Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one Hugh Stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tence of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amonst us / by Cotton Mather.] Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1690 Approx. 117 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 56 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50164 Wing M1156 ESTC W19439 11164395 ocm 11164395 46466 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50164) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 46466) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1426:6) Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one Hugh Stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tence of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amonst us / by Cotton Mather.] Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [5], 87, 15, [1] p. 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Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Stone, Hugh, d. 1689. Execution sermons. Sermons, American -- 17th century. Murder -- New England. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-04 Rina Kor Sampled and proofread 2003-04 Rina Kor Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Speedy Repentance urged ▪ SERMON Preached at Boston , Decemb. 29. 1689. In the Hearing , and at the Request of One Hugh Stone , 〈◊〉 ●●●erable Man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●●●tence of 〈◊〉 for a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hor●●●●● 〈◊〉 〈…〉 COnscientia mea meruit Damnationem , & paenitentia mea non sufficit ad Satisfactionem : Sed 〈◊〉 est quod mis●ricordi● 〈◊〉 super at 〈…〉 THE Introduction . OUr Blessed Saviour , hath given that Character of his Ministers , That they be Rulers over His Houshold , and that Commandment to them , That they should give every one their meat 〈◊〉 du● Season . Whether or no our Good Neighbours will acknowledge our Government , which we Esteem to be not at all De●potio● but wholly Ministerial , and would rejoice 〈◊〉 we could therein , with more universal Edi●●●cation enjoy the Assistence of those that mig●● Rule well , though they Labour 〈◊〉 Word and D●ctrine ; yet I am sure 〈◊〉 ought with a very sollicitous Fidelity to 〈…〉 our Stewardship , in that 〈…〉 which conc●rns the Feeding of the Houshold . It is Food and not 〈◊〉 which we are to Entertain the Soul● 〈…〉 people with ; 〈◊〉 Windy and Empty 〈◊〉 , and Notions which 〈◊〉 dant quia non habent , are 〈◊〉 from us ; but solemn and useful 〈◊〉 , about Faith and Repentance and Holiness , which make up , The One Thing Needful , and about those things without ●word4 no man shall see the Lord. And if not Froth , much less is Poison , to be found in our Discourses : not a Snake instead of a Fish ; which alas , is now adayes no less frequently , than fatally met withal in Sermons about Iustification , more than about any one Article of Religion But in all this there is to be had a special Regard unto the Due Season too ; in which Every Thing 〈◊〉 Beautiful . For , tho' the Efficacy of Grace consist not in Moral Perswasions applyed ( as the Arminians Dogmatize ▪ ) Tempore & Modo Congruis , in a suitable and seasonable manner ; yet a Spiritual Physician ought t● wa●ch his Time , as well as weigh his Dose ; and we should prudently take what Advantage may be given by Provi●ence to make this 〈◊〉 that particular Truth awakening to the mind● of them with whom we have to do . The Sense of these things , caused me to Preach a Sermon , which might Excite and Assist Speedy Repentance , in that Congregation , which I would awfully Remember my self , Accountable to the Lord Iesus for . The Due Season , which this Homely , but I hope , wholsome Food , was adopted unto , was at the Request and Presence of a miserable Murderer , then under a just Sentence of Death , to be speedily Executed on him . The Man was one HUGH STONE , of Andover ; who npon a Quarrel between him and his own Wife , about Selling a piece of Land , having some words as they were walking together , on a certain Evening , very barbarously reached a stroke at her Throat with a sharp Knife , and by that one stroke , fetched away the Soul of her , who had made him a Father of several Children , and would have brought yet another to him , if she had Liv'd a few Weeks longer in the World. The wretched man , was too soon surprised by his Neighbour 〈…〉 be capable of denying the Fact ; and so he pleaded Guilty , upon his Trial. Being under Condemnation , and his End hastening upon him , he gave me his Desires to hear a Sermon from me , before he Dy'd ▪ Wherefore , I thought there was now before me a Due Season , to make a Food of such Things , as I now also per others ( and to permit them , is all I have done ) to Print for the Edification of such as the Publishers propound thereby to benefit . I confess that I had not so much as One Day allow'd me for my Original Preparations of the Sermon ; and therefore , not being able exactly to keep what I did not , could not write , necessitates me to Alter , and doubtless to Amend some Imperfections in it . Yet it is very near , what it was at its first Delivery ; and from the Experience which formerly I have had , in publishing a Discourse of this kind , I encourage my self , with Hopes , that notwitstanding all the Weaknesses in it , I may find in the Day of the Lord Iesus , That I have not Laboured in vain . The Sermon is plain ; but besides my inclination at all Times to make none but such , even an Heathen Seneca would have taught me , that on this occasion any other would have been improper . I excuse not the ●eanness of the Composure ; but am waitin●●pon the Eternal Spirit , 〈…〉 and blows where , He ●lease , 〈…〉 The SERMON . Iob. VII . 21. And why doest thou not pardon my transgression , and take away mine Iniquity ? for now shall I sleep in the dust , and thou shalt seek me in the morning , but I shall not be . VVE have now before us , a very miserable , but we cannot excuse the hardness of our own Hearts , if it be not also a very profitable , Spectacle . You see a poor man in Irons here , whose crying Murders have now procured unto him that Sentence , which will not permit him to live many hours longer in the world . His Case do's truly Preach to 〈…〉 ●ame that my Text will Preach 〈…〉 but while I have an Eye to his particular circumstances , I shall not so overlook yours , as to leave any one person in this vast Congregation without the Food proper in the present season for them . This Malefactor does know that he quickly must ; and all of you do not know but you sooner may come to sleep in the Dust ; wherefore let every one of you now hear as those that are concerned to get their Transgression pardoned , and their Iniquity taken away . The Book of IOB , in a sweet Poesy , gives us a true History , of strange Calamities , and stranger Deliverances befalling a famous Person , who made Arabia the Happy , by his dwelling there . Had it not been Real and Certain matter of Fact , which is here 〈…〉 , we may not imagine that 〈◊〉 Prophet Ezekiel , or the Apostle Iames , would have made such References , as they did unto it ; it only remains that we do our parts to make it as useful as 't is Real and Certain . It has been conjectured by some , that Moses was the Writer of this elegant Narrative ; and the Arabian Idioms here and there occurring in it ▪ consist very well with the Abode of Moses in his Exile : but it is as evident that Iob lived before Moses , as 't is that he lived after Abraham . Very wonderful Afflictions at once did surprize this Renowned Man ! and under his Troubles , we find him pouring out of his Complaints . Un●o whom ? It was a sigh that once passed from him As for me is my complaint to Man ? Alas , he found Man a Physitian of no value to be complained unto ; and therefore 't is unto God , that he now makes the Complaints , which our Context is the conclusion of . In the Verse before our Text , we have both a Confession , and a Petition of a Distressed Man. For the Confession , we have both the Matter of it , and the Object of it . The Matter of it , is contained in those words , I have sinned , what shall I do unto thee ? q. d. Tho' I am clear of many things which my Friends do accuse me of , yet my sins before God are so manifest and so multiplied , that I can do nothing for the vindication or expiation of my Miscarriages . The Object of it is intimated in those words , O Thou preserver of Men , which are by some rendred , O thou Observer of Men , q. d. God has Observed more amiss in me , than ever I found in my self . For the Petition , it is with an Expostulation . It is , Why hast thou set me as a Mark against thee ; so that I am a Burden to my self ? The Sorrows of men , are the Arrows of God ; they that 〈◊〉 shot full thereof are sensible of 〈…〉 in every one of their 〈◊〉 Why hast thou ? is here a Deprec●tion of the evil mentioned . Well , if we now pass on to 〈◊〉 Text , we shall have there , both● 〈◊〉 , and an Argument . For the Petition , it is here with an Expostulation too . T is , Why dost thou not Pardon my Transgression , and take oway my Iniquity ? As before , Why dost Thou ? was as much as to say , O do it not ; so here , Why dost thou not ? is equivalent unto saying , O do it . And it seems to follow upon the Title newly put upon the Great God , O thou Preserver of Men ; q. d. Lord , since thou art the Preserver and the Pardoner of so many Sinners in the World , why should not I share in thy Mercies among the rest ? For the Argument : the force of the plea for a Pardon here , seems to ly in this , It will else quickly be too late ! The terms of it are , For now shall I sleep in the Dust and thou shalt seek me in the morning , but I shall not be ; which in short is , I shall quickly be dead and 〈◊〉 ! To Not be , is a Scripture-Sacred-Phrase for Dying : denoting not a total 〈◊〉 but a vast Alteration comeing upon us by Mortality ▪ which is also here styled Sleeping , with respect unto the condition of the Body in the Grave . And whereas we read of the Morning , in this place , it may be an Allusion to the Morning Sacrifices usual among the people of God ; and it may carry this Import with it , q. d. Lord , if a Morning or two hence , thou shouldest Look to find me on my Knees as I am now before thee , it will be too late ; I shall be departed into that State , where in , I can make no Prayer to thee , and have no Pardon from thee , World without End. Wherefore the Doctrine unto which you are now to give a very great Attention , is this . Men should be very Impor●●●●● in their Prayers to the Eternal God , That their Transgression may be pardoned , and their Iniquity taken away , before the Sleep of Death bring their Great Change upon them . For the clearing of this Truth , we have now Two Enquiries that ly before us . Our first Enquiry is to be , What is implied in the Pardoning of Transgression and the Taking away of Iniquity ? For answer to this ; In general , The Glorious Benefit of JUSTIFICATION is herein implied . If you ask for a Description of Iusti●ication then know , That it is an Act of Gods Free Grace , Releasing a Believer from the Guilt of Sin , and Accepting him as Righteous , thro' the Obedience of the Lord Iesus Christ. There are two things which a Religion still pretends to make provision for ; to remove th● greatest of our Troubles , & to obtain the greatest of our Desires . The Christian Religion does both of these in a very admirable manner . The First is done in Iustification . The Distress of a Guilty Sinner lies in this point ▪ What shall I give for the sin of my Soul ? Behold , that matter in Iustification very wonderfully provided for . The Psalmist of old , called this a Parable , and A Dark Saying ; even this , The precious Redemption of a Soul , by the Messias alone . Blessed be God , that we can with satisfaction penetrate a little way into the Mystery . But I may not give you a full Discourse upon this illustrious Head of Divinity , whic● indeed the Standing or the Falling of the whole Church is concerned in the right stating of ; and as I may not ▪ so I need not insist upon it , because , you have the published Writings of many Learned Men ▪ on this very point ; which I 〈…〉 ●ecommend unto your 〈…〉 suppose you are all of the Disposition , which our famous Wilson would often express , by saying , I Love nothing so much as to see a Preacher keep close to his Text , and the Scope of it ; and therefore I shall now keep Close to my Text , by offering to you a few Conclusions relating to IVSTIFICATION , All which the Terms used in my Text suggest unto us ; but in all , I must also keep close to the Man whom I do here most particularly design the edification of . Conclusion 1. [ My Transgression ] The Hebrew word for it Notes , a Transgression out of Pride : And my Conclusion from it is , 〈◊〉 . There is a wicked and a cursed Pride in the Sins of men . The First of our sins was founded in a cursed Pride , & the most of our Sins are tainted with it . The first sin of Adam had Pride for a main ingredient of it . It was propounded unto him , in Gen. 3. 