Death hurries them away in a moment to deftruction, and makes a most difmal change: the man, for the most part, never knows where he is, till in hell he lift up his eyes, Luke xvi. 23. The floods of wrath fuddenly overwhelm his foul, and ere he is aware, he is plunged in the bottomlefs pit.

Secondly, The unrenewed man is taken away out of the world violently. Driving is a violent action: he is chafed out of the world, Job xviii. 18. Fain would he stay if he could but death drags him away like a malefactor to the execution. He fought no other portion, than the profits and pleasures of this world; he hath no other; he really defires no other how can he then go away out of it, if he were not driven?

Queft. But may not a wicked man be willing to die? Anf. He may indeed be willing to die; but (obferve) it is only, in one of three cafes. (1.) In a fit of paffion, by reafon of fome trouble that he is impatient to be rid of. Thus many perfons, when their paffion has got the better of their reason, and when, on that account, they are most unfit to die, will be ready to cry. O to be gone! but should their defire be granted, and death come at their call, they would quickly fhew they were not in earneft; and what if they go, they must be driven away against their wills. (2.) When they are brim-full of despair, they may be willing to die." Thus Saul murdered himself: and Spira wifhed to be in hell, that he might know the uttermoft of what he believed he was to fuffer. In this manner men may feek after death, while it flies from them. But fearful is the violence thefe do undergo, whom the terrors of God do thus drive. (3.) When they are dreaming of happiness after death Foolish virgins, under the power of delufion, as to their fate, may be willing to die, having no fear of lying down in forrow. How many are there, who can give no fcripture ground for their hope, who yet have no bonds in their death! Many are driven to darknefs fleeping; they go off like lambs, who would rore like lions, did they but know what place they are going to though the chariot, in which they are, drive furiously to the depths of hell; yet they fear not, because they are faft afleep.

Laftly, The unregenerate man is taken away irrefiftibly. He mult go, though fore against his will, Death will take no

refufal,

refufal, nor admit of any delay; tho' the man has not lived half his days, according to his own computation. If he will not bow, it will break him. If he will not come forth, it will pull the house down about his ears; for there he must not stay. Although the phyfician help, friends groan, the wife and the children cry, and the man himself ufe his utmost efforts to retain the Spirit, his soul is required of him; yield he muft, and go where he fhall never more fee light.

SECONDLY, Let us confider, whence they are driven, and whither. When the wicked die, (1.) They are driven out of this world. where they finned; into the other world, where they must be judged, and receive their particular fentences, Heb. ix. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.' They shall no more return to their beloved earth. Tho' their hearts are wedded to their earthly enjoyments, they must leave them; they can carry nothing hence. How forrowful muft their departure be, when they have nothing in view, fo good as that which they leave. behind them! (2.) They are driven out of the fociety of the faints on earth, into the fociety of the damned in hell, Luke xvi. 22. The rich man alfo died and was buried,' ver. 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes.' What a multitude of the devil's goats do now take place among Chrift's meep! but at death they fhall be led forth with the workers of iniquity. Pfal. cxxv. 5. There is a mixed multitude in this world but no mixture in the other; each party is there fet by themselves. Tho' hypocrites grow here as tares among the wheat, death will root them up: and they shall be bound in bundles for the fire. (3.) They are driven out of time into eternity. While time lasts with them, there is hope; but when time goes, all hope goes with it. Precious time is now lavishly fpent: it lies fo heavy upon the hands of many, that they think themselves obliged to take several ways to drive away care, But beware of being at a lofs what to do in life : improve time for eternity, whilft you have it: for ere long death will drive it from you, and you from it, fo as ye fhall never meet again. (4.) They are driven out of their specious pretences to piety. Death trips them of the fplendid robes of a fair profeffion, with which fome of them were adorned; and turns them off the ftage, in the rage of a wicked heart and life, The word hypocrite pro

per!

perly fignifies a ftage player, who appears to be what indeed he is not. This world is the ftage on which these children of the devil perfonate the children of God. Their fhew of religion is the player's coat, under which one must look, who will judge of them aright. Now death turns them out of their coat, and then they appear in their native drefs: it unveils them, and takes off their mask. There are none in the other world, who pretend to be better than they really are. Depraved nature acts in the regions of horror, unalJayed, and undifguifed. Laftly, They are driven away from all means of grace: and are fet beyond the line, quite out of all profpect of mercy. There is no more an opportunity to buy oil for the lamp; it is gone out at death, and can never be lighted again. There may be offers of mercy and peace made after they are gone; but they are to others, not to them; there are no fuch offers in the place, to which they are driven; thefe offers are only made in that place, from which they are driven away.

