Could not thou rest in peace thy day,
And give thy brethren their ease,
That they with thee in love may dwell,
That in the end it might be well.

But alas! thou in thy sin was took,
The love of God thou hadst forsook,
And thou was took with a sore disease,
That no Physician could give thee ease.

Did not thy bowels then gush out,
Or on the ground was spilt about,
And thy soul to God did go,

To give account of thy works below

And it is said, that he departed without being desired, or without desire. 2 Chron. xxi, 20 And now it appears to me that the key to those wicked characters practices, and proceedings, are as follows: -As David describes them in his tenth Psalm, and saith, the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts; and their characters are also described in the book of Job, where it is said, knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy, of the hypocrite but for a moment, though his excellency mount up to the heaven and his head reach unto the clouds yet he shall perish for ever and they which have seen him shall say where is be, he shall fly away as a dream and shall not be found. Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night, the eye also which saw him shall see him no more neither shall his place any more behold him. His bones are full of the sin of his youth which shall lie down with him in the dust, though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tounge, and forsake it not, but keep it still within his mouth yet his meat in his bowels, it is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. He hath swallowed down riches,and he shall vomit them up again. He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey & butter. The heaven shall reveal his iniquity and the earth shall rise up against him, this is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God. Job. xx And again, speaking of a man in a sinful state, David saith, there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongues. Psalm. v, 9. And he hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I

shall never be in adversity, in secret places doth he murder the innocent, and are cruel against the poor; he hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten, he hideth his face, he will never see it. Psalm. 10. Again the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Psalm, xiv, 1. for he flattereth himself in his own eyes until his iniquity be found to be hateful. Psalm. xxxvi, 2, They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh throngh the earth, and they say how doth God know, and is their knowledge in the most Higb. See Psalm. 37. Again the psalmist saith, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons, and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed, unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. Psalm. evi, 37. And again see and behold the abominable sins of Manasseh and how he had shed innocent blood. very much till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, beside his sin, wherewith he made Judah sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 Kings, xxi, 16. Ah! my readers, these things appear most shocking unto us, and they are most abominable in the sight of the Lord, and my fellow sinners there is no hope, nor no peace, in a state like this, for the wicked are like the troubled ocean when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, their is no peace saith my God to the wicked. Isaiah, Ivii, 20. As we also see in that case, the case of Judas, that he found no peace for after he had betrayed his Lord and Master for the love of money as it appears. see Matt. xxvi, 15. But after that it appears he found no peace nor comfort for his troubled soul; and when he saw what was done, he went out and hanged himself. Matt. xxvii, 5. So we see, if we continue in our sins, until the love and grace of God withdraws itself then we are in a most miserable condition indeed, but if the glorious gospel of Christ, be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them. 2. Cor. iv, 3. For it is said that the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine, the light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. Job, xviii, 5, And thus it may be fulfilled as it is written, then shall they call upon. me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but

H

they shall not find me, for that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. Prov. i, 28, Therefore my son, let not thy foolishness pervert thy way, lest thou become wise in thine own eyes and so loose the light; and thy heart fret against the Lord; let not the flower of thy life pass away in cruelty, drunkeness, vanity, or folly. Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning that they may follow after strong drink, that continue until night till wine inflame them, and the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts, but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. see Isaiah, ), 11. Therefore, they say unto God, depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways, what is the Almighty that we should serve him, and what profit should we have if we pray unto him. Job, xxi, 14. And now speaking of man that is in his sinful nature, he is also in this state and condition; and now we must conclude that by the fall of our first parents, we are all included in sin, both Jew, and Gentile, as it is written their is none righteous no not one, there is none that understandeth, their is none that seeketh after God, they are all gone out of the way, they are all together become unprofitable, their is none that doeth good no not one, and the way of peace have they not known; their is no fear of God before their eyes, and now we plainly see according to the word of God, that by the deed of the law their shall no flesh living be justified in his sight-Because we have all broke the holy law of God, for by the law is the knowledge of sin, but still although the fallen state of man be so degenerate, so sinful, and so corrupt, and although their is no hope for them which die in their sins, yet their still is hope through grace for the living, and in this chapter we mav plainly see the way of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. c. 3. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 Ep. John, ii, 2. And now hath it a long time been fulfilled according as it is written, that is to say, he is a just God and Saviour. Isaiah, xlv, 21. Therefore he can be just, and the justifier of him who believeth on Jesus. Rom. iii, 26, But still observe his, my readers, that is to say, although Christ hath suffered and died for us poor sinners, and hath satisfied divine justice in every point, for us men and for our salvation, and hath opened a new and living way to the Kingdom of Hea

ven, for all true believers, Yet, I say, although it be so, yet at the same time we must consider, and confess, and allow, and acknowledge, that Christ hath not suffered and died to the intent that we should indulge ourselves in our sins, but that he hath suffered, and died for this purpose, the just for the unjust, and to justify us in the sight of a just God, and to redeem us from the curse of sin, and to sanctify us from sin, and to clense us from all unrighteousness. He hath died to lift us up out of the miry pit of sin, in which we are all by our sinful nature fallen. Therefore, he redeemed us and calls us unto holiness, not unto unholiness; and when we feel the calls of Divine Grace working or operating within us, then it is our time to obey and repent, and to gladly believe, and embrace the Gospel of Christ, which bringeth unto us such good tidings of life and salvation through His name. And then, if we embrace the Gospel of our blessed Lord and Savour, with the desire of our souls unto holiness, then he will pardon our sins and dwell in us, and so put an end to siu. And then, if our sins have been as scarlet, they shall be as as while as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool, But yet, on the other hand, although Christ hath died for sinners, yet, if we continue and persist in our sins, and so refuse the gracious calls of Heaven until it is too late, then his blood will not avail for us, or profit us anything; and so at last we may be hardened in our sins, and never have repetance given, therefore let us not be deceivd, God is not mocked, again let us remember that we are his servants, to whom we obey whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness, but if our obedience be of sin unto death, remember then that their is none other name given under Heaven amongst men whereby we can be saved; except that of our blessed Lord and Saviour, But if our obedience be of that uuto righteousnes through grace, then we are sure and that through his word, that there is, therefore, now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. And now, my dear friends and fellow sinners, I beseech you in the name of the Lord, through the Grace of our Lord Jesus, to consider and take waruing by what hath been said in this little book, and also in my next following book to this, called the Book of Whoredom and the Cruelty of the Wicked, for these have a more full description of these

lustful and abominable sins, and let us all look to the bleeding Lamb, and pray for mercy and grace, so that we may be delivered from these great and sore evils before it be too late; and and now, may thou be pleased, O Lord, to bless and sanction this work, according as it seemeth good in thy sight, aud sanctify it to the souls of them that read or hear it as much as it seemeth good in thy sight: and forgive thy unworthy dust. Where he seemeth to come short by reason of his weakness, and inability, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

And now, my readers, see many more of my little Books, because there is great and important things yet to come, and now may the spirit of his Grace be sufficient for us and lead us all to the realm of his everlasting love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

END OF THE SECOND & THIRD BOOKS,

BY EDWARD CROOK.

AYLESBURY: PRINTED BY W. WOODMAN.

1837.