5. Ye shall be as Gods , Honour and Grandeur was the Bait which he was taken with , and his Pride affected a higher condition that that which his Maker had plac'd him in . The first Sin of Satan too had Pride for its Original . Hence we are advised in 1 Tim 36. he that is lifted up with pride , falls into the condemnation of the Divel . It is thought that his Dissatisfaction at some Priviledges , which he foresaw Mankind likely to be the subject of , was that which prompted him to the Rebellion and Apostasie , in which he is now King over the children of pride . T is thus in all the Sins which those have been the Parents of ; there lies Pride at the bottom of them all . What S●l●mon sayes of one Sin , Only by Pride comes contention ; the like may be said of All Sin , Mainly by Pride comes Transgression . Upon the Root of Pride it is , that there grows all the Disobedience to God , which is at any time com●mitted in the World. It was the S●ying of the Prophet , in 〈…〉 . If ye will not hear , my soul shall weep in secret Places for your pride . From our Pride it is , that we do not Hear the voice of God unto us in his Ordinances o● in His Providences ; T is Pride that makes us thick o● Hearing when ou● God councels us to Do Iustice and love Me●cy , and walk Humbly with Him. Every Sin ( as one sayes of every man ) hath a Pope in the Belly of it ; something that Exalts it self against all that is called GOD. The Sinners whom Solomon calls the Fools , are those whom David calls the pro●d . If men were not proud Fools they would never espouse a way of wickedness ; men Sin with an High Heart , and that makes them Sin with an High Hand against the God of Heaven . Through Pride it is , that we must have our Will , tho Gods Will be quite contrary thereunto . And when the most High 〈◊〉 his commands before us , we do , as if we were Above ▪ Him , say , We will not hearken therounto . Through pride it is that we can't bear the Order which the Sovereign God has ●ixt us in , but we take indirect wayes to relieve and alter our circumstances . And here is the R●se of all our Miscarriages . Be sure YOU that are now in Chains before us , must acknowledg this to be the Rise of yours . Your Proud Impatience of a little contradiction , and your Proud Resistance to the Rules of good living , have brought you to the Sin for which you are to dy . Conclusion 2. [ My Iniquity ] The Hebrew Word for it imports Iniquity with Crookedness and Perverseness . And hence I form this Conclusion . The Sins of Men have a World of ●●righteous Crookedness & Perversness in them . Our Sins are not Right Things , but there is a most uncomely Obliquity in all of our Iniquity . Every Sinner may say , as in Iob. 33. 27. I have perverte● that which is right . The Path which God in his Word has directed 〈…〉 , is a right path , or as 't is called A path of Righteousness ; but sin is a wandring from it ; the Sinner goes astray in the greatness of his folly . Sin is a Deviation from a strait Rule The Psalmist could say in Psnl : 119 : 128. I esteem thy precepts concerning all things to be right . But now every false way has a figure not conformed unto the precepts of God. The Sinner walks in crooked paths , when God has required , make strait pathes for your selves : And he has no constant course . One while 't is one Lust , and than another , which he is madly slaving unto ; Sin is that Harlot , whereof t is said , her wayes are moveable ! And the Sinner is herein a most unrighteous man : He defrauds both God and man of their dues , with an injnstice too black to be described . But if ever there were a perverse and an unjust man in the World , I am sure YOU that are in Irons here ought to account your self such an one . Your F●o●ardness has pusht you on to the most unreasonable thing that was ever done in the Land , in which you have not now long to live . Conclusion 3. [ Pardon my Transgression ] The word , Pardon , signifies the Removing of a Load ; yea , a Transferring of it unto him who takes it off . Whence this Conclusion doth arise ▪ In Iustification , the Burden of Sin is Translated from the Sinner unto the Lord Iesus Christ. Sin is an heavy Burden upon the Soul which it lies upon ; and the Sinner may justly roar under it , as in Psal. 38. 4. My Iniquities , as an heavy Burden , are too heavy for me . Hence , The Bearing of Iniquity , is a phrase that sometimes occurrs in the Book of God. Every sensible Soul , feels it like a ponderous Mountain of Lead upon him ; the Thousands of Talents which he owes unto the Revenge of God , are ● Weight upon him , which he finds there is no Enduring of . Ask the Undone Murderer that is now before you , whether he feels not Sin like a Load upon him ? That Malefactor will be prest to Death for ever , by the Dead Weight of Sin , who shall be so Mute under his Guilt ▪ as not to cr● out , Lord , I am oppressed , undertake for me . But in Iustification this intollerable . Burden is T●anslated unto the Blessed Lord Iesus Christ , who was made a Curse for us . And thus we are told in Isa. 53. 6. God hath laid on him the Iniquity of us all . The Burden of Sin ▪ 〈◊〉 the Obligation to make Satisfaction for it ; this is a Burden enough to Break the Backs of all the Angels in Heaven , if it were laid upon them . On Supposition of a Law given by God , and on Supposition of that Law broken by man , there follows a Necessity ▪ of a Satisfaction to be made unto the Justice of that Holy One , who will be known to be of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity . The Rule according to which the Almighty God acts as the Iudge of the VVorld , is the Re●titude and Holiness of His Nature ; and the Law which he hath given us is Ratify'd with such a Sanction , that there is now no pardoning of a Sinner without a Satisfaction to Him , Against whom only we have sinned . Now the Obligation to pay the Debt which our Sin has run us into , is in Iustification made to fall upon our Lord Jesus Christ , who is our Surety for Good. As one speaks well , Nostram causam Sustinebat , qui nostram sibi Carnem aduniverat ; and as I remember , Prosper expressed it , We were Crucify'd in Him ; or according to the Language of the ancient Cyprian , He bore both us and all our sins . The Lord Jesus now becomes the Antitype of the Ancient Scape-Goat , upon whose Head , is laid all the Sin , which we have to answer for . There is an Imputation in this Affair ; and as 't is said 〈…〉 5. 21. God made Him to be Sin for 〈◊〉 ▪ who knew no Sin , that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him ; 't is thus by a Divine Imputation and Constitution . Conclusion 4. [ Take away mine Iniquity ] The word , Take away , signifies a Causing to pass away , and indeed therein , a passing by . Whence we have this Conclusion . In Iustification the Great God causes the Sin of Men , to pass away , without Notice of it . Sin is passed by , and made to pass away , when it is Forgiven to us . Our God therein says unto us , as in 2 Sam. 12. 13. The Lord hath put away thy Sin. As we do by Gods Law , in Sinning , so God does by our Sin in Forgiving . Hence the same word , is used for both . In Sinning we pass by His Law , as a thing not worthy of our Notice ; thus in Forgiving , He passes by our Sin , without any such Notice of it , as to Damn us , or to Judge us , for the same . Our sin becomes now , in some sort as tho' it had never been at all ; but as 't is said , in Jer. 50. 20. Iniquity shall be sought for , and there shall be None ; and Sins , and they shall not be found . And Methinks , a poor Murderer , such an One as is within Hearing of what we are now speaking , should have his very Heart leap within him at the mention of such a thing . What ? For such an One , when He stands at the Bar of the Lord Jesus , to have such a Verdict brought in for him , as , Not Guilty , there ! But thus it is in Iustification ; God therein causes our Sin to pass away But 〈…〉 does it pass ? We have a Repl● 〈◊〉 ●hat in , Isa. 38. 17. Thou hast cast my Sins behind thy Back . Our Sin therein passes as far from the Avenging Eye of God , as what we cast behind us , never to be regarded any more . Whither did I say , it passes ? Nay , to advance a little further , 't is said in Mic. 7. 19 Thou wilt cast all their sins into the Depths of the Sea. But shall they not Rise and Float again ? Truly , a Milstone thrown into the deepest Ocean shall sooner be brought in sight , than the Sin of one who has been a Subject of Iustification , shall ever be brought up for his Condemnation any more . Conclusion 5. It is observed , that the same words [ Transgression , and Iniquity ] are used both for Sin it self , and for the punishment of Sin. Wherefore I shall here tender you this one Conclusion more . In Iustification the severe punishment of Sin , is Remitted , with the Fault it self . There has been a vain Distinction used about this matter , between [ Reatus Culpae ] Guilt , as Deserving of punishment ; and [ Rectus Paenae ] Guilt , as Obliging to punishment . But these are so inseparable , that when Guilt is Remitted , the punishment goes along with it . In Iustification , our Bonds are taken off , and nothing is demanded of us , as a price to A●one the Righteous God. It was said in in Isa. 33. 24. The Inhabitant shall not say , I am sick ; the people shall be for given their Iniquity . Thus , when men are Forgiven their Iniquity , they shall not by vindictive Justice be made to say , I am sick , or I am poor , or , I am pained , and the like . There are no proper Paenalties remaining for a justify'd man. Whatever Troubles he may afterwards meet withal , there shall not be the Wrath and the Curse of God spicing of them ; and in regard of the Second Death , it is very peremptorily declar'd unto him , Thou shalt not Dy. It was the cry of the Psalmist , in Psal. 143. 2. Enter not into Iudgment with thy Servant . The God of Heaven , acts not so much like a Iudg , as like a Father , to a justify'd man ; and He not only secures him from the vengeance of Eternal Fire , but also , puts a New and a Knd Respect upon all the Temporal Afflictions , which do befal such a Man. The Afflictions which happen to him , are not so much Punishments as Chastisements ; and a Reconciled God therein proceeds according to that Rule in Rev 3. 19. Whom I Love , I Rebuke and Chasten . Yea , if a Correction be at any time employ'd upon him , it is at the same time a Benefit , in that very thing which called for it . As the Dumbness of Zachary was as much an Argument for his Faith , as a Chastisement for his Unbelief . And I am to tell the wretched Malefactor here , That his Prison , and his very Gall●ws , will but be turned into his Advantages , upon his true Repentance . Man , you shall find Honey for your Soul , in the Bowels of those Devourers , if your Sins be once done away . But then , our Next Enquiry is to be : Why should men be Importunate in their Prayers to the Eternal God , for the pardon of their Sins , before the Sleep of Death bring their Great Change upon them . For Answer to this , Let these three Conclusions , all found in the Text , be laid together . Conclusion 1. None can Forgive Sins , but God. The Scribes of old were so far Well Instructed , as to say , in Marc. 2. 7. Who can Forgive Sin , but God only ? The true Answer is very short ; None . Injuries done to men , may so far be forgiven by Men , as men only are concerned in them . Hence t is among the solemn Charges of the Lord Jesus , to us all , in Mat. 6. 14. Forgive men their Trespasses . But as it was of old said , If a Man sin against the Lord , who shall entreat for him ? Even so If a Man sin against the LORD , who shall pardon him ? Injuries done to God , are to be Forgiven by Him alone , whose Great Name is that in Exod. 34. 