BEfore thou readest these Directions I advise thee yea I charge thee before God and his holy Angels to resolve to follow them as far as conscience shall be convinced of their agreeableness to Gods word and thy estate and call in his assistance and blessing that they may succeed And as I have sought the Lord and consulted his oracles what advice to give thee so must thou entertain it with that aw reverence and purpose of obedience that the word of the living God doth require Now then attend Set thine heart unto all that I shall testify unto thee this day for it is not a vain thing it is your life Deut. 32. 46. This is the end of all that hath been spoken hitherto to bring you to set upon turning and making use of Gods means for your Conversion I would not trouble you nor torment you before the time with the forethoughts of your eternal misery but in order to your making your escape Were you shut up under your present misery without remedy it were but mercy as one speaks to let you alone that you might take in that little poor comfort that you are capable of here in this world But you may yet be happy if you do not willfully refuse the means of your recovery Behold I hold open the door unto you arise and take your flight I set the way of life before you walk in it and you shall live and not die Deut. 30. 19. Ier. 9. 16. It pities me to think you should be your own murderers and throw your selves headlong when God and men cry out to you as Peter in another case to his Master Spare thy self A noble Virgin that attended the Court of Spain was wickedly ravished by the King and hereupon exciting the Duke her Father to revenge he called in the Moors to his help who when they had executed his design miserably wasted and spoiled the Countrey which this Virgin laying exceedingly to heart shut her self up in a Tower belonging to her Fathers house and desired her Father and Mother might be called forth and bewailing to them her own wretchedness that she should have occasioned so much misery and desolation to her Countrey for the satisfying of her revenge she told them she was resolved to be avenged upon her self Her Father and mother besought her to pity her self and them but nothing would prevail but she took her leave of them and threw her self off the battlements and so perished before their faces Just such is the willful destruction of ungodly men The God that made them beseecheth them and cryeth out to them as Paul to the distracted Jaylor when about to murder himself Do thy self no harm The Ministers of Christ forewarn them and follow them and fain would hold them back But alas No expostulations nor obtestations will prevail but men will hurl themselves into perdition while pity it self looketh on What shall I say would it not grieve a person of any humanity if in the time of a reigning plague he should have a receipt as one well that would infallibly cure all the Countrey and recover the most hopeless patients and yet his friends and neighbours should dye by the hundreds about him because they would not use it Men and brethren though you carry the certain symptoms of death in your faces yet I have a receipt that will cure you all that will cure infallibly Follow but these few directions and if you do not then win Heaven I will be content to lose it Hear then O sinner and as ever thou wouldst be converted and saved embrace this following counsel Direct I. Set it down with thy self as an undoubted truth that it is impossible for thee ever to get to Heaven in this thine unconverted estate Can any other but Christ save thee And he tells thee he will never do it except thou be regenerated and converted Mat. 18. 3. Iohn 3. 3. Doth not he keep the keys of Heaven And canst thou get in without his leave as thou must if ever thou comest thither in thy natural condition without a sound and through renovation Dir. II. Labour to get a thorow sight and lively sense and feeling of thy sins Till men are weary and heavy laden and pricked at the heart and stark sick of sin they will not come to Christ in his way for ease and cure nor to purpose enquire What shall we do Mat. 11. 28. Act. 2. 37. Mat. 9. 12. They must set themselves down for dead men before they will come unto Christ that they may have life Iohn 5. 40. Labour therefore to set all thy sins in order before thee Never be afraid to look upon them but let thy spirit make diligent search Psal. 77. 6. Enquire into thine heart and into thy life Enter into a thorow examination of thy self and of all thy wayes Psal. 119. 59. that thou maist make a full discovery and call in the help of Gods spirit in the sense of thine own inability hereunto for it is his proper work to convince of sin Iohn 16. 8. Spread all before the face of thy conscience till thine heart and eyes be set abroach Leave not striving with God and thine own soul till it cry out under the sense of thy sins as the inlightened Jaylour What must I do to be saved Acts 16. 