by many, he may at the last day be owned and glori fied before all he will then be confessed to be God. and man; by the good, to their everlasting comfort, and by the wicked, to their great confusion. Lastly, that the providence of God may be clearly manifested in all his proceedings through time; why he permitted the good oftentimes to suffer, and the wicked to prosper; and then glory will be given to that divine providence, which has been the subject to many of complaint in this life.

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SECT II.

THAT are the signs that shall go before this day? A. Antichrist shall appear and seduce many. Q. Who will be the precursors or forerunners of our just Judge? A. Enoch and Eilas, who are not yet dead. Q. Where are they now? A. In some de lightful hidden region; as to Enoch, we know he was translated into Paradise. Eccl. xliv. 10. Q. What will they then do? A. They will bring many to repentance, and at last die for their faith. Q. What signs will immediately be before the last day? A. There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, as mentioned in holy writ. Q. What else? A. The sign of the cross shall be seen in the heavens, to be a comfort to the good, and a terror to the wicked.

INSTRUC,-Great and terrible signs will appear before the last day: there will arise false Christs, and false Prophets, who will do strange wonders and prodigies, and seduce a great number of souls; even the elect will but hardly escape their errors: but their reign will be but short, even the great Antichrist shall reign but three years and a half. To balance this desolation, Enoch and Elias will come again, and espouse the cause of Christ; they will oppose these diabolical teachers, support the good in their faith, convert vast numbers, and then they shall both suffer martyrdom.

After that, there shall be terrible signs of God's anger in the sun, moon, and stars: the sun and moon shall be darkened, the stars change their places, all natore be overturned, and the whole world destroyed by a

prodigious raging fire. The sign of the Son of Man (the cross) shall appear in the heavens, to the great confusion of the Jews, who crucified him; to the confusion of the infidels, who refused to believe him; to the confusion of heretics, who persecuted his church; to the confusion of those, who by their bad morals brought a scandal upon his religion: but to the everlasting joy and glory of those who professed and glorified him in their lives and actions. Sweet Jesus! grant us all perseverance in thy holy church and religion, that we, with the just, may with confidence lift up our minds and hearts to thee, amidst the terrors of that dreadful day.

SECT. III.

Q. WHAT will follow after these signs? A. The Son of Man shall appear in great power and majesty, in all the glory of God incarnate. Q. What will then follow? A. He will send his angels with a trumpet, to summon all to judgment. Q. What examine will be made there? A. The examine of our whole lives, even of the most secret thoughts and actions. Q. Who is to be the judge? A. Christ, who is both God and man. Q. Who will be our accusers? A. The Devils and our own guilty consciences.

INSTRUC. After all things foretold by Christ and the Prophets have been completed, then shall our Saviour, who by the Father is appointed Judge of the living and the dead, be seen in the clouds, coming with great power and majesty to judgment. He shall send forth an Angel with a trumpet, and a loud voice, that will be heard from the highest heaven to the lowest hell, from the remotest land to the deepest sea, and all the dead in their monuments shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and by the administration of Angels, shall awake in the dust, arise and come to judgment; none excepted, not even the least infants; all shall rise again, from Adam, to the last that shall be born of Adam. Then judgment shall begin; the books will be opened, and the whole life of man will be displayed to the

whole world.

This account will be from the first use of reason to the last life: all our thoughts, words,' and actions, will be brought to light; all our good ones, and all our bad ones. All our hidden sins, and all the sins we have caused in others: all the gifts, and all the talents of grace we have received, and how we managed them. Every one will be examined concerning his state of life, office, and obligations.

But this is what will make judgment the most terrible, because God is Judge; Jesus Christ, true God and man. A judge infinitely knowing, whom we cannot deceive; infinitely powerful, whom we cannot resist; infinitely just, whom we cannot bribe; and of supreme authority, from whose sentence there is no appeal.