7. The Lord Forgiving Iniquity , and Transgression , and Sin. It is a Maxim , Nemo potest Remittere de Iure Alieno ; No man can dispose of Anothers Right . Who then can Intrude , or dare Invade upon the Great God , so as to allow for a Wrong which has been done unto His Majesty ? To Forgive Sin , is a prerogative peculiar to the God of Heaven ; and it is therefore mention'd among ▪ His Regalia , in Mic. 7 8. Who is a God like unto thee , that pardoneth Iniquity ? 'T is one of His Incomparable Excellencies , and a Flower in His Glorious Crown ; T is the Glory which He will not give unto another . Look upon sin as a Debt ; still God is the Creditor ; Look upon sin as a Fault ; still God is the Governour , to whom alone belongs the Remission of it . VVe are advertised of this , Rom 8 33. It is God that Iustifies Ministerially to Declare a Pardon , is one thing . This may be done by the Churches of the Lord Jesus Chirst ; as the Priests were to pronounce upon the Cleanness of the Leper . 〈◊〉 which respect our Lord said in Iohn 20. 23. Whose soever sins ye remit , they are remitted to them And in such a sense was the Prophet ▪ Ieremiah to pull down and pluck up Nations ; that was , to Declare what Nations were so to be dealt withal . But Authoritatively to Dispense a Pardon , is another thing , and it pertains to God alone . It was a passage of Moses , in Numb 14 ▪ 17 Let the power of my Lord be great [ The Iews find a Letter of a greater figure than usual there , to intimate , they say , something of an extraordinary Greatness ; but what is it ? it follows ] Pardon I beseech thee . None but one that has the great Power of a God can pardon Sin. The Popish Blasphemy and Villany upon this point , was the Scandal which first gave occasion to the Protestant Reformation ; and God forbid that any Pr●testant should Return to lick it up . Wherefore YOU that here stand Condemned both by God and Man , are now to be put in mind , not only that we have no ▪ Priest , to Absolve you and Deceive you , and that the Rulers of this place may not Pardon you , if they could : but also , if that your murdered Wife had Forgiven you before her Expiration , this would not acquit you before the Tribunal of the Eternal God. To invert the words of Elihu , When He gives quiet , who can make trouble ? I would say ▪ If he trouble you , who can Quiet you ? I● He do not forgive , none can Pardon you . Conclusion 2 ▪ The God of Heaven requires our Importunate Prayers , that our Sins may be forgiven to us . T is an Article in that Platform of Prayer , which our Lord has given us , O our Heavenly Father , Forgive us our Trespasses . When a certain Man had sinned at a grievous Rate , there was this Direction given to him , in Acts 8. 22. Repent of thy wickedness , and pray to God. And O that this Direction might penetrate into the very Soul of the sad man that is now before us here ▪ a Man ( if he be worthy to be called so ) of whom we may say , O this Man hath sinned a great Sin ! Behold , the course to be taken by every sinner . that would have a Pardon from the Lord ; Pray to God , if perhaps thy Sin may be forgiven thee . We have a promise of a Pardon , in Ezek. 36. 25. I will sprinkle clean water upon you , and ye shall be clean . But what follows ? Thus saith the Lord God , I will yet for this be enquired of , to do it . We must enquire of God , and entreat of God , if we would not perish without a Pardon forever ▪ There is no sign of a Pardon in any man , till it can be said of him , as in in Acts 9. 11. Behold he Prayes ! T is in Prayer that we confess our Sins , 't is in Prayer that we renounce our Sins , 't is by Prayer that we cast all our Sins , upon the Lord Jesus Christ ; and with out this , the least Sin in the World is utterly unpardonable . Even those that have been already Pardoned , are to continue praying for a Pardon still . T is a thing which none among the Disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ , are to be excused from . They need the comfort of a Pardon to be sensibly Renewed unto them ; and tho' it have been once told unto a David , The Lord has put away thy sin , yet he keeps praying still in the terms of the fifty first Psalm , a Prayer fitted for the lips of all that want a Pardon . Luther sometimes distinguished between a Secret pardon , & an open pardon ; a secret Pardon , every true Believer has , but an open Pardon implies an Assurance and Evidence of a Pardon , which many a Believer wants . Well , if we want Assurance , we are to pray that it may be vouchsafed ; if we have Assurance , we are still to pray , that it be continned . A Prayer for a pardon is never out of Season . Conclusion 3. The sleep of Death , brings upon men so great a change , that they had need make sure of a Pardon before they are overtaken with it . To set this Conclusion home , there are three Assertions , which methinks may sound like so many Claps of the loudest Thunder , in the Ears of all this Numerous Auditory ; but especially of that poor man , that must never come within these Walls again ▪ Assertion 1. The Death of Men , is a kind of sleep unto them . This is a Scheme of speaking used by the Holy Spirit of God. Death is a Sleep to the Godly : therefore it was said in Iohn 11 : 11 , 12. Our Friend Laz●rus s●eepeth ; Howbeit Iesus spake of his death . Death is a Sleep to the Wicked also . Hence it is said in Dan. 12. 2. many of them that sleep in the Dust shall awake , to shame and everlasting contempt . Our Burying places , are therefore not unfitly termed , Caeme●ries , or Dormitories , or Sleeping places . Thus the Psalmist feared , in Psal 13. 3. Lest I sleep , the sleep of Death . Death is a Sleep , How ? T is not for the Spirit so . A Psychopannychia , a sleeping of the Soul on Death , is too gross and sad a thing to be imagined : it is it self , a Dream . The Active Apostle would never have said , as in Phil. 1 ▪ 23. I desire to be dislodged and be with Christ ; if he should have had nothing to do but Sleep in the Lodging which he was thus desirous to go unto . Let no man imagine that his departed Soul shall become stupid and senseless ▪ and with out all Apprehensions after Death . God forbid it should be so ! N●r do YOU that are here a dying Prisoner , expect that within a few Hours , you shall be fallen into a Deep Sleep of all your Faculties . No , the Souls of M●n at the hour of Death , do rather begin to Awake out of the Slumbers and Phan●a●ms , which they are here buried in , and they have a most exquisite feeling of the condition which they then pass into . How then is Death a sleep ? T is thus for the Body . The Body then has a Rest , in a Bed ; a Rest from a million weary Travels : but as a Sleep will have an End , so this Rest will be not perpetual , not eternal ; the Resurrection when the Almighty God will call , Awake yee that ly in the Dust ! that is the Morning which will put a period thereunto . Assertion 2. The Pardon of Sin , is not after Death , a thing to be obtained . As 't is said in Isa. 38. 18 , 19. They that go down into the Pit , cannot hope for thy Truth ; The Living , the Living , he shall praise thee . Even so , The Living , the Living , he may get a Pardon , but if once a man be gone down to the Pit. he is past hope of such a thing . The Dead must cry out , as the Dying have sometimes done ▪ with a woful Desperation , 'T is all too late ! all too late ! When once a man is Dead , what is the next thing ? 'T is answered in Heb. 9. 27. After Death , the Iudgment . A Iudgment , and not a Pardon , is the thing to be then attended unto . And what kind of Iudgment will it be ? Truly , 't will be a Iudgment which no Pardon will Reverse , none can Repeal . We read an amazing property of it , in Heb. 6. ● . Eternal Iudgment ; even the Iews in their Confession of Faith call it so . When once we are Dead , we pass into a VVorld , where all is Eternal ; there we are fixed like Rocks in an astonishing Ocean of Eternity ; 't is an Eternity of VVeal , or an Eternity of Wo , nothing but Eternity which remains before us . And O how awful should the mention of Eternity , Eternity ! be to YOU , forlorn and setter'd man , who , if you do not get a Pardon of the Great God , before this week be ou● , must unto all Eternity be deprived of it . Assertion 2. But infini●e and Horrible Woes must be the Portion of those whom Death find● Vnpardoned . A● the Prophet said , Wo unto the Wicked , even so I say , Wo unto the Vnpardoned , it shall be ill with him , if Death find him so . It is testify'd unto us , in Rom. 6. 23. The wages of sin is Death . Our Sins are every Day crying in the Ears of the Lord of Hosts , pay us our wages , pay us our wages ! When Death arrives unto an Unpardoned Man , then pay-day comes , and the Wages of Death and Hell for ever , are pay'd unto the Sinner , whom 't is due unto . That Good Man took it for granted , If I be Wicked , wo unto me ! So may a man upon the Brinks of Death [ and ONE of you is very certainly so ] assure himself , Wo unto me , if I now be found Vnpardoned ! Then He that made me will not have mercy on me , and He that formed me , will show me no Favour . Where Sin is the Needie , there Destruction is the Thred ; if a pardon have not cut it off , before the T●●ed of our Lives be broken , Wo to us ! Nothing will then remain for an Unpardoned Sinner , but A Fearful Expectation of a Fiery Indignation to devour him ; Nothing will remain , but Everlasting Fire with the Divel and his Angels ; Nothing will remain , but , The Worm which Dyeth not and the Fire which never shall be Quenched . But no Tongue ma● Express or Heart conceive , the Dolo● , the Torment , and Anguish of that Estate , which after Death is reserved for the Unpardoned . By the Help of an Exalted Fancy , a man may represent unto himself , Racks , and Boots , and Fires , and Rivers of Ardent Brimstone and Running Bel-metal , to cruciate a Malefactor in , but all of them are little things in comparison of , That which is the portion of the Vnpardoned , and the Heritage appointed unto Him by God. As One in Trouble of Conscience for Sin , hearing some Discourse about Burning to Death , cryed out , This is but a Metaphor to what I feel ! Truly , the most hideous Tortures in the world , are but Metaphors unto the terrible Blows and Wounds , which with immediate Impressions of Divine Indignation , will in the other world , be inflicted , upon the Unpardoned World without End. Indeed , as a Painter being asked to draw unto the Life , the Horrors of the Spanish , Inquisition , only besmeared his Table with Blood , intimating that the Thing was too Bloody to be otherwise Described . So , could I cover my Pulpit with nothing but Blood and Fire , it would give some little expressive Characters of what the Vnpardoned at their Death are Doom'd unto . But all words are here swallowed up . What Remains must be the APPLICATION Of the Truths which have been thus cleared unto us . And 1. There is an USE of these things which every one of us All are to be addressed with . 'T is this ; Let every man among you seek , and Secure a Pardon before the Sleep of Death shall overtake you . We all own our selves to be Sinners before that God , whose Eyes are like a Flame of Fire . It was begg'd , by one , and may be begg'd by us all , as in Psal , 19. 