PLAIN MAN'S Plain Pathway to HEAVEN. Directing every man how he may be saved. Very seasonable for these Times. The four and thirtieth Edition, with many Additions. ●●n 14.6. Jesus saith unto them, I am the War 〈…〉 Truth, and the Life. Who so would know the way to Heaven above, Christ is the Way, Faith, Hope, and Love London, Printed for Eliz. Andrews, at the White Lion near Py-eCorner. 1665. The Plain Man's Plain Pathway to HEAVEN. Mat. 7.13, 14. Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth unto destruction, any many there be that go in thereat: but straight is the gate, any narrow is the way that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it. THese words, Beloved, are the words of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: and therefore do crave every good Christians attention, being spoken by so good a Master, who not only loved us, but laid down his life for us; as it is, Rom. 5.6, 7. Whilst we were sinners, Christ died for us. And beloved, they are not only the words of good counsel; good counsel not for the body only, but for the salvation of our souls; plainly declaring unto us the way to Heaven, which is not the common beaten road of the world. The way to Heaven is a straight and narrow way, a hard way, and a thorny way, and whosoever would be saved, must walk in this way. Beloved, I beseech you to consider, Heaven cost our Saviour a dear price, his precious life and blood, and had he not shed his blood, it had been impossible for us to have come to Heaven. And beloved, consider also, that notwithstanding it cost Christ his Life to purchase heaven for us, yet it is no easy matter to get to heaven: the way to heaven is altogether up the hill, and though it be painful and difficult, yet it is worth our pains at last, there are treasures in heaven, joys unspeakable, and full of glory, such things as St. Paul. saith, 1 Cor. 2.9. That eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things that God hath laid up for those that love him. God hath laid them up for us. Did we but seriously consider the happiness of the saints in heaven, we should be willing to undergo any thing here below, so we might get thither. It is the opinion and fond conceit almost of all men, that they shall go to heaven, and they hope to be saved as well as the best, though they walk not in the way. But let them take heed how they deceive their own souls, for the Scripture says plainly, that those that would be saved, must first be new creatures, they must be born again, John 3. Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Secondly, they must not live after the flesh and lusts of men, but after the will of God, 1 Pet. 4.2. And how doth God in his word say men should live, if they would be saved? First, we must live a life of faith, He that believeth shall be saved; but he that believeth not, is condemned already, the wrath of God abideth on him, John 3.36. Secondly, he that would be saved must repent, God commands all men every where to repent, Acts 17.30. Repentance must follow after faith, Thirdly, we must be willing to forsake all for Christ. And the young man said unto him, Good master, what shall I do to be saved? saith Christ, Sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and follow me, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, Mat. 19.21. Men must not say, I have bought a Farm, I have married a Wife, therefore I cannot come. Fourthly, those that would be saved must be holy and unblameable, walking as Christ walked: they must die unto sin, and live unto righteousness, for no unrighteous person shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, 1 Cor. 6.10. Heaven is the reward of holiness. Having your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life, Rom. 6.22. And lastly, he must not do this once or twice, but he must serve the Lord in righteousness and true holiness all the days of his life, Luke 1.75. For he that continues unto the end shall be saved, Mat. 20.21. Therefore unless men be such as God in his word requires they should be, in vain do they say, they hope to be saved by Christ, unless they live as Christ lived, holy as he was holy; for certainly all those that live in sin, and die in sin without repentance, shall come short of heaven. And truly beloved, heavenly counsel was never more needful than now, in these last and worst of times, which abound so much with sin and wickedness, which plainly shows that these are the last times, as St. Peter saith, 2 Pet. 3.3. In the last days shall come scoffers, walking after their own ungodly lusts, self-lovers, covetous, blasphemers, proud, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, truce-breakers, false accusers, despisers of those that are good, traitors, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, 2 Tim. 3. all which things the Lord knows is too evidently seen among us at this day. How is religion and the ways of God scorned and reproached at this day, not only by lose and lascivious persons, as swearers, drunkards, Sabbath-breakers, and such like ungodly wretches, but by a generation of Vipers sprung up amongst us in these our days, called Quakers, Shakers', and Ranters, who pretend holiness, and are out wardly clothed in Séeps clothing, but are indeed such as our Saviour speaks of in Matth. 