will not ferve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou baft fet up. And the fame has been the Spirit of our Forerunners in the Faith; they have Overcome all the fiery darts of the Devil, whilft that Bleffed Saviour, who firft gave the Command, has ever fince inspired his Followers with Strength and Refolution to fulfil it; Fear not them

who can kill the body, and after that, Mat. x. 28. have no more that they can do; but

fear him who can caft both foul and body into hellfire; yea, I fay unto you, fear him.

Here then let us exercife our felves. Let us be ftedfaft to our Faith, and that we may be fo, Let us grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Fefus Chrift. The Seducers amongst us are many; they are diligent and watchful by any Means to draw us into their Nets; and God knows both their Religion and their Arguments, are but too much adapted to our Paffions and our Interefts, and may therefore be but too likely to prevail upon us. But, Te therefore, Beloved, feeing ye know thefe things before, beware.

Behold, I have freely fet before you this Day, Life and Death, your Duty and your Danger; and I am very confident the choice is not difficult. I fhall finish all with those words of our Blessed Mafter, Matth. x. 32. and which indeed is the Sum of all I am now exhorting you to.

Whofoever shall confefs me before Mat. x. 32,
Men, him will I alfo confefs before my
Father which is in Heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before

Men, him will

alfo deny before my

Father which is in Heaven.

33.

SER

SERMON V.

Of the Reasonableness and Terrors of the Future Judgment.

Preached at White-Hall, before the Princess of Denmark, May 12. 1688.

ACTS XXIV. 25.

And as he reafoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled; and anfwer'd, Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient feafon, I will call for thee.

A

Acts xxiii. Y. 23, &c.

S the Context at firft fight tells us, that the Perfon here fpoken of, was St. Paul; fo if we look into the foregoing Chapter, we fhall find that he had been not long before fent down from Ferufalem to Cafarea, by the chief Captain, Claudius Lyfias, upon a

Discovery that had been made to him of certain Jews who had bound themfelves under a great Curfe, not to Eat nor Drink till they had flain him.

It was none of the leaft Inftances of the blind and furious Zeal of thofe Men for their Religion, that as they thought themfelves difengaged even from all the Common Offices of Humanity to those that were not of the fame Country and Opinion with themselves; fo here they look'd upon

it to be a piece of Merit, a doing of John xvi. 2. God fervice, by any the most base and

treacherous Means that could be imagined, to perfecute and deftroy this Holy Man, meerly for having Apoftatized from it.

They faw the Mischief that he did them, and they knew not how, otherwife than by his Death, to prevent it. His Quality, his Education at the feet of one of their moft Learned Rabbins; the Zeal he once had for the Jewish worship, in oppofition to that to which he was now converted; his indefatigable Industry, in every where drawing others out of those Errors and Prejudices in which himself had been engaged; in a word, that aftonifhing Miracle, by which our Saviour Chrift himfelf from Heaven, wrought his Converfion; all thefe, as they rendred him a most useful and bleffed Inftrument of propagating the Gospel, fo did they in proportion mark him out as a peculiar Object of their Rage. And accordingly we find, that they left no Method, whether of open Violence, or private Treachery; either by falfe Accufation, or fecret Affaffination, unattempted to destroy him.

But the Providence of God was not to be overcome by the malice and wickedness of Men. And our Blessed Lord, who so wonderfully called him to

his Work, did not ceafe as wonderfully to protect and defend him in it: So that after all their Endeavours to entrap him, we find him here more fafe than ever from their Violence: In the hands of a Centurion, to fecure him from their Malice, but not to forhis acquaintance to come or minifter

Actixxiv. 23.

bid any of unto him.

V. 24.

In this ftate was our Apofile, when Felix fent for him, to hear what he could fay concerning the Faith or Gospel of Chrift. What the Particulars of that Sermon were, which upon this Occafion he made to him, we are not certainly informed. But the Sum of it is recorded in the Words of my Text, viz. That it was of Righteoufnefs, Temperance, and the Fudgment to come: And thofe propofed to him in fo plain and powerful a manner, that he was not able to diffemble the Impreffion it made upon him,

For, as be reafon'd of Righteoufnefs, Tempe rance and Judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answer'd, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient feafon, I will call for thee.

To difcourfe upon which Words, in that proper manner that I ought to do, I muft defire these two things may be observed.

"

If That the Perfon to whom St. Paul here addrefs'd himself, was not only a very wicked Man, and guilty in a more particular manner, as I fhall prefently fhew, of thofe very Crimes against which the Apoftle here particularly inveighs; but a Hea

then

then too: A Man utterly unacquainted not only with the Doctrine of Chrift, Verfe 24. but also with the Profeffion of the Jews, Verfe 22. *

2dly, That to this Man St. Paul proposes the Doctrine of a Future Fudgment, and that dreadful Punishment which by Confequence fhould hereafter be pronounced against Sinners, not by way of Authority, or as a Revelation which the Gospel had made to the World; but as a Point which his own Reafon would tell him was most juft, and fit to be believed. He reafon'd, fays my Text, before him, of the great Obligations that lie upon Men to live justly and foberly, and of the fevere Enquiry that fhall one day pafs upon all of us, whether we have lived or no as we ought to do. And then taking of our Text under thefe Confiderations, I fuppofe I fhall pursue the most proper Defign of it, in difcourfing to you on these Four Points:

Ift, That the Doctrine of a Fudgment to come, is
fo highly reafonable, that the greatest Infidel
muft be forced to confefs the Probability
of it.
IIdly, That if there be a Fudgment to come, and a
future ftate of rewards and punishments, it
cannot be doubted but that thofe who live
wickedly now, fhall then be in a moft wretched
and deplorable Condition.

IIIdly, That however finners may pretend to
diffemble their belief of this, and live as
if indeed they did believe nothing at all of

* See Grotius and Dr. Hammond, on that Verfe, which in our Tranflation feems to imply quite otherwise, viz. That he had a perfect Knowledge of the Jewish Law.