shall see the destruction of them (In the 15 vers. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenants that he made with their fathers—and they followed va­nity.) Therefore (Vers. 18.) the Lord was very angry with Israel, and remo­ved them out of his sight: there was none left but the Tribe of Judah only. 22. For the children of Israel walked in the sins of Jeroboam which he did, [Page 71] they departed not from them. 23, Ʋn­til the Lord removed Israel out of his sight as he said by all his servants the Prophets. (The word of God spoken by his servants and Ministers, (though but men) he will make it good; here you have Minister after Minister come to you; and believe it, when we speak his word in his name, he will take care of our honour, and of our word; he made good the preachings of his servants the Prophets.) So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. There came the King of Assyria upon them, and took them away, and spoiled them, and car­ried them away captive, and they ne­ver returned more into the land of Ca­naan to this day. O wicked people! They had the means of grace, but would not make use of them. You are told of Heaven and Hell, and bid to repent, but no body repents; here you give us the hearing, and when you have done, you go away; and [Page 72] when gone, you pass on in a carnal manner, and there is no reformation of your lives.

But (pray) what became of the o­ther Tribes that were under the tuti­lage and government of the Posterity of David? Why the truth is, they were sometimes better than the other. But see also what became of them for their revolts, 2 Chron. 36.15, 16. But what did they do? (these were the two tribes) They mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his Prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose upon them, till there was no remedy. 17, Therefore he brought upon them the King of Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword, in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or mai­den, old man, or him that stooped for age; he gave them all into his hand. And this was all for their general re­volt that they made from God. Follow it (now) to the time of Christ; when [Page 73] Christ Jesus came into the world, and preached the Gospel himself, one would have thought now, that though they had abused all his Prophets of old, yet now his Son himself is come, sure they would hearken to him. When Christ himself turns Preacher, and works such Miracles among them to confirm his Doctrine, and to evidence himself to be sent from God, and all this to bring them to Heaven: When Christ came to preach the Gospel, did they be­lieve him? No, he lifted them up to Heaven by means; he would as it were have drag'd them by force, he lifted up voice and cried, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come unto me, and drink of the water of life freely. He cried and wept over them, O that she had known the things of her peace! (Mighty ear­nest!) I would have gathered her, but she would not. And did they believe? No. Why, what do they do? They conspire together, and lay hold of him as a malefactor, and crucified him; they [Page 74] put him to death: & as being very well satisfied, when that innocent blood was shed, O say they, Let his blood come upon us and our children: we are not afraid of his blood. Of all that people of the Jews, there was but a few that did believe in him: And that the Apostle takes notice of, Rom. 11.5, I say then, Ver. 1, Hath God cast off his people? God forbid. For I am an Israelite: God hath not cast away all Israel, not every individual: For I am of the Tribe of Benjamin: And through Gods mercy, I am not cast away (saith he), for I do believe in Christ, and there are some few with me that do be­lieve also. But what became of the whole Nation? They are cut off, the curse of God is upon them, and they are a hissing and disgrace to this very day. I tell you, Sirs, of these poor con­temptible Jews; God offered them a Christ before he offered him to you: Christ came of the Loyns of a Jew, he was born (after the flesh) of a Jew, [Page 75] he was first sent to the Jews; and offered grace first to the Jews; and you came in but in the second place. But for their Infidelity, God hath cut them off, only a remnant, a little scat­tering flock, they hearkned, they be­lieved, they embraced Christ, and they were saved, and the rest were cut off. Here are a great many in­stances, That many are called, but few chosen. Here is a great deal of Preaching to England, but few of England like to be saved: Don't think it a hard censure. What a whole world drowned, and but eight saved? What a whole Kingdom of ten Tribes, and but seven thousand saved? What, that great Kingdom of Judah cut off, and but a few of them saved? There were (it is true) a good seed in that Kingdom of Judah, but take the ge­nerality of them, they did provoke God as much as her Sister Samaria did. Well, But what shall we say of our selves? Look in the glass of the Chri­stian [Page 76] Church, and then tell me, how many among us are like to be saved? 2 Cor. 6.10, Know ye not, (Ver. 9,) that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? (and if they do not, they shall never be saved; for none are saved, but they inherit the Kingdom of God) Who are they? Why God knows, some of you may read your own Names here in your Character. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, or unclean persons: you know what it means: If there be any wanton persons here, the Lord give you Repentance. Such as you are for the flood, and for the fire, and for Hell. God hath set you a-part. The Lord give you Repentance. No Ido­later, no Image-worshipper, no Host-worshipper; such as those Popish Idolater, worshipping Saints and Angels, and praying to a peice of bread, as unto God himself. These are Idolaters. God will not give his honour to any other. And Papists [Page 77] will know in the end, that they have wronged God, to give his honour to a peice of bread. God will not be wronged of his Glory. Be not de­ceived, many Idolaters have been apt to flatter themselves, that it shall go well with them; but they have de­ceived themselves, and so will these in the end. No Adulterers, the Lord help you to look into your hearts and lives: There is an Adulterous heart, and an Adulterous life: none such shall enter into the Kingdom of God. These are all for the flood, these are set a-part for burning: assuredly, you shall be burned, if you repent not. Believe it, it will be so, if you re­form not; you may laugh and mock at me, and Paul, and the Bible, as the old world did at Noah. Nor effemi­nate, not abusers of themselves with mankind. No Thieves: that is, that repent not in their time. No Drun­kards; mark, that you Ale-house-haunters, and Tavern-haunters! None [Page 78] of these, not a man of them shall be saved, except, in time they repent and reform their lives. Say you so? None of them? No, none of them shall in­herit the Kingdom of God. Ah, but (by your leave) we won't believe you tho. I know there are but few will believe it. I knew it before I came to you before I read this Text, Lord who hath believed our report! I have been a Preacher (up and down) two and twenty years, and have had experience of the hardness of mens hearts. I can Preach to them, and take them in a room, and sit an hour over a hard heart, and make it no more stir, than a rock: No, he does not believe, turns away, and laughs at (perhaps) all the counsel given him. But whether you believe, or believe not, This day know, God hath given you warning; you are men as certainly set aside, and designed to be eternal­ly burned, as the old wicked world was designed to be drowned. And [Page 79] if you say why do I give you this no­tice? Why, The Lord in mercy gives it you, that in time you may repent. But if you repent not; as the flood drowned the old world, so Hell will burn and torment you.