12 , 13. Cleanse thou me from Secret Sins , keep back thy Servant also from presumptuous Sins . Besides , the Corruption brought with us into the world , which Concupiscence the Apopostle to the Romans , in two or three Chapters together , calls by the Name of SIN more than twice seven times ; there have been Actual Sins of all sorts , which we have defiled our selves withal . And besides our presumptuous sins many thousands of times Repeated in our Lives , whereof I may say to every man , as once 't was said unto One , Thou knowest the wickedness which thy own Heart , is privy to ; there are also our Secret Faults which every day , without Humble Recollections , we fall into . Some Sin thro' Ignorance ; and thus do many among us , with whom Clip'd Oathes are such frequent Things . Their common interjection is Marry ; and they think not , that they Swear by the Virgin Mary : ever now and then , a God so , passes from them , and they do not think that they swear , by Gods Soul , in speaking so . Others do sin thro' Carelesness , and Heedlesness : and hence they let more Spiritual Sins wonderfully have Dominson over them ; Pride , Passion , Malice , and By-Ends , do strangely carry them away . In short , it is impossible to reckon up , how many Regards there are , wherein we have cause to Acknowledge before the Great God , Father , we have sinned ! But why then do not we seek a pardon for our many and our mighty Sins ? know we not , That we shall quickly Sleep in the Dust ? As we are Sinners , we are also Mortal ; and we are Mortal Sinners too . Let me then urge a few Counsils upon you all ; and Let That man who is now just upon taking an Eternal Farewel of such Counsils , give ● very particular Attention thereunto . Counsel 1. Seek a Pardon , and seek it EARNESTLY . O be in Good Earnest , & ( to speak Scripturally ) be in Agonies about this Grand Concern . To awaken your zeal hereabout . Consider , The vast Blessings and Comforts which a Pardon is accompanied withal . T is an iterated Exclamation about a pardoned Man in Psal. 3. ● 1 , 2. O the Blessednesses of such a man There are Blessednesses in this Life which a pardon will bring unto us . A pardon will be the Sugar of all our mercies . This was that which made Health , to be Health indeed unto Hezekiah ; he could not only say , I am alive and Healthy ! but he could say therewithal , as in Isai. 38. 17. Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back . A Pardon will also be the sweetner of all our Troubles . It will be a piece of wood from the Cross of our Lord Jesus , to dulcifie the waters of Marah , whi●h are usually so bitter to us . When a man lay sick of a sore Disease , this Word was enough to make his Bed for ever easy to him , in Ma● . 9. 3 ▪ Son , be of good cheer , thy Sins be Forgiven thee . But there are more marvellous Blessednesses which a pardon brings in the Life to come ▪ 〈◊〉 a Link which the Apostle finds , it ▪ ( that which the Ancients call ) The Golden Chain of Salvation , Rom. 8. 30. Whom he Iustified , Them he also Glorified . There is no less than a Kingdom to follow upon a Pardon . Tho' the Sinner were here in the Fetters of Affliction , yet his very Chains will be turned into Crowns , when once a Pardon has made him capable thereof . O 'T is well worth your while , to be in Earnest , about so Desirable a Thing as this ! What shall I say more ? A Malefactor once receiving Sentence of Death , did with a most Earnest Noise cry to the Iudge for mercy ; and being rebuked , for being so clamorous , replyed , Why , it is for 〈◊〉 , it is for my Life●l and shall not ● be in Earnest for it . ? So , and more th●n that , may I say concerning a Pardon from the Hands of God ; Seek it ; it 〈◊〉 for the life of a precious 〈◊〉 Immortal 〈◊〉 which is worth your being in 〈…〉 . Counsel 2. Seek a Pardon , and seek it PRESENTLY . Be able to say , concerning your Seeking a Pardon from , as the Psalmist said about his Keeping the Precept of , the Eternal God ; I made Hast , and did not Delay to do it . To awaken your Hast here-about . Consider the Incredible Dangers of all Delays . Your main Business is to become well provided of a pardon for your Sins . Let me now say unto you , as in 2 Cor. 6. 2. Behold , Now is the Accepted Time , Behold Now is the Day of Salvation ! If you slip th●s N●w , you may never have another ; you may miss of Acceptance and Salvation for ever more . O do not say , as 〈◊〉 Unhappy Faelix did I 'll concern my self about these matters at a more convenient season ; for a More convenient Season will never com● The Great God says , To Day ! and our To morrow , cannot be a more convenient season than that which the all-wise God hath pointed us unto . You have Now about you , a thousand conveniencies for the getting of a Pardon , which no Season hereafter will have blowing in the Sails thereof . Nay t is possible , you may never have any other season at all . We are told , in Eccl. 9. 12. Man knoweth not his time . We are bid in Prov. 27. 1. Boast not thy self of Tomorrow . We do not know that the ●ime which is future , will ever come to be present with us , and he was but a well-advised man , who could say , I have not had a To morrow , for these many years . It was a prudent Admonition given by a Rabbi to a Scholar , among the Jews , Child , Be sure to Repent at least a day before you Dy. That person is worse than Mad who does not make sure of this . But you cannot make sure of 〈◊〉 , if you do not Repent within the 〈◊〉 three or four hours that are now before you . If any man propound an Hereafter unto himself , to make sure of a Pardon in , I would say unto him , Thou Fool , This Night thy Soul may be required of thee . And let me add the words once used in a case of sudden and extream Hazzard , save thy self to Night , for To morrow thou mayest be Slain . Counsil . 3. Seek a pardon , and seek it HOPEFULLY . Despair not of it , but that your sins which have been like Scarlet , may yet become as Wool , and that your sins , which have been as Crimson may become like Snow . To quicken this Hope in your Souls . Consider the Boundless Mercy of the infinite God. It may be that your sins have had most bloody Aggravations ; as being against much Light , and much Love , and against very solemn Vows unto the contrary . Yet a Pardon is attainable , if you slight it not . What is Gods Design , in our Pardon ? it is to magnifie His Grace , and ( as the Apostle speaks ) that he may Commend His Love. Well then , then greater our Pardon is , the greater will Gods Glory be . Hence it was the plea of the Psalmist , in Psal. 25. 11. O Lord , Pardon my Iniquity , for it is great . What a FOR is that ? How strange an Argument is this ? The Despairing Soul thinks , God will not Pardon my Iniquity FOR it is Great . But if we really Turn to God , the greatness of our sins will become no less than a plea for the Pardon of them . For Great Sinners will give Great praises , if they may tast of his pardoning mercy . Be not then Discouraged from industrious endeavours hereabout ; but remember , that when our Lord Jesus hath said , in Ioh. 6 37. Him that cometh to me , I will in no wise cast out ; None of our Names are excepted there . Remember also that there are some now Triumphing with God in Heaven that once were guilty of the very same Sins which We are now terrified withal . Where is Abraham , that once was an Idolater ? what became of Menasseh , the Conjurer ? and of Magdal●n the Strumpet ? Is it not an Epitaph written by the Apostle upon the Grave of Rahab , Rahab the Harlot perished not ? yea , did not even some of those that Murder'd the Lord Jesus Christ Himself , afterwards partake in the pardoning vertue of His Blood , which with wicked Hands they had been shedding of ? see also 1 Cor. 6. 9 , 10 , 11 , And why may not YOV come to be pardoned as well as the● , if you tread in their steps , by a serious and sedulous making after it ? Perhaps you have been ready to Sin. But it is an Attribute of God , in Neh. 9. 17. He is ready to pardon . Have you gone on a great while in Sin , and grown old and gray , and horribly Ripe in your Evil wayes ? yet hear that Charm , in Ier. 3. 1. Thou hast played the Harlot with many Lovers , yet Return unto Me saith the Lord. In the primitive times there was one Victorius , a very old Man , converted unto Christianity : the Church would not receive him for some time , for thought they , Old Sinners do not use thus to turn and Live : But he evidenced the Reality of his Conversion , so that they sang Hymns about it , in the Christian Assemblies , and it was every where proclaimed , Victorius is become a Christian ! Victorius is become a Christian ! Even so may it come to be a shout over the oldest Sinner among you all , That Old Wretch has got a Pardon after all ! Behold I have an Order to make an Offer of a Pardon within these Walls this Day ; and in the Name of the Eternal King , I make it unto every Soul among the many hundreds of People here . A Preface once Angrily made by Moses , let me Chearfully and Ioyfully make th●● Day ; Hear ye Rebels : But that which I thus Preface is , The glorious King ●f Heaven will receive every one of you to Mercy , if you will now at last lay down your Arms. I am to assure you There is Hope in Israel concerning this thing . Do not say with them , in Eze. 7 3 : 11. Our Hope is lost . No , to all your other Sins , I beseech you add not that of Despair , which will be at least equal to the greatest of them , which you have already perpetrated . What a nefandous Blasphemy was that of Spira , one of whose Roarings was , My Sin is greater than the Mercy of God! That is the Cursed Language of Despair , which let no man indulge ! Don't connt the Day of yet over with you . Saiest thou ? I am afraid the Spirit of God has done striving with me ? nay , if thou art afraid of it , then it is not yet come to pass ; He may be striving in those very Fears . Saist thou , I fear I have committed the Vnpardonable sin ? If thou fear it , then thou hast never Done it . They that are conscienciously solicitous and suspicious about it , are yet Clear from the great Transgression . O then come to God at the Door Hope thus opened for you . Counsel 4. Seek a Pardon , and seek it BELIEVINGLY . It is to be Enjoy'd by none but a Believing Soul. To Excite this Faith. Consider , The proper and only Gospel-way , to a pardon . 'T is by Faith ; as we are minded in Rom. 5. 1. We are Iustify'd by Faith. We must Request , and Expect our Pardon to come swimming down unto us in the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ alone ; and we must keep our Eye upon Him , under that Notion , in John 1. 29. The Lamb of God which takes away the Sin of the World. We must look upon our Pardon as purchased and procured for us , by the Death of our Lord Jesus Christ , who in the Eternal Covenant of Redemption Engag'd unto His Father , That He would make His own Soul an offering for the Sins of all His Chosen ones . We are to take the Merits of the Lord Jesus Christ , as they are profered unto us in the Tenders of the Gospel ; and lay the whole Stress of our Guilty Souls thereupon for ever . It is said in 1 John 1. 7. The Blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth us from all Sin. Wherefore we must Renounce all Dependence upon any Righteousness of our own for our pardon . Let us not place any Trust , in any Good Works , or in any Good Frames of our own , as tho' they could render the Holy God propitious to us . It is said in Job 9. 2 , 3. How should man be Iust with God ? If He will contend with him , he cannot answer Him one of a thousand . The Iews give this Exposition of it ; The pleas which men fetch from any Good thing in themselves , for the pardon of their sins , are so weak , and so trifling , and so foolish , that the Great God would scorn to give an Answer to one among a Thousand of them . Alas , we must not so much as ascribe the Inclinations of God to Impute the Righteousness of Jesus Christ unto us , ●nto any Humiliations and Reformati●ns which we may be dispos'd unto . We are to ly before the Lord , as Loathsome , Undone , Wretched Creatures , and Shout Grace ! Grace ! concerning all the Methods of our pardon . Here , to speak as Ierome of old , All Hands are Dissolved , because nothing done by our Hands will be found to answer the Righteousness of God. It was a thing prescribed in Ancient Directiores for the Visitation of the Sick , that the Sick Man should be taught to say , O my God , I now place the Death of the Lord Iesus Christ , between me and my Sins . Behold , words fitted for every Sin-sick Soul ! What else can we say , seeing we are told in Acts 26. 18. Men receive the Forgiveness of Sins , and are Sanctify'd by Faith in Christ Iesus . And hence even one of the greatest Giants among the Romish Philistines , having argued a great while , for the Interest of our own Merits , in the pardon of our Sins , at last he comes to that memorable issue of all [ Tutissimum est ] By Reason of the uncertainty of our own Righteousness , and the Danger of vain Glory , 't is the safest course to Repose our whole Trust , in the Mercy and Grace of God alone . Indeed ! I pray , why then did you , Bellarmine , Dispute with so long and strong a Sophistry , against the safest course in the World ? I beseech you , Let none of us take any other course for the pardon of our Sins . Counsel 5 Seek a Pardon , and seek it PENITENTLY . And there are especially Two Expressions of Repentance , which we are to be exercised in , They are conjoyned in Prov. 28. 