VI. All the Provisions and Preparations
that the Blessed Glorious God has
made to welcome Sinners, when they
come to him, do all cry aloud to you,
to make all earnest hast. The Eternal
God has made a great Preparation for
thee: this Blessed God invites thee: Sinner
make hast and come to me, thou
wilt be Damned if thou dost not; O sinner,
make hast, and come quickly unto
me; thou wilt perish for ever if thou
dost not come quickly unto me; I have

D3

a Pardon for thee, come to me, I have a
Heaven for thee, come to me I have
prepared a Kingdom and a Crowne for
thee, and loe thou shalt dwell with me
for ever; though thou hast Rebelled, I
will Pardon thee if thou wilt come to
me; though thou hast deserved Hell, I
will give thee Heaven, if thou wilt come
to me: Behold, this Blessed God made
hast to send his Son, and Jesus Christ
made hast to come and dye, the Spirit
makes hast to come and move upon
thy Conscience, and the Ministers of
Christ make hast to come and offer
Christ to thee; now shall God make hast,
and Jesus Christ make hast, and the
Spirit make hast, and Ministers make
hast, and wilt not thou make hast?
VII. My Seventh Argument shall be
to Consider your time that you have to
come to God.
First of all, The time that thou hast
allowed thee to come to God in, it is but
short, and but a little time, a few more
Years or Months. Weeks or Days, and
thy Life will be ended. O Sinner, consider
where thou standest! Upon the
brink of Eternity, upon the Borders of
another World; thou art near, exceeding
near to Heaven or Hell, and yet
wilt thou make no more hast?
2. This little time that thou hast, it
is hastning away quickly. O how
swift does yonder Sun in the Firmament
move! Sirs, do you not see how
one Day and one Night rouls away after
another, and one Week, one Sabbath
goes away after another, and thy
time is a hastning, whether thou art
a Drinking, or a Sporting? Sinner,
except thou canst stop the Suns going
of its Race, stay in thy Sins no longer.
3. This hastning time it is very uncertain
too when it shall end, when an
end shall be put unto it; Sinner, canst
thou tell, that thou shalt live till to
Morrow: let the man stand forth, that
can say, I am sure I shall live till to
Morrow; Which is the Man amongst
you all that can say, This hour I am
sure of the next, and this Lord's day,
that can say, I am sure of another? Who
knows, but thou art keeping thy last
Sabbath, and hearing thy last last Sermon?
Who knows, but thou art making the
last appearance in a publick Congregation?
Boast not thy self of to Morrow, for

D4

3

thou knowest not what a Day may bring forth.
Ah Sinner, thou wilt be found to be the
Fool of all Fools, that dost not know how
soon thou mayest depart this World, yet
triflest and delayest, and wilt not make
hast to come to God.
4. Thy time that is past, will never
come again; if thou wouldst give thousands
for Yesterday, it cannot be Recalled:
Or for last Lord's day, it cannot
be Recalled again: Consider your time,
then judge if it be not high time for you
to make hast, and to delay no longer.
VIII. Yet I pray you consider, all the
time you do delay you are abusing the
Mercy of God, and abusing of the Patience
of God; Is this a thing to delay
in? Does the Eternal God stay, yet does
not Damn thee, and cast thee down to
Hell, which he may do every Hour at
his Pleasure? And does he tarry and not
Punish thee? And dost thou tarry and
wilt not come and submit to him? This
God is intreating of thee to accept of
Mercy, and is loth that thou shouldst
Perish, or lose thy poor Soul. Now is
offering of the Rich Blessings, Purchased
so dear, as by the blood of his
own Son? and while thou dost neglect,
What dost thou but say in thy heart I
care not for God, nor for his Christ
neither? Ah Sinner, remember the time
is coming, the hour is hastning, that
thou wouldst give Ten Thousand Worlds
if thou hadst them, for that Grace which
now thou despiseth, Rom. 7. despisest thou
the goodness of God, not considering that the
Patience and Long-suffering of God should
lead thee to repentance!
IX. Thy Delaying has in it a great
deal of bold, and blind Presumption.
Thou dost presume, Sinner, of such
things that thou hast not any grounds
to make reckoning of. There are three
or four things that a trifling Sinner, a
delaying Sinner presumes of.
1. Thou dost presume that thou shalt
live longer yet; thou dost presume, that
thou hast more time to spend in this
World; thou dost suppose that thou
mayst have another Year yet, another
Month still, another Week still; Tell
me if this be not in thy Heart; Thou
art worse than a mad-man indeed, that
wilt not make hast and come to Christ?
but this is a bold presumption ; thou
talkest of another Year, when thou
mayst not have another Hour.