But truly I have not come to the half of that which I intended.

The Question will be, What is the reason that men will not believe? What, but eight persons believe, in a whole world? But one Elijah in a whole Ten Tribes? What, but one Elijah? No truly, for ought that he knew. What, but a remnant in the time of Christ? No, but a remnant. So but a few, a very few in England. What is the reason of all this? why the gene­ral reason of it all, is this: Neither would the old world believe, that God was in good earnest; neither would Israel believe, neither will Eng­land believe; they don't believe what is said. No. What if God speaks by a Noah, will you believe? No. What [Page 80] if God speaks by a Moses, will you be­lieve? No. VVhat if God appear­eth upon a Mount, and speaks sig­nally, will you believe now? Yes, for a little while, but not long, as they did not. VVill you believe by a Christ? No. (Crucifie him.) Will you believe the Apostles? No. Will you believe us that speak? No, No, you will be­lieve none? What is the reason of it, why wont you believe? VVhy, I think this is one reason:

In very truth, saith the poor carnal wicked world, we do not believe that God is in good earnest; none of them did, till they found the judgment up­on them. But why, you poor sinners, why do not you believe that God is in good earnest now? VVhy I will tell you, you flatter your selves thus; surely God is a very good God, and he hath done us good all our days; he hath been my God twenty, thirty, forty years; he hath fed me when hun­gry; and when naked he hath clothed [Page 81] me; and when sick, he hath healed me and mine; and when in danger he hath deliver'd; and do you think that God will damn me, and burn me (as you talk of) at last? Ai, but sinner! hath not God said he will? Ai, but say you, God is not in good earnest; he threatens us, but as we threaten our Chil­dren. We threaten our Children sometimes what we will do! and then lay down the rod again. Ai, but sinner! God is not like a man, that he should change. But say you, he is good. 'Tis true, or else he would never have stayed so long; but for you to say he is good, and will not therefore be true to his Word, that's absurd. Why should he not (notwithstanding all his goodness) damn such a rebel as thou art, as well as damn an Angel? Thou art his Creature? so were the Angels. Does God give thee a­bundance [Page 82] of the glory of the earth? so God gave him abundance of the glory of Heaven, and yet notwith­standing all this, for sin he threw the Angels down into Hell, and now they are Devils.

