A sermon occasioned by the execution of a man found guilty of murder preached…

But the other Evil which this undone Man does especially cry out of, and which (now that he seeth his Soul going into Eternity) he •aith, lies most heavy upon his Conscience, is his Despising the Word of God. I do not wonder to hear him speak so, for I have known several Condemned persons, who have made the same out-cry: O nothing terrifies our Consciences like the thought of This, that we have neglected the Means of grace; And what think you of Sinners in Hell, who are wailing for this with tears of blood for ever & ever? whose doleful and bitter cry, is, O the Sermons which we once heard▪ […] might have heard but would not! Ten ⟨p. 27⟩Thousand worlds would we give for an opportunity to hear one of those Sermons again, with any hope of finding Mercy with God. O you that have lived under the Gospel, but despised it, think of this. Verily I say unto you, all the sins in the world will not damn like this: Suppose a man to have bin guilty of Adultery, or Murder, or the most horrid Transgressions against the Law of God, these will not damn his Soul like that of Despising the Word of God. For this is the Condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men love Darkness rather than Light. And How shall we escape, if we neglect so great Salvation? They that shall be found guilty of neglecting the great Salvation offered in the Gospel, cannot escape the wrath of God, to the utmost of it. And this is true, not only concerning such as have lived under the constant Preaching of the Gospel, and yet remain, and live & dye in a natural unconverted estate; but of them also that might hear the Word of God but will not: concerning Such, Christ saith, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah at the day of Judgment, than for them. Mat. 10. 15. This dying man, now that his Conscience is awakened, saith, It is a terror to him to think, I might have heard the Word of God preached many a time▪ but refused it. He neglected to hear Sermons, not only on Lecture-days, but on Lords-Days too: when he was a Servant, he ⟨p. 28⟩was wont (as himself •aith) on Sabbath-Days, to go out into the […], and there to profane the Lords Days, at the very time when e might and ought to have him hearing the Word of God: and since he had a Family, his custom was to keep at home, when others […] attending the public Worship of God.