D5

2. Thou dost presume, that thou canst
Repent when thou wilt, and turn to
God when thou wilt; thou dost presume
that thy own will is of thy own strength;
but Sinner either thou canst Repent
when thou wilt, or thou canst not; if
thou canst and dost not, behold thou
art inexcusable; but if thou canst not
Repent now, dost thou think thou canst
better Repent hereafter, when thou hast
hardened thy Heart yet more in Sin?
3. In thy Delaying, thou dost presume,
that the Spirit of God will help
thee hereafter, as well as now, for if
this were not in thy hopes, if thou didst
not suppose this, if thou wert not bereaved
of thy Understanding, Wouldst
not thou Repent now, while the Spirit
of God moves upon thy heart? How
dost thou know, but hereafter the Spirit
of God may let the alone and give
thee up to the hardness of thy own
Heart? God may say to thee, as to
Ephraim, Hosea 4.17. Ephraim is joyned
to Idols, let him alone. Ah Sinner, if God
says once, Let him alone, then all the Sermons
in the world will do no good:
If God would say to the delaying Sinner,
My Spirit let him alone, and mine Ordinances
let him alone, and my Ministers let
him alone; That tho you have the voice
of the Gospel in your Ears, yet God will
let thy heart alone.
X. And the last Argument to persuade
you to make hast is this, it may be you
may be loth to hear it; I wish, Sinner,
that by the yeilding to all the rest, thou
wouldest give me Reason to forbear to
speak it; but if all that has been said,
will not move thee to make hast, then
know that thy Damnation is hastening,
the time of thy lying in Torment
is hastening, the hour of thy being
thrown down to Devils, and lying in
Chains of Darkness, is hastening. Sinner,
tho thou slumberest, yet thy Damnation
does not slumber,
Whose Judgment now of a long time lingereth
not, and their Damnation lingereth not.
Thou lingerest and loyterst, ay, but thy
Damnation does not slumber, Deut.
32.35. Consider of that place, To me,
says God, belongeth Vengeance and Recompence;
their foot shall slide in due time,
for the Day of their Calamity is at hand,
and the thing that shall come upon
thee maketh hast. Mark, the Day of
thy Calamity is at hand, and the
thing, the Wrath of God that shall come
upon thee maketh hast; the Justice of
God that shall overtake thee, makes
hast. O then, if thou would'st make
hast to escape those dreadful things
that are hastening, do you make hast
and delay not to keep the Commandments
of your God.
Thus I have given you many Arguments
and Motives; and if I thought
that you had made hast and come away
to Christ, I would change my Text
and go upon another Subject, but I
doubt, after all, that thou art lingring;
I would therefore yet try to put thee on,
and would direct this Exhortation to
five sorts of People.
First of all, I would perswade such of
you as are Young, that you would
make hast, and not delay, even you that
are Children, little Children, the youngest
amongst you that understand what
the sense is of any of these things. O do
you make hast you young Men in your
Youth make hast and do not delay.
II. I would direct this Exhortation to
such of you as are old, old Sinners, for
God's sake make hast, you that are threescore
years old and more, make hast.
III. To such of you as are Strong and
Healthful of Body.
IV. To you that are Sickly and Crazy
Persons, often Sick and seldom
Well, for God's sake make hast.
V. To such of you as have been Sick,
and now are Well, as have been upon
Beds of Sickness near to Death, but God
hath set thee upon thy Legs again. O
make hast, and do not delay to keep
the Commandments of God.
First then, You that are young, you
that are yet in your Childhood, you
young Children, you Young men and
Maids; O do you make hast, and do
not delay to keep the Commandments
of God. I would rather press this Counsel
upon you, because you chiefly lye under
the temptations of delay; for you
Children have very naughty hearts, and
loth to be good, and come to God; you
are apt to think, that you have time
enough yet: that you may take your
Pleasure and mind your Sports now, and
think of God hereafter, and think of
Heaven and Hell hereafter. But I have
Ten Questions to propose to you, you
Young ones, and by that time I have
come through these, I hope you will see
that there is no Reason for you to delay,
tho you are young.
I. Tell me, Are you so young that you
may not die? are you so young that you may
not be sick? Are you Young Men exempted
from Death and the Grave? Have you
not observed, that as young as you, and
younger too, have gone down to the Grave?
Have you not seen little Infants carried
to the Grave? Have not you seen Infants
laid in the Dust? Have you not seen
many times that their is but little difference
betwixt the Birth and the Grave?
If you doubt of this, go into some Churchyard,