7.15. Wolves in sheep's clothing, who despise Dominions, and speak evil of Dignities; ungodly men, turning the grace of God into wantonness, denying the only Lord God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, as St. Judas saith, Who resist the truth, being men of corrupt minds; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, 2 Tim. 3.5 Professing they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient and to every good work reprobate, Tit. 1.6. Labouring to beat down Magistracy and Ministry, which is the great work the Devil aims at: that so he may the more easily delude souls. If once the Devil could but beat down Ministry and Magistracy, he would go in deluding souls without opposition, all were his own then. And therefore the counsel St. Judge gave the Christians in his days, is now very seasonable in these ungodly times, for every good Christian: That they should beware, lest they be led away with the error of those wicked ones, and so fall from their own steadfastness, and come short of Heaven, bringing upon themselves sudden destruction. And indeed this Epistle of St. Judas is very seasonable for these times, and I beseech every good Christian seriously to read it, see there the dreadful Judgement of God against sinners, which are written for our examples; not that we should follow them, but that we would he afraid to sin against God, as they did. For certainly if God spared neither the old world, nor the Israelites, nor the Angels that fell, but hath reserved them in everlasting chains, under darkness, until the Judgement of the great day, he will not spare us if we sin as they did, And likewise Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Cities about them, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. God hath hung them out in chains, that all may take notice and be afraid to sin as they did; and certainly God is the same God now as he was then: he's yesterday, to day, and for ever the same; and if we will (notwithstanding his examples) presume to go on in sin, he will certainly bring upon us the same judgements. And truly the sins of Sodom are at this day the sins of England, pride and fullness foe bread, the Lord grant we have not the judgement of Sodom, fire and brimstone, e'er long, poured down upon us. Let England especially London, seriously remember the sad examples of fire. Now than Christians, I beseech you take the good counsel of St. Paul, Eph. 6.11, 12. Put on the whole armour of God, for never was more need; now the Devil is most busy to destroy souls, it becomes Christians to be the best armed, we should count it folly and madness in that man that should know the thief would come and rob him, and yet would not provide and arm himself against him. Now sirs consider, the Devil seeks to rob you of your precious souls, therefore arm yourselves, be not unprovided when you may be armed: the armour of God is armour of proof, and will bear off all the fiery darts of Satan. Resist the Devil and he will fly from you, Jam 4.7. The devil is not able to hurt that soul that hath on the armour of God; and what this armour of God is St. Paul tells us in Ephes. 6.14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth; and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of Faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance. For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, Rom. 10.13. And this is the armour which every one that would go to heaven must put on; for either we must be the soldiers of Christ, or the slaves of the Devil, for all those that fight under Satan are his slaves, therefore let us put on this armour of God, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. To which end our Saviour directeth, and plainly shows us the may to heaven, which although it be a hard may, and a straight may, yet it leadeth unto a blessed life; and what though we be scratched in the way with briers and thorns, and endure some hardship for a time, yet when we come to Heaven, it will surely makes us amends at last. Did not our Saviour himself and all his Prophets and Apostles go to heaven through many difficulties? How were they buffeted, scourged, and mocked, yea, spitted on, and spitefully used by wicked and ungodly men? did it not cost CHRIST his dear life and precious blood to purchase life and heaven for us? Did not the Saints of GOD in all ages willingly endure any thing for heaven; they were content to part with all, knowing they had in Heaven a better and a more enduring substance. See what they suffered with joy for heaven, Heb. 11. Abraham left his Country and inheritance. Moses forsook Egypt, choosing rather to suffer with Christ, then to enjoy the pleasures of sin. And others stopped the mouths of Lions, quenched the violence of the fire; were tortured, had trial of cruel mockings, yea, bonds and imprisonments. They were stoned, sawn asunder, slain with the sword, wandered about in sheep's skins and goats skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, wandering in mountains and deserts, dens, and corners of the earth, Of whom (saith the Apostle) the world was not worthy. They of whom the world was not worthy, were accounted by wicked and ungodly men not worthy for to live and sojourn in the World. Did not all