13. He that Confesseth , and Forsaketh his Sins , shall find Mercy . VVherefore , 1. Confess all your Sins , if you would have the pardon of them . It was said upon a devout purpose of Confession , in Psal. 32. 5. I said , I will Confess my Transgressions unto the Lord , and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin. How much more , will an exact performance of it , have such a Consequence ? In some Cases our Sins must be confessed unto Men. Indeed , our secret Sins must not be divulged , until God Himself have in a manner brought them out ; but then we are by our own ingenuous Confessions to perfect the Discovery , So David , so Ionah thought , tho' they could say unto God , Against thee , thee only have I sinned ; scarce any but God being privy to their Miscarriages . And thus Achan , when others were made Sufferers by his being a Sinner , and God was pointing at him as the Troubler of all the Neighbourhood , his Duty then was that , My Son , Confess and Give Glory to God. But be sure , Sins committed before Men , must be Confessed unto Men. VVhen Ioseph● Brethren had been Brethren in Iniquity , they heard one another with a bitter Confession saying , We are verily Guilty ! When the Publicans and Souldiers & such people , that had sinned publickly of old , came to a better sense , they Confessed their sins , no doubt a● publickly as they could . We must give all men to see that we do not Approve of Sin , by our taking shame to our selves for what sin they have seen us overtaken with , and like the Convicted Leper crying out , Vnclean , Vnclean ! But in all Cases , our sins must be confessed unto God ; who knows them all ; and whom they have all affronted and ●●used , It is said in 1 John 1. 9. If we Confess our Sins , He is Faithful and Iust to forgive us our Sins . We are to confess our sins before the God of Heaven , both very particularly , and very sincerely . We may do well to take a Catalogue of Duties Required , and Sins Forbidden , in all the Commandments of God ; and Examining by that Glass , what Spots we have had in our Hearts and Lives , we should Bewayl them all before God. And Bewayl them , without any Excuses or Defences to Extenuate them , in our Lamentations . An Vpright man , lies in the Dust ; Let us lay our selves there , and so Enlarge upon our own Vileness , as becomes , A Spirit without Guile . Such a Confession as this , must be made if we would have any marks of a pardoned Soul upon us . 2. Forsake all your Sins , if you would make Genuine your Confession of them . When you have once Vomited up your Sins by Confessing of them , O do not return to them , as , A Dog to his Vomit . Come to say , as in Job 34. 31. I will not offend any more ; and study to Do what you say . As , The Burnt Child will dread the Fire , So let us Dread all the Sins which our Souls have been scorched with ; and let us not espouse any Way of wickedness . If any of us will go on still in our Sins , let us not forget what will come of it ; no less truly than that in Psal. 68 21. God shall wound the Head of such an one , as goeth on still in his Trespasses . But O what horrible wounds are those which the Omnipotent Hand of the Great God shall be the Inflicter of ! Do not venture to go on in any course of Sin ; but be able to say , I hate every false way ; and especially , be able to say , I kept my self from mine Iniquitie . Albeit any Sin may have been as dear as a Right-eye , or a Right-hand unto you , nevertheless , Away with it ! Whatever bad course you have heretofore been us'd unto , abhor it now , with a very hearty and zealous Detestation ; and say , What have I any more to do with Idols ? 'T is a New Life that we are now to be studious of ; and we may not promise a pardon to our selves , while we continue in Sin. Tho' God at first Iustify the Vngodly , yet he will not let a Iustified man remain ungodly any more ; no he teaches him to Deny all ungodliness , and Live Godlily , Soberly , and Righteously in this present Evil World. II. But there is a very particular USE of these things , to be Regarded by one among us , who is never to see the light of another Sabbath more . T is Hugh Stone , that I am now more immediately concerned with ; and therefore let him , as a man just come unto the very side of the black River of Death , give earnest heed , unto what shall now be said before we part . Unhappy Man ; you must now Dy before your time , for your being wicked ●vermuch , and because you have been a Man of Blood , you must not Live out all your Dayes . I am a little to invert the Words of my Text , in my Speech ●nto you , and say , Why don't you seek 〈◊〉 have your Transgression pardoned , and your Iniquity taken away ? For you shall sleep in the Dust , before this Week be out , and if we seek you next Friday Morning , you shall not be among us . T is a great Favour of God unto you ▪ that you have liberty to hear a Sermon or two ; before the Execution which you are Sentenced unto ; your Monstrous Hands hurried your poor Wife out of the World with a greater and more cruel Expedition . You may lament it with an inexpressible Bitterness , that you have no better improved those hundreds of Sermons which you have enjoyed heretofore . But I now beseech you , let not one more be lost . You are Hearing for your last ; O let it be as for your Life : Look out for a Pardon before it be too late , and let not the Divels cheat you of a Never-dying Soul. Every Drop of that innocent Blood in which you have imbrued your merciless Hands has a Tongue in it ; and it makes a fearful hideous Clamour in the Ears of the Great God , saying , Vengeance , O Lord , Vengeance on the cruel Murderer ! Methinks , you should be concerned for a Saving Interest in that Blood , that speaks better things Nothing but the Blood of the Lord Jesus , will drown the voice of that horrible Cry. This Blood speaks for , A Pardon , to them , whom it belongs unto 〈◊〉 O do you now speak for a Title to that Blood ; I say again , Before it be too late ! What shall I say , that may stimulate the Christward motions of you● Fettered Soul ! I am to tell you , First , That your Slit is very Great . The Sin , for which you now stand Condemned , is , a sin of a deep & bloody Dye ▪ Murder is the most Barbarous and Divelish , among all the Crimes that are Iniquities to be punished by the Iudge . Will a Wolf kill a Wolf ? no , and the very Bears agree among themselves . But shall a Man than be worse than a Wolf unto a Man ? If , He that loves another fulfils the Law , 't is easy to tell what he does , that Murders another . The most Wretched Pagans have observed of the Murderer , That Vengeance will not suffer him to Live. But your Murder is one hardly to be parallel'd in an Age ! 'T is said , No Man ( if he have but the Heart of a MAN in him ) ever hated his own Flesh. What then are you , that have Murdered yours ? Find a Name for yourself , if you think it possible ! You have Murdered Her whom you should have Loved above all the world ; Her whom you should have Cherished with all the Kindness and Goodness of an Holy Conversation ; Her whom you should have been willing even your self to have Dy'd for the preservation of . And with Her 't is said , you have Murdered an Infant , which never saw the Light. This is your Sin. And Doubtless , they were not few or small Sins , for which God left you unto This. You had long before , been guilty of those Impious both Omissions and Commissions , which gave the Divel at last a very entire Possession of you . O Consider of them all ; a●d especially Trouble your own Soul , for your Unbelief in Rejecting the Saviour of it . You have sat long under the Gospel ; but you have Refused , yea you have Crucify'd the blessed Redeemer , who therein besought you to be Reconciled unto God. How should the Remembrance of this be to you , as the Wormwood and the Gall , and cause your Soul to be Humbled in you . I am to tell you , Next , That your Case is very sad . Look round about , and say , Is there any Sorrow like your Sorrow ? Your House ; you have Troubled it , and it is turned upside down by what you have done ; and , what Anguish , what Horrour , have you fill'd the Hearts of your scattered Children with ? Your Name ; you have Blemish'd it , it must Rot , without a Grave-stone among Civil People , & you must hereafter be known by this Description , The Man that Murdered his Wife . Your Body ; it has undergone the pains of Chains and Gaols , & there is a little more pain reserved for it , before it feed the Worms . But above all , your SOUL , your Soul , is brought into Dangers too affrighting to be patiently thought upon . What is it that the Word of God , pronounces upon the Murderer ? No Murderer has Eternal Life . It says , The Murderer shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God. It says , The Murderer shall have his portion in the Lake that burns with fire and Brimstone . Surely , Thy very Heart must be moved out of its place , to hear of such an End as this , which indeed will never have an End What think you of Changing your Fetters , for the Chains of Darkness , in the Dismal Vault below ? What think you of changing your Prison , your Dungeon , for the Outer Darkness , in which there is gnashing of Teeth for eevermore ! Truly , it becomes you to lay your self in the Dust , and cry out , Wo is unto me , that I have Sinned ! I may tell you Thirdly , That your TIME is very short . You may not Entertain the least Thought of having your Life now prolonged in the world ; the very World , will be defiled if you continue in it . Were there a City of Refuge among us , which you were fled into , yet we ought to fetch you thence , and see you made a Sacrifice . The Great God has Required this co●cerning you ; Let him hasten to the Pit , Let no man stay him ; and you must before this Day S●'nnight be gone , thither , Whence you cannot Return . As it was said unto a better man than you , Set thy House in order , for thou shalt Dy and not Live. Thus , I would say to you , that cannot possibly set your Desolate House in order any more , Set thy Soul in order , for thou shalt Dy before this Week expire , Undone man , where shalt thou be within a few Hours ? Tho' this Day Se'nnight , you should Roar , Lord , Lord , One Sabbath more ! or , Lord , Lord , One Sermon more , and one Season more ! it will be in vain for ever and ever . And yet let me tell you , Lastly , That there is a May be of Mercy for you . Tho' with Cain , you have been a Murderer ; yet let not the out-cry of Cain be with you , My sin is greater than can be forgiven . You may be made a Manasseh , for Blessedness , as you have been such an one for Wickedness . A Pardon is to be had , if you slight it not ; and how should that mel● your very Heart within you ? In an English Plantation , that is not far from New-England , a while ago , there were two or three Men● Condemned to D● , as I have heard , for Piracy . After their Condemnation they broke Prison , and fled into the Woods ; from whence , after some weeks , they returned of their own Accord , and Surrendred themselves unto the Authority , saying , We got away only that we might have time to make our peace with God , and get the pardon of our Sins assur'd unto us , which thro' Grace , we have done , and now we tender our Lives , to satisfie the Justice of the Law. The Iudges were so pleased with this Ingenuity , that first they bestow'd a Reprieve on them , and then procur'd a Pardon for them ▪ For your part , you are utterly & for ever uncapable of a Pardon , from the Hands of Men ; but were you in earnest about it , you might yet get a Pardon from the Hands of God without flying any whither , but unto the Horns of the Altar , the Lord Jesus for it . One which Died of Bleeding had that Expression about the Blood of the Lord Jesus , One Blood kills me and another saves me . Truly , as the Blood of the person whom you have Murdered calls for your Death , so the Blood of our dearest Jesus will bespeak no less than eternal Blessedness for you , if by impenitence you put it not away . Our Lord said once to one that was Hanging on a Tree , Thou shalt be with me in Paradise . You may go from the Gallows to a Kingdom , if after your abominable doings , you yet will but consent unto the Terms of the New Covenant . But I must acq●aint you , that the only Remedy for you , is to carry a distressed Soul unto the Lord Redeemer , who is Exalted to be a Prince & Saviour ; O look unto him , whose call unto us is , Look unto me ! Look unto Him , and Sigh , and say , Lord , grant unto me , both Repentance and Remission of sins . And while you are thus looking to Him , study to do some Remarkable Thing for the Honour and Glory of God , and for the warning of such as are walking in those wayes , which have brought you to this , That Men clap their Hands at you , and hiss 〈…〉 of your place . This is the least you 〈◊〉 do by way of Gratitude unto Him 〈◊〉 has made you so capable of a Pardon 〈◊〉 you are . I have done . But O that you ma● not be Hard-hearted any more ! 