and see if you may not find there
Graves of all sizes; an Infant was buried
here, another young one was buried
there, who was not so tall as I; Very
well, if you are not so young, but you
may die, are you so young then, that
you may not make your Peace with
God?
II. Are you so young that you may
not be damned? Has God any where
told you in his Word, that No Young
Ones shall go to Hell, those that die in
their Youth? Tell me, were not you
born in Sin? And are you not by Nature
Children of Wrath? And by reason
of that sin in which you were born,
are you not liable to the wrath of God,
to the Damnation of Hell, and to the
Torments of the Damned? Besides,
have not you Young Men many sins of
your own commiting, actual Sins? How
soon didst thou learn to Lye? How
soon did you learn to take God's Holy
Name in vain? How soon did you play
upon the Lord's Day, and so mispend
your precious time? By all these you
have deserved Death and Hell too? and
if you are not so Young; but you may
be Damned, is there any room for you
to delay, and not to do what God commands
you to do?
III. I pray tell me, Is it fit that you
should give the first of your time to the
Devil, rather than unto God; for you
first to serve the Devil, than next to
serve God; to give your Youth unto him
that would devour and destroy your
Souls, rather than to God, that would
save your Souls, and make them happy?
Should you give to Satan the first of
your time, that deserves none at all? And
Sirs, I tell you, that you deserve to be
Damned, if you give one hour. Think
of it, What would the World think of
you if you deal with your Parents as
you deal with the Eternal God? if you
should say, Father I will rebel against you
while I am Young, I will vex and grieve you
whilst Young, but I will be Dutiful to you
when I am Old; Will you in effect say
worse to God? And say, We will do
what the Devil saith to us now, and we
will do what God commands us hereafter.
Tell me, Who was it that gave you
your Being? Who was it that formed
you in your Mothers Womb? Who
was it that brought you forth? Who
was it that preserved you, whilst you
hung upon your Mothers Breast? Who
is it that kept you from Death and Hell
to this day, that might have cast you
into utter Darkness, as soon as you beheld
the Light of the Sun? Has the Devil
done for you, as God has done, or
can you expect he shall or will? Lay all
these together, then see if it be fitting
that you should serve the Devil first.
IV. Tell me, you that are young, Can
you be good too soon? Or can you love
your God too soon? Or can you mind
your Souls too soon? Or can you think
you be mindful to escape the Damnation
of Hell too soon? Can you be too
soon sure of Heaven? Tell me, Would
it do thee any harm to know in thy
Youth that thy Soul shall be saved?
Would it do thee any harm to believe
in Christ, to love God above all, and
to understand, whenever thou shalt die,
that thy Soul should be received to Heaven?
Remember this, that there have been
many who have been troubled that they
did repent too late, but there was never
one in this World that ever repented
that he repented too soon. Thousands,
and Ten Thousands have bewailed
that they have staid off from
Christ so long.
V. Is not Youth, and Young in Years,
the usual time for God to Convert Sinners
to his Son? especially, those whom
he planteth under the Gospel in the
time of their Youth. O you that are set
under Preaching, if you are not converted
whilst you are young, it is a
thousand to one, if ever you are Converted.
Pray Sirs consider, Is it usual for
God to Convert Old Sinners? I know,
God sometimes may call at the Eleventh
Hour, but it is but here and there one,
now and then one; and commonly they
are such as did not sit under the means of
Grace when they were Young; if you
delay whilst Young, You may let slip
the very season of Conversion, then
your Souls cannot be brought over to
God by all the Preaching in the World.
Do we not amongst our selves observe
that for one Old Person, one Old Sinner,
that is made sensible of sin, and of his
lost estate, though never so vile, that
does desire the Prayers of a Congregation
for them, have we not Twenty, yea
Forty, that are younger, that desire
your Prayers from them?
VI. Will it not be easier for you to repent
now, than it will be hereafter, when
by long continuance in sin, you have
hardned your hearts and feared your
Consciences, and have been accustomed
to do wickedly? Certainly, now, whilst
Conscience is tender, and the Heart
more tender, it will be easier for you to
let go your sin now, and to leave your
Wickedness now, than it will be Forty
Years hence; for the longer you continue
in sin, the stronger is Sin upon
you, and the stronger your Sin is, the
harder your Heart is, and the harder
will be your Repentance, as Jeremiah
speaks, Can the Ethiopian change his skin