the Martyrs suffer death with joy for heaven's sake, according to that Scripture. Account it all joy when ye fall into diver temptations, Jam. 1.2. How did Paul and Silas sing in prison, Acts 16.35. They rejoiced God accounted them worthy to suffer for heaven. They were resolved no difficulty should debar them from Heaven: being persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, neither tribulations, nor persecutions, nor any thing else should hinder him from Heaven. Rom. 8.38. Christ having told them, That they should be hated of all men for his name sake, Yea, they that killed them should think they did God good service, John 16.2. Because they belonged to Heaven, therefore the world hated them: they were assured of the truth of the word of God, which saith, That through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And is it not much better to suffer here a light affliction, as the Apostle calls it, which is but for a moment, then for a little season to enjoy the pleasures of sin, and be eternally in hell in everlasting torments, which shall never have end? O consider this all ye that forget God, and despise his word and Ministers! Know this all ye Ranters, Quankers, Drunkards, and Swearers, who mock at the word of God, God will one day reckon with you for all your ungodly courses and works of darkness; and then your master the devil, whom you so much delighted to serve, will pay you your wages fire and brimstone, eternal torments for ever: and then you will wish and say, when it is too late, O that I had served God O that I had not walked in these ungodly courses! When God cried unto you to repent, you would not hear; and now you are in hell, roaring and crying to be eased of your endless torments, God will not hear you. At the day of judgement the yes of wicked men shall be opened; they could ●e no pleasure in the ways of God, but still their ●elight was in sin, it was sport and pastime for ●hem to sin and offend the Lord. O, but what ●ould they now give to be saved: they who be●re would not forsake any one of their sins, ●hough it were to save their souls, now they ●ould give ten thousand worlds if they had ●hem, to have but one hours' ease and liberty to ●et salvation: What shall if profit a man to gain ●he whole world and lose his own soul? Mat. 15.19. Let every one therefore repent; and turn un●o the Lord, for he is merciful and full of compassion: strive to enter in at the straight gate, ●nd do not deceive your poor souls, by thinking ●ou shall go to heaven for your good meaning: For it is written, Not every one that saith unto ●he Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of hea●en (saith Christ) but he that doth the will of my Father, which is in heaven, Mat. 7.21. Men think ●f they do but come to Church, and have a good ●eaning they shall be saved: O how many deceive themselves by this? St. Crysostom, who ●reached to that great City of Antioch, did believe, that of two hundred thousand that came to ●ear the word, scarce an hundred souls should be ●aved: for if men would be saved, they must not only be hearers, but doers of the word, as St. James saith, Jam. 1.22. The Scribes and Pharisees thought they should go to heaven before any other, why: They fasted, they gave alms, they did more than come to Church; and yet they came short of heaven: And doth not Christ say, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall never inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, Matth. 5.10. O how many thousands are there in England whose righteousness comes infinitely short of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees; nay, indeed have none at all, neither seek for any; but on the contrary, delight in nothing but uncleanness, drunkenness, and other lascivious sins: Of which St Paul saith, They that live and die in them, shall never inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, 1 Cor. 6.10. But shall be cast into utter darkness, where shall be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. O that men would be wise, and consider their latter end, for as the free falls, so it lies: If men will live in their sins, they shall die in their sins, and perish for ever. For without holiness no man shall see God, Heb. 12.14. The young man in the Gospel, he enquired after salvation, saving, Good master, what shall he do to be saved? But how many are there in England, who never in all their life long so much as think of heaven, and the salvation of their precis ous souls: let the Lord call never so loud by the voice of his Ministers, lifting up their voice like trumpet, or by the voice of his words and works; ●●y his mercies which should invite men to come ●●n, by his judgements which should affright ●hem: how do they he snorting and sleeping in ●heir sin, and never awake? But let the world ●all, and presently they stir: let but a door be opened how to get riches, and be great in the world, how do men thrust and throng, and every one trives to go before another; but the Ministers of God may cry and call till their hearts ache for men to get to heaven, and then sadly complain to the Lord, as Isaiah did, Isa. 53.1. Lord who hath beieved our report? We have toiled all day, all the ●ayes of our lives, and have caught nothing. The Net of the Gospel hath