Why, if God spared not an An­gel, dost thou think he will spare a man or woman? Nay, when thou hast provoked him to wrath more than the Devil, dost thou think he will spare thee, and not an Angel? God never offered a Saviour to the Devil, but he offered a Saviour to thee, that if thou wilt repent and turn, he will save thee: and wilt thou abuse all, and go on in thy wickedness? Why certainly, as thou sinnest more in this respect than the Devil, thou wilt as sure go to hell as he did; 'tis not your relation to God as Creatures, that will save you. What, (I pray) was the old World? Did not God drown them [Page 83] all? were not they men and women as you? and had not they Children as well as you? and had not God bowels to them, as well as to you? But was God loth to drown them? Why, first, it repenteth me, saith God, that I made them, I will drown them all; Tush, say they, God is so good he will not. But I will, says God. You say God hath done you good, and heal'd you of many diseases, and hath looked to you, and blessed you, and hath wrought wonders for you, and that therefore he will never damn you. O poor sin­ner! how simply dost thou cheat thy self? Single me out any blind Drun­kard, or unclean person, or self-justi­ciary, I would single thee out, and rea­son with thee this day; God hath wrought wonders for me, he will not damn me (saist thou). Alas! that's true, says a poor drunken Water-man, I was at Sea, and was in danger to be [Page 84] drown'd, and God saved me; and do you think that he will damn me! And saith another, such a time I was rea­dy to fall off from a house, and God prevented me. Why I tell thee now, that though God does give many sig­nal mercies and tokens of his long suffering to sinners, he does not in­tend therefore to save them. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, did God ever work such Miracles for you, as he did for them? Did God ever bring ten Plagues upon your enemies to deliver you from them? Did God ever in a danger that you have been in, make a Sea for you to pass through, and your life saved? And when you were hungry, and had no bread, did God ever rain bread down from hea­ven to you? When you were thirsty, did God ever bring water out of a Rock to quench your thirst? These, and such things as these did God do for Israel. Here now was some ground [Page 85] for them to plead, and yet though God did this; did he love Israel so, that he would not destroy them? No. He laid their Carcases as dung in the wilderness, and swore in his wrath that they should never enter into his rest. I'le tell thee sinner, if thou li­vest for forty years together upon bread out of the Clouds, yet if thou livest and diest in thy sins, thou wilt most certainly be damned. God can be good, (man!) for all thou art damned; for God is good to the An­gels that stand, though the rest that fell are in Hell; so he will be good in his mercy to Saints and Angels, when the wicked are thrust down into Hell. God can be good, (man!) and God can do thee good, and when he hath done, he can hang thee up in flames. Alas, you see that commonly among your malefactors, Princes do allow their prisoners to have meat and drink, while they are in prison, they [Page 86] should not be starved; and when con­demned to be hanged, there will be care taken, that they should be fed and clothed; but when the day comes, away they are bound, and to the cart and gallows they go. Thou prisoner! (for so thou art in the decree of God) before thou come to that prison of hell, he will feed thee, and clothe thee, and yet all this while intends to de­stroy thee, if thou repent not.

Ai, but say you, there is another reason of our unbelief: why truly, God hath threatned such great things that they are incredible. VVhy, what are they? God threatens prisons for Spirits; Alas, we can't understand how this spirit should live after our bodies are dead, that when our bo­dies are rotting in the grave, our souls should be roaring in flames. And then again God tells us of the Resur­rection of our bodies; How is it pos­sible it should be so? And then again, [Page 87] God threatens to throw our bodies and souls into Hell, to be burned for ever; an incredible thing! who can believe this, when we can hardly live fifty or threescore years, How can we be alive for ever and ever? And that Christ should judg the world; it is now sixteen hundred years ago; wonderful things! Here has been a great deal of talking, but no perfor­mance. A company of fables! we can't believe them; and who would go and venture to make themselves sad and miserable in the world, with fear and repentance; with fear of these things that are never like to come to pass. I know it, sinners, that these are the workings of thy heart, as well as if I was within thee. VVhy, do you think there are any such here, that are of such a mind? why truly, it is likely, for there were such in the Apostles days, and of this sort of peo­ple the Apostle speaks in 2 Pet. 3.2, That in the latter days there should [Page 88] come scoffers, walking after their own lusts: one after the lust of unclean­ness, another after the lust of drunken­ness: VVhat are these walkers? Scof­fers. VVhat do they scoff at? why they scoffed at the burning of the world, and the day of Judgment. VVhy do these men scoff at it? why, I will tell you; they scoff because the Scripture does threaten the eter­nal burning of these sort of men that walk after their own lusts, and they cry, Tush, we believe no such thing. VVell, and thus they argue, saying, Where is the promise of his coming? Christ said, He would come, and he would come quickly. Here is a talk of his coming, but here is no Christ come; when will this Trumpet sound? No, no, for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation: The Sun rises as it did, and the Moon ob­serves its course, we have Summer [Page 89] and VVinter, and we see all things just as they have been for these five thousand years, and we see no change. No? (saith the Apostle) don't you? But, saith he, if you are ignorant of this one thing; you are wilfully igno­rant: VVhat is that? why saith he, That by the Word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, where­by the world that then was, being over­flowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, re­served unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men. I'le tell thee, thou scoffer, and walker after thy lusts, Dost thou not know that God once drowned the world? if thou art ignorant, 'tis a wilful ignorance. And I pray you scoffers, is it not as easie a thing to conceive how God should burn the world, as drown the world? he hath [Page 90] done one already; the Lord open your ears and hearts to understand it. You scoff now, as the old world scof­fed at Noah; but they found that Noah's words were true; and you will find that our words are true too. The Lord strike you with the authority of the VVord, that you may receive it as the Oracle of God. This is the VVord of God, and do you oppose it, and rebel against it, and slight it if you dare. But I know you have that impu­dence to do it. But then I summon you to answer it at the day of judg­ment; do you remember it then.