LASTLY, In what refpect may they be faid to be driven away in their wickedness? Anf. (1.) In refpe&t of their being driven away in their finful unconverted ftate. Having li ved enemies to God, they die in a state of enmity to him: for none are brought into the eternal state of confummate happiness, but by the way of the flate of grace, or begun recovery in this life. The child that is dead in the womb, is born dead, and is caft out of the womb into the grave: fo he who is dead, while he liveth, or is fpiritually dead, is cast forth of the womb of time, in the fame ftate of death, into the pit of utter mifery. O miferable death, to die in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity! it had been incomparably better for fuch as die thus, that they had never been born. (2.) In regard they die finning, acting wickedly against God, in contradiction to the divine law: for they can do nothing but fin while they live. So death takes them in the very act of finning; violently draws them from the embraces of their lufts, and drives them away to the tribunal to receive their fentence. It is a remarkable expreffion, Job xxxvi. 14. They die in youth the marginal reading is, their foul dieth in youth; their lufts being lively their defires vigorous, and expectations big, as is common to youth. And their life is among the unclean: or, and the company

company (or herd) of them dieth among the Sodomites, i. e. is taken away in the heat of their fin and wickedness, as the Sodomites were, Gen. xxix. Luke vii. 28, 29. (3.) In as much as they are driven away, loaded with the guilt of all their fins: this is the winding-fheet, that shall ly down with them in the duft, Job xx. 11. Their works follow them into the other world; they go away with the yoke of their tranfgreffions wreathed about their necks. Guilt is a bad companion in life, but how terrible will it be in death! it lies now, perhaps, like cold brimstone on their benum'd confciences; but, when death opens the way for fparks of divine vengeance, like fire, to fall upon it; it will make dreadful flames in the confcience, in which the foul will be as it were wrapt up for ever. Laftly, The wicked are dri. ven away in their wickedness, in fo far as they die under the abfolute power of their wickedness. While there is hope, there is fome restraint on the worst of men; and these moral endowments, which God gives to a number of men, the benefit of mankind in this life, are fo many allays and 'restraints upon the impetuous wickedness of human nature. But all hope being cut off, and these gifts withdrawn, thẻ wickedness of the wicked will then arrive at its perfection. As the feeds of grace fown in the hearts of the elect, come to their full maturity at death; fo wicked and hellish dif pofitions in the reprobate come then to their highest pitch. Their prayers to God will then be turned to horrible curfes; and their praises to hideous blafphemies, Matth. xxii. 13. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This gives a difmal but genuine view of the state of the wicked in another world.

for

II. I shall discover the hopelessness of the state of unrenewed men, at death. It appears to be very hopeless, if we confider these four things;

First, Death cuts off all their hopes and profpects of peace and pleasure in this life. Luke xii. 19. Soul, thou haft much goods laids up for many years, take thine cafe,eat, drink and be merry. Ver. 20. But God faid unto him, Thou fool, this night thy foul fhall be required of thee; then whofe fhall thofe things be, which thou haft provided?' They look for great matters in this world, they hope to increase their wealth, to fee their families profper, and to live at eafe; but

death

death comes like a formy wind, and shakes off all their fond hopes, like green fruit from off a tree. When he is about to fill his belly, God fhall caft the fury of his wrath upon • him,' Job xx. 23. He may begin a web of contrivances, for advancing his worldly intereft: but before he gets it wrought out, death comes, and cuts it out. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth: in that his thoughts perish,' Pfal. cxlvi. 4.

very day Secondly, When death comes, they have no folid grounds to hope for eternal happiness. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, tho' he hath gained, when God taketh away his foul?' Job xxvii. 8. Whatever hopes they fondly entertain. they are not founded on God's word, which is the only fure ground of hope: if they knew their own cafe, they would fee themfelves only happy in a dream. And indeed what hope can they have? The law is plain against them, and condemns them. The curfes of it (thefe cords of death) are about them already. The Saviour, whom they flighted, is now their Judge; and their Judge is their enemy. How then can they hope? They have bolted the door of mercy against themselves, by their unbelief. They have despised the remedy, and therefore muft die without mercy. They have no faving intereft in Jefus Chrift, the only channel of conveyance, in which mercy flows; and therefore they can never taste of it. The fword of juftice guards the door of mercy, so as none can enter in, but the members of the myftical body of Chrift, over whofe heads is a covert of atoning blood, the Mediator's blood. These indeed may pafs without harm, for justice has nothing to require of them. But others cannot pafs, fince they are not in Chrift: death comes to them with the fting in it, the fting of unpardoned guilt. It is armed against them with all the force the fanction of a holy law can give it, 1 Cor. xv.,56 The

fting of death is fin, and the ftrength of fin is the law.' When that law was given on Sinai, the whole mount quaked greatly. Exod. xix. 18. When the Redeemer was making fatisfaction for the elect's breaking of it, the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, Matth. xxvii. 51. What poffible ground. of hope then is there to the wicked man, when death comes upon him armed with the force of this law? How can he escape that fire, which burnt unto the midft of hea