VeE. 11.] SERMONS UPON 2 CORINTHIANS V. 95
with death. The drowning of the world, the burning of Sodom, was a sad thing, if a man had been by, and seen the poor miserable creatures running from valleys to hills, from hills to mountains, from the mountains to the tops of Irees, and still the floods increasing upon them ; or had heard the screechings, when God rained hell out of heaven, and seen the scalded Sodomities wallowing up and down in a deluge of fire and brimstone ; but all ended with death. But this fire is never quenched, and the worm never dieth. Now should man know this, and not persuade, or be persuaded, and take warning to flee from wrath to come ? Surely the thoughts of falling into the hands of God should shake the stoutest heart, and awaken the dullest sinner, rouse up the most careless, to use all possible means to prevent it.
[2.] The nearer it approacheth, it should the more affect us. It is but a short time to the general assizes; we live in that age of the world upon which the ends of the world are come, 1 Cor. x. 11 ; ' Little children, it is the last hour,' 1 John ii. 18. And let us stir up one another, so much the rather as ye see the day approacheth, Heb. x. 25. It cannot be long to the end of time, if we compare the remainder with what is past, or the whole with eternity ; but for our particular doom and j udgment, every man must die, and be brought to his last account Now the day of death approacheth apace ; the more of our life is past, the less is yet to come ; every week, day, hour, minute, we approach nearer to death, and death to us. But, alas ! we little think of these things ; every soul of us within less than an hundred years, it may be but ten, or five, or one, shall be in heaven or hell. The judge is at the door, James v. 9. We shall quickly be in another world. ^ Now should we hold om- peace, and let men go on sleepily to their own destruction, or to suffer nven to waste away more of their precious time, before they get ready ? It is said, Amos vi. 3, 'They put far' away the evil day ; ' and therefore it did not work upon them — that is, they put off" the thoughts of it ; for as to the day itself, they can neither put it on, nor off.
[3] The more certain and unavoidable any evil is, the greater matter of terror. Now it is as certain as if it were begun, and there is no way to escape either trial, sentence, or execution. Solomon saith, Prov. xvi. 14, ' The wrath of a king is as the messengers of death ; ' because they have long hands, and power to reach us. The wrinkles of their angry brow are as graves and furrows ; yet some have escaped the wrath of kings and worldly potentates, as Elijah escaped the vengeance of Jezebel : 1 Kings xix. 2, 3, ' The gods do so to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them to-morrow by this time. And when he heard that, he rose and fled to Beersheba for his life.' But there is no escaping God's wrath, Eev. vi. 16 ; no avoiding his sight, or escaping the stroke of his justice, Ps. cxxxix. 7. [4.] If it particularly concern every one of us. A clap of thunder in our own zenith doth more aftVight us, than when it is at a distance. Tiiis did once belong to all, and it doth still belong to the impenitent ; and there- fore we should take the more care, that we be not of that number ; and while we are in the state of trial, we cannot be over confident. I am sure it is a sinful confidence, that is joined with the neglect of the means to shun it. The dreadful consequence of that day to the wicked,
96 SERMONS UPON 2 CORINTHIANS V. [SeR. XVIII.
it is in itself a matter of terror to all ; and to slight tins terror is to turn the grace of Grod into wantonness ; and it cometh either from unbelief, or from a dull, stupid, senseless spirit. And if it produceth not caution and watchfulness, and serious and diligent preparation, it is not a fruit of the assurance of the love of God, but of the security of the flesh. I confess it is a case of conscience, how to make the day of judgment matter of joy and confidence, and matter of terror and caution ; sometimes we are bidden to reflect upon it with joy and con- fidence, so as we may love his appearing, 2 Tim. iv. 8 ; to lift up our heads, because our redemption draweth nigh, Luke svii. 28 ; to rejoice because we shall be partakers of the blessedness promised, 1 Peter iv. 14 ; at other times matter of fear and terror. These are not contrary ; the one is to prevent slight thoughts, which are very familiar with us, the other futm'e perplexities and dejection of spirit ; the strictness of our account, the dreadful consequence to those that shall be found faulty, should not discourage us in the way of duty ; eternal wrath should not be feared farther than to stir us up to renew our flight to Clu-ist, and to quicken us in his service, who hath delivered us from wrath to come.