their great gity to releafe all the Damned, pl and even the Devils themselves out of Hell within fo many years; but this is to underftand the Measures and Reafons of the Divine Government better than God himself, to prescribe new ones to him contrary to what he has lay'd down, to fet up a Court of Equity upon him in our thoughts, and to correct the fixt Rules and declared Meafures of his Juftice and Mercy with fome others of our own, which furely is not to be allowed.

As to the driving Sinners into despair by this Doctrine; this cannot be faid of thofe who have time before 'em to repent and live better, if they make use of it, and nothing will more strongly excite them, and more immediately put them upon this than the the faithful and open telling them truth as I have done and taking them off from all hopes and truft of a dying Repentance, which has destroyed fo many Souls. As for the dying Sinner himself, however I pity him, I dare not give him hopes farther than I have warrant from God and Authority from the Gospel, which no Minifter can have to affure him of Pardon and Salvation from a mere late and Death-Bed Repentance. He can only advife fuch an one to do all he can at that time, which may help, if not wholly to remit his punishment, yet in fome measure, to abate and mitigate it, which is a very great thing, and commend him to the Extraordinary and Uncovenanted Mercy of God, which is not limited by any thing but

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the rectitude of his own Nature, to which we must leave fome great Cafes not knowing what to judge of them our felves; but as to the ordinary and covenanted Mercy of God which he himself has limited, and which ought not be stretcht or extended any more than narrowed or confined to any other bounds than thofe of the Gofpel, fuch a Repentance has no title to it by any promise there that I know of, and therefore I would not for all the world venture my Soul upon it, nor would have any Man elfe to do fo; for befides all other hazards of a fudden Death and the like that attend fuch a Repentance, 'tis venturing whether God will not break the Rules and Measures of the Gofpel, or at leaft abate them, and be more merciful than he has there promised to be, which no Man has any reafon to expect he should be, but rather a great deal to question whether he can be.

Let none of us therefore trust to such a Late and Death-Bed Repentance which will expofe us not only to infinite danger, but to inevitable and certain ruin; nor let us believe any fuch Doctrine which has no foundation either from the Thief on the Crofs, or from any thing else in Scripture to be relyed on, but however fevere the other Doctrine be, let us confider it is true as I fhall fully prove it is, and I know no Mifchief of its feverity but this which is the plain confequence of it, that we must not delay our Repentance, but take care to live a good life if we hope to go to Heaven. SECT.

SECT. III.

The Invalidity of a Death-Bed Repentance fhewn from the Parable of the Wife and Foolish Virgins.

HA

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Aving Examined and Anfwered the Pleas and Pretences on behalf of a Death-Bed Repentance I fhall fhew its Invalidity and Infufficiency by fuch plain and positive Proofs as fhall take away that common error and fatal mistake on the other fide, and fully confirm and establish my Opinion against it. The first whereof fhall be that Excellent Parable of the Wife and Foolish Virgins, Matth. 25. efpecially the latter part of it at the 10, 11, 12. verfes, for I fhall not reprefent it entire in all the parts, but only what is more full and home to my purpofe in relation to the foolish Virgins, of whom it is faid, That while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and -they that were ready went in with him to the marringe, and the door was fhut; afterwards came alfo the other Virgins, Saying, Lord, Lord, -open to us; but he answered and Jaid, verily I know you not. I

-Parables were an Eastern and Jewish way of inftruction very frequently used by their wifemen, and fo made cuftomary to the people, for all forms and modes and habits of fpeech like thofe of cloths would look odd and antick and uncouth that were not fo; as they were very antient and very common aS

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mong them and from thence taken up by our Saviour, fo they were very agreeable to Nature, and a moft ufeful lively and familiar way of reprefenting any Truth or Doarine by way of Hiftory and Similitude; They fhewed us the thing in an Image and Picture, fo that we saw it as it were before us, and it thereby made a strong impreffion upon both the fancy and the memory, and they fet us a pattern and example of it by which we might the most easily comprehend, underftand and remember it, and have it as it were in a Scene drawn before our eyes and acted before us, which are the moft natural ways by which Mankind are to be taught moved and affected; Abstracted naked Truths are many times too fine for their grofs thoughts and understandings, and they cannot conceive Spiritual things fo well as when they are drest up in another garb, and brought down to their Senfes; Most of our thoughts and apprehenfions are formed by fuch ideas and images on the brain and mind as are the draughts and models of the things themselves, and Parables have these two things in them which are apt to make the strongest impression upon the minds of Men, which are Imagery or Picture, Acting or Representation by Example. Now in thefe Dramatical Compofures and Inftructions there is a main Plot or one chief and Principal Defign runs through the whole, and is chiefly aimed at and carried on in all the parts and acts of it, and that is chiefly to be minded as the Scope and Aim of the Parable, the Air and Countenance and Eye as I may call

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call it of this moral Picture, which looks upon fuch a principal Truth, Doctrine and Inftruction as what it intends chiefly to convey and represent thereby to our minds: Now the very Scope and Drift and Defign of the Parable of the Wife and Foolish Virgins is to fhew that we ought to be always prepared and provided for another World, and that there is no hopes of entring into Heaven by any thing we can do on a fudden when the Bridegroom is just a coming, and when Death is juft upon us and very near us, and we are unprepared before for it: These three things are plainly meant and imported and aimed at by it.

1. That we cannot enter into Heaven without Holy and Vertuous Habits and Difpofitions of Mind.

2. That these are not to be had or attained on a fudden.

3. That without those we fhall be fhut. out of Heaven notwithstanding our most earnest Desires, Prayers and Entreaties, and all other Applications we can make to enter in.

1. That we cannot enter into Heaven without Holy and Vertuous Habits and Difpofitions of mind: Thofe are meant by the Öyl which the Wife Virgins had in their Veffels but the Foolish were without, and not fenfible of the need of it till it was too late; to think that our Soul may be happy and fit for Heaven without thofe is as foolish