A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of Jude

3. That the Doctrine of the day of Judgement is ancient, ¹long since foretold. Enoch prophesied of it, yea the sentence of death pronounced in Paradise did imply it, and the Lords messengers have ever urged the terror of it: many passages in Moses may be applied to this purpose, Deut. 32. David clearly saith, Psal. 50. 22. I will set thy sins in order before thee; now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. So Solomon, Eccles. 11. 9. Remember that for all these things thou shalt come to judgement. 'Twere needless to tell you of Daniel, Joel, Malachi, Christ, Paul, Peter, John, Jude: ⟨p. 436⟩still this truth was pressed in the Church, nay the Lord was pleased to grant some intimation of it to the heathens, [Greek or Hebrew], &c. in the fragments of the Sibyls, in Eusebius by the light of nature the Philosophers had some dark and uncertain guesses at such a thing, Conscience is soon sensible of the truth of it, as Felix trembled when it was mentioned, Acts 24. the ancient judgements of drowning the world, and burning Sodom, were types and forerunners of it: Well then, entertain this doctrine with the more certainty, verum quod primum, that which is first, is true: we are secret Atheists, can a man believe judgement to come, that walloweth in sin and profaneness? Our actions are the best image and expression of our thoughts; the Apostle saith, the latter days shall yield scoffers and mockers, 2 Pet. 3. there may be Atheists in the Church, but there are none in hell, we deny and doubt of that at which the devils tremble, if the Spirit, Scripture, Conscience, Reason will not teach men, there is no other way of learning but by feeling and experience.

3. That the Doctrine of the day of Judgement is ancient, ¹