And who are those that will come against us as witnesses to accuse us, but the Devil and our own guilty consciences? He was our enemy while living, in tempting and overcoming us; so will he be our enemy at the last day, to bear witness of our sins, and to involve us in the like punishment with himself: our very consciences will rise against us, by the decree of the Almighty; I will convince you, and set you before your own face. We ourselves then shall be witnesses against ourselves; we shall be self-condemned, and be forced to say, By the just judgment of God I am condemned.

SECT. IV.

Q. WHAT will the sentence be in favor of the good? A. Come ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, Q. What will be the sentence of the wicked? A. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. Q. Who will pronounce this sentence? A. God himself, who is an unchangeable Being, unalterable in his words; his truth shall remain for ever; heaven and earth may pass away, but his word never shall. Q. After this sentence, what will become of the damned P

A. They shall go into eternal punishment. Q. What will become of the just? A. They shall go unto eternal life. Q. What is meant by the quick and the dead? A. By the quick, all that shall be living at the time of his coming, (who nevertheless shall all once die, when the world will be destroycd;) by the dead, all that have died from Adam to that day.

INSTRUC.-This sentence of happiness will be so joyful to the elect, that no tongue of man or angel is able to express it; and will be the blessed effect of those good works they did while living; Come ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; because when I was hungry, you gave me to eat; when I was thirsty, you gave me to drink, &c. and the more they did of these good works, the more glory they will have: hapру soul that is called by God from labour to rest; from the valley of tears to the greatest joy, and from all misery to everlasting happiness! Possess the kingdom: what is this kingdom, but to have the clear sight and enjoyment of God, and his happiness forever; to be united to God, and to be one with him in eternal glory? But 0 sentence of the reprobate! Depart ye cursed! Depart from God! from heaven! never to see God, or to enter into the company of the blessed! This is that hell of hells which is called the pain of loss. Now, not only to lose all good, but sink into an 'abyss of everlasting torments, without hope of comfort, is the pain of sense, which the very worst of sinners cannot firmly believe without trembling; but when this is added, everlasting fire, it both makes it inconceivable and inexpressible yet this Eternity of pains we have from the mouth of God, who is truth itself, and knows all things as they are in truth. When sentence is thus passed upon all mankind, the damned will go to the place of their torment, which is hell; the blessed to the abode of their happiness, which is heaven, the celestial paradise. O tremendous sentence, which determines our lot for eternity!

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EXHOR. Adore now your blessed Redeemer, who will one day become our Judge. O make him now,

what he always desires to be, by virtue, and a good life, a merciful Saviour to you: live so now, that joy may appear in your countenance at that day. Abhor your past sins, which will, if not repented for, turn him from mercy to wrath and indignation against you. Prepare yourself with all your might, to give a good account of death. Judge yourself now, that you may not then be judged; confess your sins now, as if you were before him with the same humility and truth as you would confess them at judgment. O what sorrow, what contrition, what good purposes would you not then have? Glorify him now by your good works, that you may then receive a crown.

Remember thy last end: place daily before your eyes those signs, those terrors, that will forerun that day. As often as you hear or see any convulsions in nature, as winds, storms, thunders and lightnings; O think well of those last and terrible convulsions, which will subvert the whole earth: you tremble to see even a single house on fire; O tremble to behold in mind the whole earth in a confiragration. Be ready now to hear the voice of God: arise and do penance, that you may hear it to your everlasting comfort: arise and come to judgment.

O what will then have been the life of worldlings? What will have been their riches, honours, pleasures? No more than an empty dream, or bubble upon the water so it will seem to themselves, the moment that death surprizes, judgment seizes, and eternity awakens them. O my soul, repent now, and here put a stop; increase no longer that terrible account, which must be given to an all-seeing, all-powerful, and just Judge. Make amends now for the injuries done by your sins, by such good works as will both satisfy for them, and sign your glory, viz. charities to the poor, and acts of penance to yourself. Strive now to gain that blessing which will be pronounced in favour of the elect: Come ye blessed, &c. It is altogether in your power at present; and if, alas! you shall hear the reverse, who can you blame but yourself? God gives you time, help, and grace, to save yourself; he is now