WHAT a condition are you in? The sentence is past: you are condemned to die: and this sentence is to be executed shortly. You have no way to escape; these fetters, these walls, these gates and bars, these keepers cut off all hope. Therefore die you must: but must you die like a beast, without thinking what it is to die? You need not: you will not: you will think a little first: you will consider, what is death? It is leaving this world, these houses, lands, and all things under the sun; leaving all these things, never to return; your place will know you no more. It is leaving these pleasures; for there is no eating, drinking, gaming, no merriment in the grave. It is leaving your acquaintance, companions, friends: your father, mother, wife, children. You cannot stay with them, nor can they go with you: you must part; perhaps for ever. It is leaving a part of yourself; leaving this body which has accompanied you so long. Your soul must now drop its old companion, to rot and moulder into dust. It must enter upon a new, strange, unbodied state. It must stand naked before God!
2. But O! how will you stand before God? The great, the holy, the just, the terrible God? Is it not his own word, Without holiness no man shall see the Lord? No man shall see him with joy: rather he will call for the mountains to fall upon him and the rocks to cover him. And what do you think holiness is? It is purity both of heart and life. It is the mind that was in Christ, enabling us to walk as he also walked. It is the loving God with all our heart, the loving our neighbour, every man as ourselves, and the doing to all men, in every point, as we would they should do unto us. The least part of holiness is, to do good to all men, and to do no evil either in word or work. This is only the outside of it. But this is more than you have. You are from it; far as darkness from light. You have not the mind that was in Christ: there was no pride, no malice in him: no hatred, no revenge, no furious anger, no foolish or worldly desire. You have not walked as Christ walked: no; rather as the devil would have walked, had he been in a body; the works of the devil you have done, not the works of God. You have not loved God with all your heart. You have not loved him at all. You have not thought about him. You hardly knew or cared, whether there was any God in the world. You have not done to others as you would they should do to you; far, very far from it. Have you done all the good you could to all men? If so, you had never come to this place. You have done evil exceedingly: your sins against God and man are more than the hairs of your head. Insomuch that even the world cannot bear you; the world itself spues you out. Even the men that know not God declare, you are not fit to live upon the earth.
3. O repent, repent! Know yourself: see and feel what a sinner you are. Think of the innumerable sins you have committed, even from your youth up. How many wicked words have you spoken? How many wicked actions have you done? Think of your inward sins! Your pride, malice, hatred, anger, revenge, lust. Think of your sinful nature, totally alienated from the life of God. How is your whole soul prone to evil, void of good, corrupt, full of all abominations! Feel, that your carnal mind is enmity against God. Well may the wrath of God abide upon you. He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity: he hath said, The soul that sinneth, it shall die. It shall die eternally, shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.
4. How then can you escape the damnation of hell? The lake of fire burning with brimstone? Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched? You can never redeem your own soul. You cannot atone for the sins that are past. If you could leave off sin now, and live unblamable for the time to come, that would be no atonement for what is past. Nay, if you could live like an angel for a thousand years, that would not atone for one sin. But neither can you do this: you cannot leave off sin: it has the dominion over you. If all your past sins were now to be forgiven, you would immediately sin again: that is, unless your heart were cleansed; unless it were created anew. And who can do this? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Surely none but God. So you are utterly sinful, guilty, helpless! What can you do to be saved?
5. One thing is needful: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved! Believe (not as the devils only, but) with that faith which is the gift of God, which is wrought in a poor, guilty, helpless sinner, by the power of the Holy Ghost. See all thy sins on Jesus laid. God laid on him the iniquities of us all. He suffered once the just for the unjust. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He was wounded for thy sins; he was bruised for thy iniquities. Behold the Lamb of God, taking away the sin of the world! Taking away thy sins, even thine, and reconciling thee unto God the Father! Look unto him and be thou saved! If thou look unto him by faith, if thou cleave to him with thy whole heart, if thou receive him both to atone, to teach and to govern thee in all things, thou shalt be saved, thou art saved, both from the guilt, the punishment, and all the power of sin. Thou shalt have peace with God, and a peace in thy own soul, that passeth all understanding. Thy soul shall magnify the Lord, and thy Spirit rejoice in God thy Saviour. The love of God shall be shed abroad in thy heart, enabling thee to trample sin under thy feet. And thou wilt then have an hope full of immortality. Thou wilt no longer be afraid to die, but rather long for the hour having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ.
6. This is the faith that worketh by love, the way that leadeth to the kingdom. Do you earnestly desire to walk therein? Then put away all hindrances. Beware of company: At the peril of your soul, keep from those who neither know nor seek God. Your old acquaintance are no acquaintance for you, unless they too acquaint themselves with God. Let them laugh at you, or say, you are running mad. It is enough, if you have praise of God. Beware of strong drink. Touch it not, lest you should not know when to stop. You have no need of this to chear your spirits; but of the peace and the love of God: beware of men that pretend to shew you the way to heaven, and know it not themselves. There is no other name whereby you can be saved, but the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And there is no other way whereby you can find the virtue of his name but by faith. Beware of Satan transformed into an angel of light, and telling you, it is presumption to believe in Christ, as your Lord and your God, your wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Believe in him with your whole heart. Cast your whole soul upon his love. Trust him alone: love him alone: fear him alone: and cleave to him alone: Till he shall say to you (as to the dying malefactor of old,) This day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
A WORD in SEASON;
OR,
Advice to an ENGLISHMAN.[¹]
[¹] This was published at the beginning of the late rebellion.
1.DO you ever think? Do you ever consider? If not, ’tis high time you should. Think a little, before it is too late. Consider what a state you are in. And not you alone, but our whole nation. We would have war. And we have it. And what is the fruit? Our armies broken in pieces: And thousands of our men either killed on the spot or made prisoners in one day. Nor is this all. We have now war at our own doors: our own countrymen turning their swords against their brethren. And have any hitherto been able to stand before them? Have they not already seized upon one whole kingdom? Friend, either think now, or sleep on and take your rest, till you drop into the pit where you will sleep no more?