Christ's certain and sudden appearance to judgment. By Thomas Vincent, sometime Minister of Maudlins…

2 Your Repentance of sin now will be pleasing unto God: We read, Luke 15. how well pleased the Father was when his Prodigal son returned home, and with grief did acknowledge that he had sinned against Heaven and against him; and was not worthy to be called his Son; the Father meets him in the way, and •isseth him, and clotheth him with the best Ro•es▪ and kills the farted Calf for him, and maketh merry with him; so, though you have been prodiga's hitherto, have gone astray from God, and wasted your time, and talents in the service of the Devil, and your own lusts; yet if at length you come to your selves, and with repentance, and humble confession of your si••s, you return unto the Lord, he will pity you, his bowels will ••ern towards you whilst you•••e yet upon the way; and he will meet you, and embrace you▪ & clothe you with the Ro•es of his sons righteousness▪ and be pleased with you, and rejoice over you; yea, and the Angels al•• will rejoice in your conversion; there will be joy in Heaven at your repentance amongst the Angels & joy on earth amongst the Saints, Ministers will be pleased and rejoice; they will pity you and pray for you; and Saints will be pleased and be ready to help and advise you; but Gods pity is beyond all. See how God is taken with repe••••g Ephraim. Jere. 32. 18. 19, •0. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning him▪self, &c. Surely after I was turned, I repented; and after ⟨p. 200⟩was instructed I smote upon my thigh, I was ashamed, yea even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth; there you have the description of Ephraim's repentance; and O the sweet words of most ender Love which the Lord doth express himself in, towards Ephraim under his repentings Is Ephraim my dear son? is he my pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still? therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy on him, faith the Lord. But if you repent no till hereafter your grief will not only be extreme but also you will have no eye to pity you, God will not pity you in the least, but laugh at our calamity, his bowels will be shut against you; your rief then will not be pleasing in the least, and your cries & complaints of sin then will be like the howling of a Dog in […] ears: He will then instead of meeting you to embrace […], he will meet you to destroy you;