30. To this purpose Meditate of the Numerousness of thy sins David's heart failed when he thought of this and considered that he had more sins than hairs Psal. 40. 12. This made him to cry out upon the multitudes of Gods tender mercies Psal. 51. 1. The loathsome carcase doth not more hatefully swarm with crawling worms than an unsanctified soul with filthy lusts They fill the head the heart the eyes and mouth of him Look backward where was ever the place what was ever the time in which thou didst not sin Look inward what part or power canst thou find in soul or body but it is poisoned with sin What duty dost thou ever perform into which this poison is not shed Oh how great is the sum of thy debts who hast been all thy life long running upon the books and never didst nor canst pay off one penny Look over the sin of thy nature and all its cursed brood the sins of thy life Call to mind thine Omissions Commissions the sins of thy thoughts of thy words of thine actions the sins of thy youth the sins of thy years c. Be not like a desperate bankrupt that is afraid to look over his books Read the records of conscience carefully these books must be opened sooner or later Rev. 20. 12. Meditate upon the aggravations of thy sins as they are the grand enemies against the God of thy life against the life of thy soul in a word they are the publick enemies of all mankind How do David Ezra Daniel and the good Levites aggravate their sins from the consideration of their injuriousness to God their opposition to his good and righteous
point save carnal interests ask them why they are Preachers or Priests And if Conversion and Holiness be a needless thing what use they themselves are of and why the Country must be troubled with them and pay them tythes and owe them reverence When these twenty Questions are well answered conclude that you may be saved without Conversion But if poor soul thou art fully convinced and askest What should I do to be converted The Lord make thee willing and save thee from hypocrisie and I will quickly tell thee in a few words 1. Give not over sober thinking of these things till thy heart be changed Psal. 119. 59. 2. Come to Christ and take him for thy Saviour thy Teacher thy King and he will pardon all that 's past and save thee Iohn 1. 12. and 3. 16. and 5. 40. 1 Iohn 5. 11 12. 3. Believe Gods love and the pardon of sin and the everlasting joyes of Heaven that thou maist feel that all the pleasures of the world and flesh are dung in comparison of the Heavenly delights of Faith and Hope and holy Love and peace of Conscience and sincere obedience 4. Sin no more wilfully but forbear that which thou maist forbear Isa. 55. 7. 5. Away from Temptations occasions of sin and evil company and be a Companion of the humble holy heavenly and sincere Psal. 119. 115. 63. 6. Wait on Gods spirit in the diligent constant use of his own means Read hear meditate pray Pray hard for that grace that must convert thee wait thus and thou shalt not wait in vain Psal. 25. 3. and 37. 34. and 69. 6. Pitty O Lord and perswade these souls Let not Christ's blood his doctrine his example his spirit be lost unto them and they lost for ever Let not Heaven be as no Heaven to them while they dream and dote on the shaddows in this world And O save this land from the greater destruction than all our late plagues and flames and divisions which our sins and thy threatnings make us fear O Lord in thee have we trusted let us never be confounded Having thus contributed my endeavour in this Preface to the furtherance of the design of this excellent book I must tell thee Reader that I take it for an honour to commend so masculine a birth unto the World The Midwife of Alexander or Aristotle need not be ashamed of her office Who the Author of this treatise was how he preached how he lived how he suffered and for what and how he died his Life and Letters lately printed fully tell you and I earnestly commend the reading of them to all but especially Ministers not to tell them what men have been here forbidden to preach Christ's Gospel and for what nor what men they are that so many years have done it but to tell you what men Christ's Ministers should be But say not He kill'd himself with excessive Labour and therefore I will take warning and take my ease For 1. He lived in perfect health all his days notwithstanding his labours till after his hard and long imprisonment 2. It was not the greatest labours of his times of liberty that hurt him but his preaching 6 or 7 or 8 times a week after that he was silenced because he could not speak to all his people at once O make not an ill use of so excellent an example Say not like Iudas What need this waste His labour his life his sufferings his