〈◊〉 have the Name of STONE ; God forbid , that you should have the qualilities and properties of a Stone , in your obduration . May these Words 〈…〉 as deep into your●heart as your 〈◊〉 did into the Throat of your 〈◊〉 Wife ! may the God of 〈◊〉 therefore take away from you the 〈◊〉 of stone , and at the same time give you the white Stone of Absolution from 〈◊〉 many thousands of Sins , with which you stand charged in the Books of hi● Remembrance . And may the good God sanctifie the condition of this Man unto us all ; that all of us may learn to Abhor and Avoid Sin , and be thankful for the Grace without which , Lord , what should th● very best of us all Degenerate unto ! FINIS . THE Character and Carriage and Execution of Hugh Stone . THe foregoing Sermon having been Preached unto the Guilty Murderer , I thought it my Duty to observe what operation the Truth and Word of God might have upon him ; and to answer his own desires , that I would assist him in the last minutes of his life ; nor was I altogether ignorant that the Labours that the Famous Perkins used with Prisoners , were so successful , as to encourage those that should make an Example of them . I have hardly met with so unintelligible a man , as this Hugh Stone . He could and would frequently speak very well , but with many very Reasonabl● things which he uttered , he mingle as great Impertinencies . I know no whether the use of his Reaso● were not sometimes disturbe● by , the Horrour of his mind ; fo● he thought himself sometimes haunte● with the Ghost of his Murdered Wife . But his Conversation in the Prison before his Condemnation , was in diverse things very Scandalous ; and I could wish there had been more exactness in his Repentance afterwards . His Passions upon any Provocation were so inordinate , as that we did not wonder to see what he was come unto . And as on the one side , I never saw a Man express less fear of Dying , so on the other , I never heard a Man express more care about every Trifle , which he counted himself concerned in . There was a Minister that walk'd with him to his Execution ; and I shall insert the principal Passages of the Discourse between them ; in which the Reader may find or make something useful to himself , what ever it were to the Poor Man who was more immediately concerned in it . Minister . I am come to give you what Assistance I can , in your taking of the Steps , which your eternal Wea● or Wo , now depends upon the well or ill taking of . Hugh Stone , Sir , I Thank you , and I beg you to do what you can for me . Min. Within a very few Minutes your immortal Soul must appear before God the Iudge of all . I am heartily sorry ▪ you have lost so much time since your first Imprisonment : you 〈◊〉 need use a wonderful Husbandry of the little piece of an Inch 〈…〉 remains . Are you now prepared to stand before the Tribunal of 〈◊〉 H. S. I hope I am . Min. And what Reaso●● 〈◊〉 that Hope ? H. S. I find all my Sins made so ●i●ter to me , that if I were to have 〈◊〉 given me this Afternoon , to Live such a Life , as I have Lived heretofore , I would not accept of it ; I had rather Dy. Min. That is well , if it be True. But suffer me a little to search into the Condition of your Soul. Are you sensible , That you were Born a Sinner ? That the Guilt of the First Sin committed by Adam , is justly charged upon you ? And that you have hereupon a Wicked Nature in you , full of Enmity against all that is Holy , and Iust , and Good ? For which you deserved to be destroyed , as soon as you first came into this World. H. S. I am sensible of this . Min. Are you further sensible , 〈◊〉 you have Lived , a very ungodly Life ? That you are guilty of thousands of Actual Sins , every one of which deserves the Wrath and Curse of God , both in this Life , and that which is to come ? H. S. I am sensible of this also Min. But are you sensible , That ●ou have broken all the Laws of God ? You know the Commandments . Are you sensible , That you have broken every one of Them. H. S. I cannot well answer to that . My Answer may be liable to some Ex●eptions . — This I own , I have broken every Commandment on the Account mentioned by the Apostle James ; That he who breaks one is Guilty of all , But not otherwise . Min. Alas , That you know your self no better than so ! I do affirm to you , that you have particularly broken every one of the Commandments ▪ and you must be sensible of it . H. S. I cann't see it . Min. But you must Remember , That the Commandment is Exceeding Broad ; it reaches to the Heart as well as the Life : it includes Omissions as well as Commissions , and it at once both Requires and Forbids . But I pray , make an experiment upon any one Commandment , in which you count your self most Innocent : and 〈◊〉 whether you do not presently conf●s your self Guilty thereabout . I may not leave this point slightly passed ever with you . H. S. That Commandment , Thou shalt not make to thy self any Graven Image ; How have I broken it ? Min. Thus : You have had undue I●ages of God in your Mind a thousand times . But more than so ; that Commandment not only forbids our using the Inventions of Men in the Worship of God , but it also requires our ●sing all the Institutions of God. Now have not you many and many a time turned your back upon some of those glorious Institutions ? H. S. Indeed , Sir , I confess it ? I see my sinfulness greater than I thought it was . Min. You ought to see it . God help you to see it ! There is a boundless Ocean of it . And then for that SIN , which has now brought a shameful Death upon you , 't is impossible to Declare the Aggravations of it ; hardly an Age will show the like . You have professed your sel● Sorry for it ! H. S. I am heartily so . Min. But your Sorrows must be after a godly Sort. Not meerly because of the miseries which it has brought on your outward Man , but chiefly for the Wrongs and Wounds therein given to your own Soul ; and not only for the Miseries you have brought on your self , but chiefly for the Injuries which you have done to the Blessed God. H. S. I hope my Sorrow lies there . Min. But do you Mourn without Hope ▪ H. S. I thank God , I do not . Min. Where do you see a Door of Hope ? H. S. In the Lord Iesus Christ , who has died to save Sinners . Min. Truly , There is no other Name by which we may be saved ? The Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ , is that alone , in which you may safely anon appear before the Judgment Seat of God. And that Righteousness is by the marvellous and infinite Grace of God , offered unto you . But do you find , that as you have no Rightetousness , so you have no Strength ? that you cannot of your self move or stir , towards the Lord Jesus Christ , though you justly perish if you do not Run unto Him ? that it is the Grace of God alone which must enable you to accept of Salvation from the Great Saviour ? H. S. Sir , my Case in short is This , I have laid my self at the Feet of the Lord Iesus Christ for my Salvation ; and had it not been for His meer Grace and Help , I had never been able to do That . But there I have laid and left my self ; I have nothing to plead , why he should accept of me . If He will do it I am happy , but if He will not , I am undone for ever ; it had been good for me that I never had been Born. Min. And you must justifie Him if He should Reject you . You surprize me , with at once giving me so much of the Discourse , which all this while I have been labouring for ▪ I can add but this ! The good Lord make you sincere in what you say ! — Your Crime lay in Blood ; & your Help also , That lies in Blood. I am to offer you the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ , as that in which you may now have the Pardon of all your sins . Now you may try the sincerity of your Faith in the Blood of the Lord Jesus for a Pardon , by This. Have you an Hope in that Blood , for all the other saving effects of it ? shall I expl●in what I mean ? H. S. Do Sir. Min. The Blood of the Lord Jesu● , 〈◊〉 not only Sin Pardoning Blood , but 〈◊〉 Soul-Purifying and Heart-softening ●●ood . It embitters all Sin unto the 〈◊〉 , that it is applied unto , and 〈◊〉 every lust in such a Soul. Are are you desirous of this ? H. S. With all my Heart ? Min. The Lord make you so . The Lord Seal your Pardon , in that Blood , which is worth ten thousand Worlds ! But what will you do for that God , who has given you these hopes of a Pardon ? you must with a Holy ingenuity now do something for the Honour of that God , whom you have sinned so much against . H. S. What ' shall I do ? Min. Why , Confess and Bewail the Sins that have undone you , and publickly Advise , and Exhort , and Charge all that you can , to take heed of such evi● wages . H. S. I will endeavour to do it ●s God shall help me . Min. I pray tell me plainly what special Sin , do you think it was , t●a● laid the first Foundation of your D●struction ? where did you begin to lea●● God ▪ and Ruine your self ? H. S. It was Contention in my F●mily . I had been used unto something of Religion : and I was once careful about the Worship of God , not only with my Family , but in secret also . But upon Contention between me and my wife , I left off the wayes of God , and you see what I am come to . Min. I would pray you to Vomit up all Sin , with a very hearty detestation . You are going ( if I may so speak ) to disgorge your Soul ; if you do not first cast up your Sin , if your Soul and your Sin come away together you cannot but know something of the dismal condition which it must pass into . O what cause have you to fa●● out with Sin forever ? it has been your only Enemy . Here is the only Revenge which you may allow in your self . You must now bear any Mu●●ce against any one man in the World , 〈◊〉 forgive even those that have done 〈◊〉 the greatest Injuries . Only upon 〈◊〉 , be as revengeful as you can : 〈◊〉 ●ould have you like Samps●n so to 〈◊〉 taking of a just Revenge , H S. I hope I shall . Min. Well , we are now but a very few paces from the place , where you must breath your last . You are just going to take a most awful Step , which has this most Remarkable in it , That it cannot be twice taken . If you go wrong now , it cannot be Recalled throughout the Dayes of a long Eternity . I can but commit you into the Arms of a Merciful Redeemer , that he may keep you from a Miscarriage , which cannot be recal'd & redress'd throughout eternal Ages . The Lord show unto you the Path of Life ! Attend unto these , as the last words that I may speak before the Prayer , with which I am immediately to take a long Farewel of you . You are now just going to be Confirmed for ever . If the Great God presently find you under the power of Prejudice against any of His Truths and Wayes , or of Enmity against what has His blessed Name upon it , you shall be fixed , and settled , and confirmed in it , until the very Heavens be no more . But they are very Terrible Plagues and Pains , which you may be sure will accompany this everlasting Disposition of your Soul. On the other side , If God now find your Soul , under the power of Inclinations to Love Him , Fear Him , Serve Him ; and to esteem the Lord Jesus above a thousand Worlds ; you shall then be Confirmed in the perfection of such a Temper , and of all the Ioy , that must Accompany it . Which of these is the Condition that I now leave you in . H. S. Sir , I hope the latter of them . Min. The Good God make it so ; and grant that I may find you at the Right hand of the Lord Jesus , in the Day of his Appearing . May this Ladder prove as a Iacobs Ladder for you , and may you find the Angels of the Lord Jesus ready here to convey your departing Soul into the Presence of the Lord. After this Discourse ; ascending the Ladder , he made the following Speech . The Last Speech of Hugh Stone . YOung Men and Maids ; observe the Rule of Obedience to your Parents ; and Servants to your Masters , according to the Will of God , & do the Will of your Masters : If you take up wicked ways , you set open a Gate to your Sins , to lead in bigger afterwards ; thou can'st not do any thing but God will see thee altho● thou thinkest thou shalt not be catched , thou thinkest to hide thy self in Secret , when as God in Heaven can see see th●e , though thou hast hid it from Man. And when thou goest to Thievery , thy wickedness is discovered , and thou ar● found Guilty . O Young Woman that is Married , and Young Man , look on 〈◊〉 here ; be sure in that Solemn Engagement , you are obliged one to another ; Ma●●iage ●s an Ordinance of God , have a care of ●reaking that Bond of Marriage-Vnion ; if the Husband provoke his Wife , and cause a Difference , he sins against God ; and so does she , in such Carriage ; for sh● is bound to be an Obedient Wife . O you Parents that give your Children in Marriage , remember what I have to say , you must take notice when you give them in Marriage , you give them freely to the Lord , and free them from that Service & Command you ought to have , yet you ought to have a tender regard to them . O thou that takest no care to lead thy life civilly and honestly , and then Committest that Abominable Sin of Murder , here is this Murderer , look upon him ; and see how many are come with their eyes to behold this man , that abhors himself before God ; that is the Sin that I abhor my self for , and defire you take Example by me ; there are here a great many young people , and O Lord , that they may be thy Servants ! Have a care , do not sin ; I will tell you , that I wish I never had had the opportunity to do such a Murder ; if you say , when a person has provoked you , I will kill him : 'T is a thous●nd to one , but the next time you will do it . Now I Commit my self into the Hands of Almighty God. His Prayer . O Lord our Good God ; thou art a Merciful God , and a Gracious and Loving Father ; Alas , that thou shouldest Nourish up Children that have 〈◊〉 against Thee ! O Lord , I must confess , thou gavest me opportunity to read thy Written Word ; Thou art also my Crea●or and Preserver ; but , Lord , I have not done according to the Offers of thy Grace ; thou hast not hid from me the opportunities of the Good Things and Liberties of thy House and Ordinances , but I have waxed wanton under the Enjoyment of them . I have given thee just cause to provoke thee to Anger , and thou hast left me to Shame , not only on my self but on my Relations . O Lord God I do confess that I have sinned against thee , and done all these Iniquities against thee , and before thine eyes . Lord , I have sinned especially against thee ; pardon my Sins of Youth ; Lord , pardon this bloody Sin I stand here Guilty of ▪ O Lord , hide not thy face from me ; I humbly beg it of thee : for there is no man 〈◊〉 Redeem his Brothers Soul , but only the Blood of Jesus Christ must do it . Let it be sufficient to satisfie for my poor Soul. I h●●e not done any thing that thou shouldest be pleased to shew me thy Love , or that I should have any thing from thee , but only Everlasting Misery . I am unworthy to come to thee ; yet Lord , for thy Mercies S●●e have pity on me . Now I am coming 〈◊〉 Iudgment , Lord , let the Arms of thy Mercy Receive my Soul , and let my sin● be Remitted ; Good Lord , let not my sin● which Condemn me here in this world , rise up to Condemn me in the World to come though they have Condemned me in this world , shew mercy , Lord , when I come be fore thy Iudgment-Seat . If my Soul be not humbled , Lord , humble it ; let my Petition be acceptable in Heaven thy Holy Mountain . I am unworthy to come into thy Presence , yet O let me come into thy Kingdom ; and deliver my Soul from Blood Guil●iness , in the Blood of Jesus Christ ▪ O let my wounded Soul mourn for my sin that hath brought me here , Sin brings Ruine to the poor Soul ; wo is unto me for mine Iniquity . If I had gone to Prayer in the morning when I committed this sin , Lord God , thou wouldest have kept back my hands from shed●ing innocent Blood : O Gracious God , Remember thou me in Mercy ; let me be an Object of thy pity and not of thy wrath ; the Lord hear me and pardon my Sins . Take care of my poor Children . I have scattered them like stragling sheep flying before the Wolf ; pity the poor Children that go like so many Lambs that have l●st their Keeter ; that they may not come to such a Death as I do 〈◊〉 Lord , for the sak● of Jesus Christ , and the Righteousness o● thy Son , accept my Soul , and receive me into the Arms of thy mercy ; that I may enjoy Everlasting Rest. Pardon all my sins ; and let the Prayers of all those that have put up their Petitions for me , be accepted for the sake of Jesus Christ. Now I am coming , now I am coming , thou mayst say , I called to thee , and thou wouldst not come ; I must say , my sin brought me here , O the World , and the corrupt nature of man , that has proved my ruine ! O Lord , Good Lord , let me enjoy Rest for my Soul. The desire of my Soul is to be with thee , in thy Kingdom , let me have a share in that Kingdom . Now is the time , Lord Jesus ; the Grave is opening its mouth ; I am now living , though dead in Stn , let my prayers be heard in heaven thy holy place ; thy hands hath made me , & I know thou can'st Save me ; hide not thy face from me ; and affect the hearts of thy people with this sad Ob●●ct , that they may labour to serve thee betimes , and may not give themselves up to profaneness and Wickedness , especially that Sin of Drunkenness , which is an in let of all Ab●minations . [ When thou hast thy head full of Drink , the Remembrance of God is out of thy heart and thou art unprepared to commit thy self and Family unto God ; thou art unfit to come into Gods Presence . I have cause to 〈◊〉 out an● be ashamed of it , that I am guilty of it , because . I gave may to that Sin m●re than any other , and then God did leave me to practise wickedness , and to Murder that dear Woman , whom I should have taken a great deal of Contentment in , which if I had done , I had not been here to suffer this Death . ] Thou art Holy , Just , and Good , and therefore O Lord have mercy on me , for the sake of thy Son pity me , now Lord , I am coming . O that I could do thee better Service . [ Many of you that behold me , I know , wish you never had seen me here . ] Lord , Receive my Soul into a better place , if it be thy blessed will , 't is a day of great Trouble with me ; my Soul is greatly Troubled ; give me one Glimpse of Com●ort in thy Kingdom ; by & by let me have one dram of thy Grace . Accept of me now at this time , 't is the last time ; Good ▪ Lord , d●ny me not , give me , as the W●man , of Sam●ri● , a Taste of that Living Wa●er that my Soul may Thirst no more . I beg it for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen . After this , he was by the Prayers of a Minister then present , Recommended unto the Divine Mercy . Which being done ●he poor man poured out a few broken Ejaculations , in the midst of which he was turned over , into that Eternity which we must leave him in . The Speech of Hugh Stone , in the Prison , the morning before his Execution . When Young People are Married they make use of Prayer in their Families , and when they Pray , they do believe there is Sincerity and Affection in their Prayer ; but when Differance between a Man and his Wise doth arise , then that doth occasion hindrance of Prayer in their Family ; and when Prayer is wholly omitted , it lets in all confusion ; and every evil work : He said . That he used to Pray in his Family , but when he did pray , it was in a formal manner , but now from the Consideration of Eternity that he was going into , he was made the more Con●iderate in his Prayers that he made , and did hope that now he had the Spirit of Prayer in his Praying . FINIS . TO Contribute a little further unto the Design of this Book , I shall here Annex Two Articles of Observations , extracted from an Hitherto-Reserved Collection of MEMORABLE PROVIDENCES . I have Recorded them in such Words ( and the Rest in such Wayes ) as these . Article . I. Act. XXVIII . 4. A Murtherer — Vengeance suffereth not to live . AMong all the perpetrators of the more hideous and enormous Impieties in the world , there is no person mor● Abhorred by the Lord , than the Murtherer 〈◊〉 and there is none so much pursued by the Lord as that bloody Monster is . Those Children of Cain , that rob their innocent Neighbours of their lives , usually ●●dure first an Hell in their own Co●●●●nces , by which Mark upon them , they are made more incapable of avoiding the Halter which they are worthy of , and that Halter is but a Sling out of which their guilty Souls are hurled into a further , a lasting , an endless Hell. very trivial are the occasions and pretences for which often this peice of Devilism is committed . No greater provocations truly , than what the two Brothers at Pad●a had , between whom there Issued first Quarrel and then a Murder , only from this Original , that on a certain evening together , one was wishing for Oxen as many as the Stars , the other was wishing for A Pasture as large as the Firmament . But the Expectations of its Concealment scarce ever escape a Lamentable Dissappointment in them who are so vain as to promise unto themselves a Secrecy and Impunity in this Villanny ; for a ●●essus will find the very Swallowes to Chirr●p out his Murder of his Father . Nor can a Temporal Recompence for this atrocious I●iquity ordinarily be avoided by the 〈◊〉 Repentance it self ; besides the V●ngeance of eternal fire , which without 〈◊〉 ●nevitably followes thereupon . 〈…〉 his soul sw●● away to Eternity in his blo●● To the innumerable Exemples of these things , which all Ages do admire , Let these be added . EXEMPLE . I. The First Murtherer of his Neighbour in New-England ( as I take it ) was one Billington at Plimouth in the year 1630. He shott a poor man that he was a mortal enemy unto , & expected that for want of Power or of People in that Infant Plantation he should have evaded the execution due to him for his Capital Offence ▪ but Justice inflicted has deserved death upon him . Exemple , II. One Mary Martin , her Father going away from hence to England , had left her in the House of one Mr. Mitten , a Married man , who became so enamoured of her as that he attempted her Chastity ▪ Such was her weakness and Folly , that she● yeilded unto the vile Temptations ; tho' with such Reluctancies , that begging of God for deliverance from the wicked ●ollic●atio●● , she pleaded , If ever she were over●●●en again , she would leave her selfe unto his 〈◊〉 , to be made a publick Exemple , Howev●● 〈◊〉 governing her self , nor Remem●●●ng her promise , with the ●●me Sin a third time was she overtaken . Afterwards going to Service in Boston , she found her self to have conceived ; but living with a favourable Mistriss , who would not allow any Suspicion or Suggestion of her Dishonesty , and thinking her self unable to bear the shame or grief of the Discovery , she wholly concealed it until the Time of her Delivery . Being then alone by her self in a dark room she used violence to destroy the Child , once and again , before she effected the unnatural Ba●barity . Hereupon she wrapt up the Infant in her Chest for fifteen days until her Master & Mistress went aboard the ship which they were Transporting themselves to England . On this Occasion she was put to remove unto another House where some that before had apprehended , now perceived that shee had lately been delivered of a C●●ld . They charging it upon her , she at first denied the Murther , & said , It was still-born , but upon search it was found in her chest , and she being made to touch the Face of it , before the Jury , the blood came fresh thereinto ; whereupon she confessed the whole Tru●● 〈◊〉 her imprisonment and at her 〈◊〉 the carried her self so Exceeding ●●●●●●penitently , that the observers had great Hopes of her true Repentance . But this was particularly remarkable , That as she acknowledged her Twice Essaying to kill her Insant before she could make an end of it ; so , through the unskilfulness of the Hang-man , they were ●ain to turn her off the Ladder Twice before she co●id expire . Exemple . III. An English Ship sailing from some-where about the Mouth of the Streig●ts , was manned with some cruel Miscreants , who quarrelling with the M●●ter & some of the Officers , turn'd them all into the Long-boat , with a small quantity of provisions , about an hundred Leagues to the westward of the Spanish Coast. These fellowes in the mean while saile for New-England , where as Providence would have it , the Master and his afflicted Company in the Long-boat arrived too ; all except one who died of their Barbarous usage . His countenance was now become terrible unto them , who though they had Es●aped the Sea , yet Vengeance would not suffer them to live ashoar , 〈◊〉 his Instance , and complaint they were ●pprehended , and the Ring-leaders of this ●●●derous Piracy had a Sentence of Death 〈◊〉 on them . The horrours which attended the Cheef of these M●●●●actors in his D●ing hours were such as exceedingly astonisht the beholders . Though he was a very stout man , yet now his Tremblings and Agonies were inexpressible . One speech let fall by him was , I have been amongst drawn sword , flying bullets , roaring Canons , amidst all which I never knew what fear meant ; but now I have apprehensions of the dreadful wrath of God in the other world , which I am going into , my soul within me is amazed at it . Loud cries the spilt blood of a Brother ; He kills himself that slayes another . Clamitat ad Caelum vox Sanguinis . Article . II. Isa. LV. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts , and let him return unto the L●rd and He will have mercy , and to our God , for He will abundantly pardon . It was once the affectionate Out-Cry of a C●ndemned but a Converted and a Comforted Malefactor , God is a great forgiver , God is a great forgiver ! It is indeed rarely seen that Bad livers to , ever become Sincere Paenitents in Old Age. When the Devils have had a Possession of many years , they plead a sort of Praescription against the Holy Spirit of God , and make their interest so strong , that very Extraordinary must be the Influences of the Grace that shall destroy it . Scripture seems to pronounce a sinner of an hundred years old to be cursed , and Experience commonly discovers a Sinner of Fifty years old to be hardened beyond all recovery . The Generality of them that are brought home to God under the constant Dispensations of the Gospel , will find that between Fifteen and Thirty is the Age in which most of the Elect become Called ones . But as nothing is more Soveraign than the Free-Grace of God , He calls both Whom and When he will ; and He leaves many Civil and Moral - people in their , Vnbelief , when He Renewes the Worst of men , and those that not only have done evil an hundred times , but likewise an hundred years been in the rebellious Tents of the Ungodly ; So nothing is more glorious than that Free-Grace which pardons without bounds , and forgives the Sins which no Conscience has vigour enough to describe all the Aggravations of . Let no man that begins to have sad Thoughts about the State of his own soul , ●espair of Mercy from God in Christ ; it reaches even to , she Chief of Sinners . It is for a Cain to roar , My sin is greater than can be forgiven ! but perphaps his Despair was not inferiour to his Murder , and , Austin well replied upon him , mentiris , Cain , Cain , Thou liest . The Temp●er that once told thee ; T is too soon , may now tell thee , T is too la●e to repent ; and thou mayest have in thy Thoughts the Voice which once a flagitious man had in his Ears , a little before he dyed , No Mercy , No Mercy ▪ But When he speaketh hard unto thee , beleeve him not . Come , and Confess and forsake all thy sins , and thou shalt have mercy . Come , and cast the Burdens of a Guilty and Wretched soul upon the Lord Jesus , and thou shalt have Rest. Unto the Greatest and the Oldest Sinners , yet , Return unto me , saith the Lord. Exemple , I. A while since , there dyed at Lancaster , a man whose name was Richard Lenten , arrived in age to so many years above an hundred , That he had lived in Wedlock with his wife for Sixty three years , and yet she was Thirty five years younger than himself ; and he was able to follow his toils at Husbandry , very livelily but about a month before his End. This man had been all his dayes a poor ignorant carnal and sottish man , and unacquainted with the very Principles of his Ca●echism , after he had satt under so many hundreds of Sermons as he had : Nevertheless , when he was about an hundred years old , God blessed the Ministry of His Word unto this mans awakening ; and he became a diligent Enquirer after the things of the life to come , and a Constant Serious Attender on all that was Religious . He arrived unto such measures of a well-informed Devotion , that the Church which was very strict in the terms of their Communion , yet received him into their Fellowship about Two years before he dy'd ▪ Wherein he continued under a good Character , so long as he continued in the World. Exemple . II. There dwelt at a Village in this Countrey , one who dyed in December 1688. This man had been remarkable for his bad Life , till he had spent fifty years in the lewd and rude Courses if notorious Ungodliness . Though he had the Benefit of a christian and pious Education , yet he had shaken off all the yokes which that had laid upon him . Hee became a foul-mouth'd Scoffer at all good men and good things ; and a great mocker of Church-Members in particular . The Vices of Drunkenness and Swearing and Lying made the Characters of his Conversation . Sabbath-Breaking and Promise-breaking , made him infamous among honest people , and his Disobedience to his Parents was not unequal to the rest of his miscarriages . Original Sin , in the furthest efforts of it , fill'd his whole man , and his whole way , for half an hundred years ; at which age he left the world ; and he had sat under & sinn'd against the meanes of Grace all this while . But yet , which you will admire to hear ! Yet this enormous liver was iudg'd to be converted unto God some few weeks before he died , The great God so blessed & owned the Ministry which he enjoyed , that the Efficacy of it on him , became conspicuous to Astonishment . He became a serious Paenitent , and so devout , so pensive , that every one saw a New-Creature in him . He mourned for all his former faults , and caused his Complaints to reach unto the Plague of his Heart as the Root of all . He reformed what was amiss in him , and applyed himself with an exceeding Vigour to the Saviour , for the Salvation of his soul. While the Grace of God was thus beginning its Impressions on him , he fell mortally sick , and it was not long before he passed out of this world with a marvellous Assurance of his Interest in a better . It were Endless to reckon up the extraordinary Expressions that fell from him , & Behaviours that he had in the sick and last dayes of his life ; but some of them were such as these . — O ( said he ) What a wonder of Mercy is it to my soul , that God halh not cast me immediately into Hell , and given me no Time to repent , or to beg for an Heart to Repent ! But 〈◊〉 Mercy hath spared a great Sinner . — The stoutest man ( said he ) that ever lived , should he but seriously think on ETERNITY , and have no Christ to fly unto , it will so sink the the Heart of him , that he could never bear it ; but the Lord will show Mercy to my distressed soul. He gave himself wholly to Prayer , and would excuse Watchers from sitting with him , that he might be at leisure for Communion with God alone . Sometimes he would give a start as he lay , and being asked the Reason of it , he said , O I have a great work to do ! and but a little time to do it ! The Conflicts which he endured in his Spirit were unutterable , under which , he● day & night kept wrestling with God for His Mercy . One morning his Brother enquiring of him how he did , he replied , O I have had as doleful a night as ever man had , I have had three great enemies this night encountering with me ; the World , the Flesh , & the Devil . I have been this night , both in Hell & in Heaven ; and I can truly say with David , all this night long I have watered my couch with my ●●ars , but as the day broke , my Saviour came & vanquished the Devil , & told him that he had no right in me , for He had Redeemed with His own Blood. To his Father once he said , I have felt a great work on my distressed soul ; This your son was lost and is found , was dead and is alive . Doleful nights have I seen ; the Thoughts of my sins did sorely oppress me , when I would be crying to my dear Saviour for His mercy , He would seem not to pitty me , but to say , Thou hast been a servant of the Devil and of thy Lust , and dost thou now come to me ? I have been calling to thee , and thou hast been hardening thy heart at my Calls , and dost thou expect mercy after all ? And then the Devil would put in , saying , Thou hast been my Vassal so long , thy Cries for Mercy are now all too late . I have also seen the face of an Angry God , and that is the most terrible thing that was ever seen . I then found no s●ay for my distressed soul , but Free-mercy ! Free-mercy ! The Lord now put under me His everlasting Arms , and gave me an heart still to pray & say , Lord Iesus , Mercy for Thy own sake , Mercy for thy Name 's sake ! My Redeemer would say , Thou art a great sinner and an old sinner ! The Answer of my soul was , Truth , Lord , but even such sinners have already found mercy at thy hands , I come to thee , for with thee the fatherless find mercy . — He would break forth into very High Expressions ; his great Comfort was fetch'd from that Promise in Ma● . 11. 28. Come to Me — and I will give you rest . He would now cry out , O the Riches of Free-grace ! There are thousands of thousands , & ten thousand times ten thousand , in the third Heaven , rejoicing over a great and an 〈◊〉 sinner coming to Glory ! O glorify Free-grace for ever . — He would say , O blessed Sickness , blessed sickness ! what a friend hast thou been to me ! and now Welcome Death ! or Wecome Life , what my dearest Redeemer please . O that I could declare to my Relations and my Neighbours ! yea that I could declare to Kings and Worlds what the Lord has done for my soul ! — He would reflect on the Humiliation of the Lord Jesus Christ , with an amazed & a transported soul ; he would break forth into a great Adoration of it , and say , O this wonderful mercy to undone sinners ! He would also make that one of his Admirations , O the glorious work of faith , which doth role it self on Christ alone ! [ He bewailed it with a peculiar Bitterness , That he had been for the change of Government . But 〈◊〉 said , he believed that God would restore 〈◊〉 us , the judges as at the first , & the counsellours as at the beginning , & pastors according to His own heart . He was likewise much concerned about the Interest of Christ in the world ; & about the Success of the Prince of Orange , whose glorious Expedition we had then by the edges , a small notice of , he talk'd in strains that seem'd surprisingly prophetical . ] His counsil to every one was , To make their Calling & Election sure . And he would often say , O I am an old sinner ▪ & & but a young Convert ! I am fifty yeers old , and have lived but seven weeks all this whi●● . To his Brethren he said , You are care full about a Garment for me under my weakness this winter , but Brothers , I have a better Garment than you can provide for me ; the long white Robe of the● Righteousness of Jesus Christ , will cover me all over . He kept praying & praising , & singing psalms till his end came ; and then being taken speechless & senseless , his friends apprehended they should hear him speak no more . Thus he lay for divers hours drawing on ; but at length he just came to himself again , and sprang up in his bed , spreading his arms abroad , as tho' going to leap into the Arms of a Redeemer , and Shouting , O my friends , Heaven rings all over at this ! They wonder at this , a great and an old sinner coming to Heaven ! Behold , in my father's house are many mansions ; if it had not been so , my Saviour would not have said it , But He is gone to prepare a place for one , O the Riches of Grace ! O glorifie Free-Grace for ever more ! And so he went away to the Rest of God. Despair not . That alone will mercy bar To faults that like the Sands & Mountains are . FINIS . ERRATUM . Page , 46. Line , 14. r. Day of Grace