been always spread out, and yet scarce one soul taken in it. We read Acts 2.40. that at a Sermon of St. Peter's, three thorpland souls were converted to the Lord: but now we may hear three thousand Sermons preached, and scarce one soul brought to heaven. Men are altogether of Gallio's mind, Acts 18.17. They care not for these things. Never was there since the ●ayes of Adam so much means of grace and sal●ation as now: have we not Line upon Line, precept upon Precept, Sermon upon Sermon, Mercy upon Mercy, and yet all will not do; men ●op their ears, and refuse, to hear the voice of the Charmer, charm he never so wis●ly: O I ●ear it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, then for England: And not only the men of Nineve, but th●cruel Jews and Turks, shall rise up in judgement against us except we repent. England's hel● will be hotter than the Indians hell. What na●tion or people is there at this day, that God hat bestowed so many mercies on as upon England the Lord hath given us not only his Gospel, but also peace and plenty of all things. And yet not with standing the Grace of God hath so abounded towards us, that we have turned his Grace into mantouness'; because the goodness and mercy of our God hath abounded towards us, we have made our sins to superabound against him. Now justly might the Lord for our unsworthiness even cause the devouring sword to be unsheathed again among us, and cause us to sheathe it in one another's bowels again: and not only sent the sword among us again, which is ready to b● drawn, but his destroying Angel with that save and heavy judgement the noisome Pestilence which the Lord hath been pleased in much mercy to keep from among us a long time, even to admiration, and even sweep us away in his wrath and indignation, even every one of us: It is the Lords mercy we are not consuined, Lam. 3.22. Did not the Lord renew his mercies every morning, we should, be in hell ere night. Ah the Lord spare us, and have mercy on us, for it is greatly to be feared these three heavy judgements, Plague, Famine and Sword are even ready to fall upon us. How justly might the Lord give us a Famine, ●ot only of bread, but also of hearing the word of the Lord, even because we have despised it, ●and loathed it, as the Israelites did the Manna be Lord reigned from Heaven: heavenly food, ●nd it was loathed by wretched men. How sadly the Lord hath caused Ireland and Germany so feel these three heavy judgements, ●s fresh in every man's memory, and is not England as sinful a Nation as any of these were? ●ea, England is at this day an unthankful and unholy people, a rebellious Nation, who stand ●t out against the Lord. But let England know, the Lord will be revenged on them. Shall I not be revenged on such a Nation as this? (saith the Lord) Yea, I will be revenged on them. O that men would see the goodness of the Lord, and now to day, even while it is called to day, and turn to the Lord by repentance, for who knows whether the Lord will have mercy? Yea, he will have mercy upon us if we repent. As I live (saith the Lord) I desire not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and repent. Turn ye, turn ye, saith the Lord Ezek. 33.12. and I will have mercy upon you. If there could have bin found but ten righteous persons in Sodom, God would have spare it, Gen. 8.33. And may not ●he Lord us, yea, he will space us if we repent. See what the Lord saith, Isa. 55.7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them. Let every one therefore speedily repent without delay, and strive who shall begin first: if every one would sweep his own door, the whole street would soon be clean; and if every one would repent of his own sins, the sins of the Nation would soon be blotted out. Yet forty daye● and Nineve shall be bestroyed, saith the Lord; and yet upon their repentance, the Lord pardoned them: and if ever they would go to heaven it must he by faith and, repentance: for no repentance, no salvation Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish, saith our Saviour, Luke 13.3. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord, Heb. 12.14. and without repentance there can be no holiness, for holiness is the fruit of repentance: if we be not holy here; we shall never be happy hereafter. God himself hath said so, and he is no liar. The devil may persuade you otherwise, but he is a liar, and the father of lies, John. 8 8. he will persuade you so, only to delude your souls, and draw you into hell: he speaks you fair, but it may be he will tell you another tale in hell. He is like a great Bragadocio, that promiseth great things, but indeed hath nothing to pay but hell and damnation: All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me, saith the devil to our Saviour, Mat. 4. But I pray whose is the world? Is not the earth the Lords, and the fullness thereof, Psal. 24.1. The Devil hath nothing at all to do with it, but as the Lord gives him leave. Riches and honour, worldly honour & greatness are the devils baits to catch poor souls: He lays these things before their eyes, but it is the soul he aims at, let him say what he will, the end of his work is only to delude and destroy poor souls; the Devil promiseth much, and hath nothing to pay but hell and damnation, and yet how many believe him? Let