death were not in vain The ages to come that read his Life and read this little popular treatise and his Call to Archippus shall say They were not in vain And though he was cut off in the midst of his age and his longer labours more elaborate writings thus prevented take thankfully this small but methodical warm and serious tractate Read it seriously and it cannot be but it must do thee good I am one that have lookt into books and sciences and speculations of many sorts and seriously tell thee as a dying man that after all my searches and experience I have found that Philosophical enquiries into the Divine Artifices and the Nature of things hath among a greater number of uncertainties a great many pretty pleasant probabilities which a holy soul can make good use of in admiring God may find us a lawful kind of sport but in the moralities which Atheists count uncertainties the knowledge of God and our duty and our hopes the doctrine and practice of Holiness Temperance Charity and Iustice and the diligent seeking joyful hopes of life everlasting is all the true Wisdom the Goodness the Rest and Comfort of a soul whatever be our play this is the satisfying certainty the Business and the beatifying improvement of our lives I have done when I have sought to remove a little scandal which I foresaw that I should my self write the Preface to his Life where himself and two of his friends make such a mention of my name which I cannot own which will seem a praising him for praising me I confess it looketh ill-favouredly in me But I had not the power of other mens writings durst not therefore forbear that which was his due Had I directed their pens they should have gone a middle way and only esteemed me a very unworthy servant of Christ who yet long to see the peace and prosperity of his Church and should have forborn their undeserved praise as other men should have done their slanderous libels But if the Reader get no harm by it I assure him the use I made of it was to lament that I am really so much worse than they esteemed me and to fear lest I should prove yet worse than I discern my self who see so much sin and weakness in my betters and much more in my self as to make it the constant sentiment of my soul that PRIDE of mens GREATNESS WISDOM and GOODNESS is the first part of the DEVILS IMAGE on mans soul and DARKNES is the second and MALIGNITY the third Râ— Baxter TO THE UNCONVERTED Reader READER HOw well were it if there were no more unconverted ones among us than those to whom this is directed Vnconverted persons how many are there but how few unconverted Readers especially of such Books as this before thee A Play or a Romance better suits the lusts and therefore must have more of the eye of such what will cherish the evil heart is only grateful not what will change it How many are there to whom this is directed who will not know that they are the men and how little hope is there that this excellent Treatise should reach its end with those who apprehend not themselves concern'd in it Art not thou one of them Art thou a Convert or art thou not yet in thy sins What is sin What is Conversion It may be thou canst tell me neither and yet a Convert thou sayst thou art But to what purpose is it then like to be for the servant of God to
and so he cannot but hate a sinner out of Christ. Oh what a misery is this to be out of the favour yea under the hatred of God! Eccles. 5. 4. â—lâ—s 9. 15. that God can as easily lay aside his nature and cease to be God as not to be contrary to thee and detest thee except thou be changed and renewed by grace Oh sinner how darest thou to think of the bright and radiant Sun of purity upon the beauties the glory of holiness that is in God! The Stars are not pure in his sight Iob 25. He humbleth himself to behold the things that are done in Heaven Psal. 113. Oh those light and sparkling eyes of his what do they espy in thee and thou hast no interest in Christ neither that he should plead for thee Methinks I should hear thee crying out astonished with the Bethshemites Who shall stand before this holy Lord God 1 Sam. 6. 20. Thirdly The Power of God is mounted like a mighty Cannon against thee The glory of Gods power is to be displayed in the wonderful confusion and destruction of them that obey not the Gospel 2. Thess. 1. 8 9. He will make his power known in them Rom. 9. 22. how mightily he can torment them For this end he raiseth them up that â—e may make his power known Rom. 9. 17. O man art thou able to make thy party good against thy maker No more than a silly reed against the Cedars of God or a little cock-boat against the tumbling ocean or the childrens bubbles against the blustering winds Sinner the power of Gods anger is against thee Psal. 90. 