14

or the Leopard his spots? Then may ye
that are accustomed to do Evil, learn to do
well.
VII. Shall you not prevent a multitude
of Sins, if you make hast in your
Younger Years to come to God? whereas
if you go on in your Sins, what a
Multitude of sins, how many Thousand
sins will you add more and more to the
sins that you have already committed;
if you loiter still, how many Prayers
will you neglect; And how many Sabbaths
prophane? And how many lies
tell, and make no Conscience? And how
many Oaths may some of your swear?
Whereas, now if you would come to
God in your Youth, if you would now
Believe and Repent, and come to God,
O what a number of Sins may you prevent
the commission of! And is not
this desirable? You have sinned enough
already, the Youngest amongst
you have sinned enough already, you
need not go on still, and add more and
more to your sins; for they are not to
be numbred already
VIII. Consider, Will not this be most
pleasing unto God, if you hasten in your
Youth to come to God? Early is the
time; O, Christ loves Young Ones indeed,
when they will be good. Mark 10.23, 24
This was a Young man that had
but some common good in him; and
it is said, That Christ looked upon him
and loved him, Jerem. 2.2. Says God to
Israel, I remember the kindness of thy Youth,
the love of thy Espousal. Ah, God takes
it kindly, and Christ takes it kindly,
when you do believe on Christ, and
leave your sins betimes. O will not you
do that which God and Christ will take
kindly at your hands! then make haste
whilst you are young, and do not stay
till you are old. O it is pleasing unto
God to see young ones come and Pray
and Believe, to see young ones following
after Christ, Eccles. 12.1. Remember
thy Creator in the days of thy Youth.
Now tell me, Young Men, Is it not better
for you to be pleasing to this blessed
God whilst you are young, than to be
provoking of him till you are Old?
Is it not more pleasing to have his Love
and Smiles, than to have his Anger and
Frowns.
IX. If you make hast whilst you are
young, shall not you have the more time
to serve your God, and glorify your
Maker? And is not this the End for
which thou wert born? Is not this the
End for which you were made, that you
may glorify him that gave your being
unto you? And tell me, Can you begin
this Work too soon? Or, Can you do
this one thing too much? O young men,
think, Will God save you when you die,
and will not you serve him whilst you
live? Will God glorifie you hereafter
in Heaven, and will not you glorifie
God whilst you are here upon Earth?
Tell me, Do you think you can honour
God in a little time, and in Old Age
too; as you may in a great deal, beginning
from your youth, to your Elder
years? I tell you, that Multitudes of
good People upon their Death-Beds
when they have been going to Heaven,
they have been full of Grief upon this
Account, That they served God so late,
and loved God so late; that are going
to Heaven to live with God, and have
done no more for God when they were
here upon Earth.
X. And Lastly, If you now make
hast whilst you are young, shall not you
have the more time to do the great
Work in your own Souls that is there
to be done? O what a great deal of
Work does lie within us? What a great
deal of Work does lie upon our Hearts
to be done! upon our Souls! Is it not
more likely that you should do more in
Forty years time, than in Five or Ten,
or the latter end of your days? O how
much Knowledge is there to be had of
God and of Christ and the great Mystery
of the Gospel! You will have more
time to get a greater measure of the
Love of God and of Jesus Christ; you
will have more time to get Assurance of
the Love of God and of Eternal Glory;
you will have more time to make your
preparation for Death, and the great
Account that you have to give unto God
after Death. Now take these Ten things
along with you, and then see, if there be
any room or reason for you to delay
though young, but make all the hast
you can to do that God commands, That
is the first Sort.
2. The Sort. that I would urge this
upon, is, you that are Old, You Old
Sinners, consider the Work that you
have to do
I. Of all, you that are old, O make
hast? for your time is almost gone, your
Glass is almost run, your Sun is near to
setting; in a Course of Nature you
have not much time to live. Behold!
Look upon your gray Hairs, and they
will tell you, that you are going off the
Stage of this World, and are entring
into another World. The Age of Man,
that the most do reach ordinarily, is
Threescore and Ten, Psal. 90.10. The
Age of Man is Treescore Years and Ten.
O is there not some in this place that
have not outlived the usual time? Are
not some of you Threescore Years and
upward? Are not some of you Seventy
Years and more? O how near, how very
near are you to another World! You
are almost at your Journeys end. What,
and sit still when you are almost at your
Journeys end! Some of you are old almost
to a wonder. When a person begins
to be going onwards to Eighty,
People commonly wonder at their Age.
What art thou such a one, yet delaying?
Art thou Old to a wonder, and Wicked
to a wonder too? O consider, it is but a
little while that you have to stay in
this World; make hast therefore, and
do not delay.