the Lord say, here is my Christ, take him, much good may he do you; here's pardon of sin, receive, ●here is life and salvation, heaven and happiness, and who is there that dares to receive? You will not come to me that you might have life, (saith Christ but let but the devil say, you may go on in your sins, take your pleasure in the world, all ●hall be well with you, it is time enough to repent hereaftrr, how readily do men believe him? But if men did but know and believe whither ●hey are going, when they are going in the ways of sin, they would go another way. The way of ●in is the broad way to hell, you go me●●●ly along, it's down the hill you are running; but take heed you will fall into hell at last. It is just with men going to hell, as it was with the man that was to go over a great River on a narrow Bridge; ●he puts on his spectacles, and so the bridge seemed wider than it was, and the poor man walks on securely, and so falls beside the Bridge, and is drowned: wicked men, they look on the world with the devils spectacles, and so it seems very pleasant and delightful, and they run on securely (as we say) without fear or wit, not considering that every step they tread, they are ready to fall into hell. O sinners consider, when you are sinning, you are dancing about the mouth of hell, & if the Lord should but snap in sunder the slender thread of your lives, you would presently fall into hell. Men thing the pleasures of sin very sweet, the Lord knows they are bitterness in the latter end: the sweet meat of sin will have sour sauce; sin is the dearest commodity in the world, you will repent your bargain at last, though you sin at never so cheap a rate, you will pay too dear for it: you will say then, the devil was to hard for you, he cheated you, you gave him too much. Sin cost men their lives, and their souls more precious than pearls or r●●ies, and lose heaven too by the bargain. The ●●ges of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ, Rom. 6.22. Strive therefore to enter in at the straight gate, get to heaven, though the way be hard, yet strive: you have the command of Christ, his example, the example of all the Prophets and Apostles, and having such a cloud of witnesses, be not discouraged, but run with patience the race that is set before you: suffer not Satan to deceive you, it you do, you will surely repent it when it is too late. Consider by the example of Dives and Lazarus; is it not better think you to be in heaven with Lazarus, then to be in hell with Dives? Dives he wanted nothing on 〈◊〉, had the world at will, fared deliciously every day; but is now in hell, and wants a drop of water. L●●●●●● he lived in great wants and miseries, had not wherewithal to relieve his hungry body full of ●ores; men they looked scornfully on him, and did him not so much favour as the dogs: they came and licked his so●es, but Dives denied him the very crumbs that fell from his table to the Dog●. What think you, did not Lazarus endure much hardship to get to heaven? he was here in much misery, full of woes; now in heaven hath rivers of pleasure, joy unspeakable, and full of glory. O beloved, it is better to beg our ●re●● here with Lazarus for a little season on earth, then to beg our water with Dives in hell to all eternity. We should not fudge that worth much now in the time of our life, which will be of no worth here after. Riches, saith Solomon, make themselves wings and flee away; they are uncertain here to day, and gone to morrow, as woeful experience tells us, and are worth just nothing in the day of Judgement; in the life to come they are worthless things, there will be an end of them: But godliness hath the promise of the life that now is, and the life to come. 1 Tim. 4.8. When Dives was in his pontiffcalibus, had his purple clothing and dainty fare every day, who would not be Dives then? almost every one: But when we read of Dives in hell torments, than who would be Dives? certainly none at all. Dives would now be content to be a beggar in the estate of Lazarus ●en thousand years' i● he might be released out of his torments. ●o likewise when we read of poor Lazarus a beggar, f●●ll of sores, wanting bread, in great distress of body, who would be Lazarus in that case? certainly none at all. But when 〈…〉 of Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, Lazarus in heaven, than who would not be Lazarus if he might? But if we would be Lazarus in heaven, we must be Lazarus on earth: if we would die the death of the righteous, we must live the life of the righteous: If we would sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets, Apostles, and Saints of God; we must tread in their steps, they have beaten the way, they have made it plain for us if we will, their path is clearly to been seen: we must walk as they walked, soberly; live as they lived, holy and righteously all our days; endure hardship as they did, as you may see in the word of God. What did the Prophets and Apostles of our blessed Lord and Saviour undergo? St. Paul tells us in his book of Martyrs, Heb. 11. They were persecuted, stoned, imprisoned, sawn asunder, mocked, scourged, despised by men, wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins. And other Apostles and Saints we read of, some torn in pieces by wild