11. and power and anger together make fearful work 'T were better thou hadst all the world in arms against thee than to have the power of God against thee There is no escaping his hands no breaking his prison The Thunder of his power who can understand Iob 26. 14. Unhappy man that shall understand it by feeling it If he will contend with him he cannot answer him one of a thousand He is wise in heart and mighty in strength who hath hardened himself against him and prospered Which removeth the mountains and they know it not which overturneth them in his anger Which shaketh the earth out of her place and the pillars thereof tremble Which commandeth the Sun and it riseth not and sealeth up the Stars Behold he taketh away who can hinder him who will say unto him What dost thou If God will not withdraw his anger the proud helpers do stoop under him Iob. 9. 3 4 5 6 c. And art thou a fit match for such an antagonist Oh consider this you that forget God lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you Psal. 50. 22. Submit to mercy Let not dust and stubble stand it out against the Almighty Set not briars and thorns against him in battel lest he go through them and consume them together but lay hold on his strength that you may make peace with him Esay 27. 4 5. Wo to him that striveth with his maker Esay 45. 9. Fourthly The wisdom of God is set to ruine thee He hath ordained his arrows and prepared the instruments of death and made all things ready Psa. 7. 11 12. 13. His counsels are against thee to contrive thy destruction Ier. 18. 11. He laughs in himself to see how thou wilt be taken and ensnared in the evil day Psal. 37. 13. The Lord shall laugh at him for he seeth that his day is coming He sees how thou wilt come down mightily in a moment how thou wilt wring thine hands and tear thine hair and eat thy flesh and gnash thy teeth for anguish and astonishment of heart when thou seest how thou art fallen remedilesly into the pit of destruction Fifthly The Truth of God is sworn against thee Psal. 95. 11. If he be true and faithful thou must perish if thou goest on Luke 13. 3. Unless he be false of his word thou must die except thou repent Ezek. 33. 11. If we believe not yet he abideth faithful he cannot deny himself 2 Tim. 2. 13. That is he is faithful to his threatnings as well as promises and will shew his faithfulness in our confusion if we believe not God hath told thee as plain as it can be spoken That if he wash thee not thou hast no part in him Iohn 13. 8. That if thou livest after the flesh thou shalt dye Rom. 8. 13. That except thou be converted thou shalt in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 18. 3. and he abideth faithful he cannot deny himself Beloved as the immutable faithfulness of God in his promise and oath afford believers strong consolation Heb. 6. 18. so they are to unbelievers for strong consternation and confusion O sinner tell me what shift dost thou make to think of all the threatnings of Gods word that stand upon record against thee Dost thou believe their truth or not If not thou art a wretched infidel and not a Christian and therefore give over the name and hopes of a Christian. But if thou dost believe them O heart of steel that thou hast that canst walk up and down in quiet when the truth and faithfulness of God in engaged to destroy thee that if God Almighty can do it thou shalt surely perish and be damned Why man the whole book of God doth testify against thee while thou remainest unsanctified it condemns thee in every leaf and is to thee like Ezekiel's roll written within and without with lamentations and mourning and wo Ezek. 2. 10. and all this shall surely come upon thee and overtake thee Deut. 28. 15. except thou repent Heaven and earth shall pass away but one jot or tittle of this word shall never pass away Mat. 5. 18. Now put all this together and tell me if the case of the Unconverted be not deplorably miserable As we read of some persons that had bound themselves in an oath and in a curse to kill Paul so thou must know O sinner to thy terror that all the attributes of the infinite God are bound in an oath to destroy thee Heb. 3. 18. O man what wilt thou do whither wilt thou fly If Gods Omnisciency can find thee thou shalt not escape If the true and faithful God will save his oath perish thou must except thou believe and repent If the Almighty hath power to torment thee thou shalt be perfectly miserable in soul and body to all eternity unless it be prevented by thy speedy Conversion II. The whole creation of God is against thee The whole creation saith Paul groaneth and travelleth in pain Rom. 8. 22. But what is it that the creation groaneth under Why the fearful abuse that it is subject to in serving the lusts of unsanctified men And what is it that the creation groaneth for why for freedom and liberty from this abuse for the creature is very unwillingly subject to this bondage Rom. 8. 19 20 21. If