There are several other workings of carnal hearts, by which they en­courage themselves in their wick­ed lives.

What are they? Come let me name them.

O say you, we don't deny, but God will condemn men, and we don't deny but God can make good [Page 91] all his threatnings: But say you, we are in such a body, and our bodies are in such want; you know we must not starve, and suffer our poor wives and children to famish for want of bread; and truly we are poor, and must work for our li­vings; and we are so taken up, that we have no leisure to hear what God says, or what Christ says; we have scarce leisure to read or hear the word of God: This is another thing.

I know you would fain be gone, but I will tell you why I stay you so long; I would fain (before you go out of them doors) have you to believe. If Gods Ministers do so compassionate you, you should compassionate your selves: Ah, But say you, I can't attend it, I must be gone, my dinner waits for me; no, nor to morrow neither. I have no time at all to think of these [Page 92] things. No? Have you no time to think of them? Do you think that they don't deserve your thoughts? Why, What are your poor bodies (for which you labour so much), in a compare to your souls? I tell thee (man) if it were put to thy choice, that thou shouldst either starve, or make use of the means of Grace; thou shouldst rather go and read, and kneel, and pray till thou art faint, and canst scarce rise up: If one must perish, soul or body; let the body starve. Thou poor creature! Thy soul is more worth than thy body; 'tis a thousand times better that thy body should starve, than that thy poor soul should be damned. But, Starve! Thou poor unbeliever! Thy wretched heart of unbelief de­ceives thee. I tell thee (man)! (but that thou hast no faith to entertain what I say, I tell thee) if thou wilt but set thy self, first to mind this [Page 93] great work of saving thy soul, and pre­paring thy Ark; if thou wilt set thy self to look upon thy ways, and con­fess thy sins, to turn to the Lord, to cry mightily, and to pour out thy soul in secret to God, that he would pardon thee, and sanctifie thee, and reform thee, and give thee grace: I tell thee, I dare promise thee in the name of the Lord, that thou shalt live more comfortably as to this world, than ever thou didst in all thy life. Why, will you promise that we shall grow richer by it? This I will pro­mise thee in the name of the Lord, (and I am sure 'tis true) that either thou shalt thrive more in the world, or else thou shalt be better contented with what thou hast: and besides, it shall be blessed to thee, that thou wilt say, it is far better to thee than abundance. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added to you. Do [Page 94] but set thy self to pray mightily to God, that whatever he does, he would save thy soul; and then for thy care, thou mightest cast thy care upon him; your care distracts you, it is Gods setting in with you, that makes your care succesful. O poor sinners, if you were but acquainted with God and Christ, you would have a God to cast your care upon. You Masters of Families; begin your day with God, bring your Families to God, make it your great business to serve God; and then trust God for his blessing upon your endeavours. There is another Reason.

What is the reason that you do not believe? That you believe not God that speaks by his Son, and by his Prophets? Why truly I dare not be­lieve. For (to speak plainly) I am so in love with my sins, that I cannot think to part wirh them; and I do profess, if I must be damn'd for them, [Page 95] I must run the hazard. Such despe­rate slaves are Satan's slaves, though they see Hell before them, and in they must, if they repent not; saith Christ, Light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, Why? because their deeds are evil. They love their evil deeds, and love dark­ness, and hate the light of the Gos­pel; they hate my word, because my word threatens their deeds of dark­ness with Hell; they can't endure to see what is at the end of sinning. I have kept you a long while; and so God kept them above a hundred years. I have spent one hour (per­haps half an hour more), but if it were possible that I could Preach an hundred years to an unbelieving heart, it would never work upon him, without Gods Grace: O there­fore resist not Crace: When I have done all, 'tis God that singles out one at one time, and another at ano­ther [Page 96] time, and then another, and sometimes many at once, and opens their eyes and hearts, and makes such a Sermon bear upon them, and com­mandeth their hearts to strike in with the word: And if the Lord does but bless the word, to take hold of some poor youth, whether man or maid; it is worth all my labour that I have spent in Preaching: If the Lord would but bring some poor soul to believe, that the word of God is true, and that it is as certain that they will be damn'd, if they repent not, as is was certain that the old world was drown'd: This might be the beginning of a new life. O 'tis an hour well spent, and thou wilt bless God for it, if he will come in with light upon thee, and make thee believe the Gospel, that Christ is willing to save every pe­nitent sinner that is brought thus to believe in him. O that God would be pleased to convince you that he is [Page 97] in good earnest to damn the wicked and impenitent sinner; but to bless and crown with eternal life, every obedient soul.

I am forced to cut off many things that I have to say; But the Lord in hea­ven bless this word unto you.