beasts, others put in scalding oil, some ●ad their Skins stayed off alive, dragged about with horses, and our Smithfield is a good witness ●f the sufferings of the Martyrs: and besides we ●eard of la●e the sad tidings of the sufferings of ●ur Brethren in Savoy, which may make every ●ood Christians heart bleed to hear what cruel ●loody tortures those faithful Christians did en●ure for the sake of Christ; how they were ●●orcht by fire dashed in pieces against the rocks, ●ot pitying nor sparing even tender sucking infant's, but destroying all. The Lord make us ●ensible of his saving mercies towards us, that ●●e are not delivered into the hands of such bloo●y wretches; therefore as St. Paul saith, Let us run ●ith patience the race that is set before us. It is but ●or a little while, and in due time we shall receive ●ur reward if we faint not, Heb. 12.2. Let us then ●bour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that ●hich endureth to eternal life. So demeaning of ●ur selves here, as those that look for the coming of our Lord jesus, who shall render to every ●ne according to their works. And know, that although the righteous meet with hard fare in the ●orld, yet their end shall be joy and peace, Peace ●at passeth all understanding. When the wicked ●en although they are crowned with rosebuds, ●nd hath their paths washed in Butter, and ●●ve an hundred years in pleasure, yet they shall ●●e accursed: for there will certainly come a day ●hen all mankind, high and low, rich and poor, noble and ignoble, shall appear na●●● before the great Tribunal of the Lord. And then what will become of riches and honour, beauty and pleasure? Then the Crowns of Kings, and the rags of Beggars shall all be laid aside; and all without respect of persons receive sentence according to their deeds done in the flesh. Then pride and luxury, swearing and drunkenness, swaggering, complimental oaths, and all other vile and lascivious court and adorations of beauty, the so much admired and studied sins of the Gallants of the world, shall be pronounced out of the mouth of God himself, to be nothing else but glittering abominations: then the adulteraring wares, light and double weights, and false measures, now almost woven into the very art of trading, shall be pronounced to be nothing else but mysteries of iniquity: and self-deceiving, and shall be rewarded with eternal fire: and then the poor despised profession and professors of the power of godliness, who tremble at the word of God, make conscience of their ways, and forbear not only vain and wicked oaths, but also idle words, whose hearts bleed for the abomination of the times, and the wickedness of those among whom they live; who walk humbly and mournfully before the Lord, in an exa● holy conversation, in the midst of a crooked an● perverse generation, shall in good earnest be pronounced from the mouth of God himself, t● have walked in that true and narrow way that leads to eternal life: then the wicked and ungodly, who mocked at the word of God, when it is too late shall be forced to confess and say, O what fools were we! We accounted their lives madness, and judged their end to be without honour: How are they now reckoned among the Saints, and have their portion in Heaven, sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of their God: and we who lived in pleasure, and walked in this broad easy, and smooth way, are tumbled down to hell, there to receive the just reward of our ungodly say and do, eternal torments for ever and ever. Now to conclude all in a word, let every one of us take the good counsel of Solomon, to remember our Creator in the days of our Youth. Rejoice O young man in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee. But know for all this thou must come to judgement. Remember there is both a heaven and a hell; a heaven to reward thee if thou dost well, a hell to torment thee if thou dost ill. Labour then to be of the number of those, to whom the Lord shall say at the last and great day of judgement, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world, Mat. 25 24. Unto which Kingdom, the Lord of his mercy bring us all. Now the God of peace, which brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus Christ that great shepherd of his sheep through the blood of the everlasting Covenant, make us perfect in every good wor● and work to do his will, working in us that which i● well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ ou● Lord: To whom be glory and honour now and for ever. Amen. FINIS. Licenced and Entered according to Order. THese godly Books are sold by E. Andrews, at the white Lion near Pie-corner. Christ's first Sermon. Christ's last Sermon. Th● Christians Blessed Choice. The Christians best Garment. Heaven's Happiness and Hell's horror. Th● School of Grace. Likewise, 1. England's Faithful Physician. 2. The dreadful character of a drunkard. 3. Doomsday at hand. 4. The Father's last Blessing to his children. 5. The sin of Pride arraigned and condemned. 6. The Black Book of Conscience. 7. Peter's Sermon of Repentance. 8. The Plain Mins Plain Pathway to Heaven. 9 Death Triumphant. 10. The Charitable, Christian. Read them over carefully, and practise them constantly, and resh assuredly thou wilt find much comfort in them to thy own soul.