God and do as well as I can and not make so much ado Answ. 1. Is that doing as well as you can when you will not Turn to God but your heart is against his holy and diligent service It is as well as you will indeed but that 's your misery 2. My desire is that you should Hope and Trust in God But for what is it that you will Hope Is it to be saved if you turn and be sanctified For this you have Gods promise and therefore hope for it and spare not But if you Hope to be saved without Conversion and an Holy Life this is not to Hope in God but in Satan or your selves For God hath given you no such promise but told you the contrary but its Satan and self-love that made you such promises and raised you to such Hopes Well If these and such as these be all you have to say against Conversion and an Holy Life your All is Nothng and worse then Nothing And if these and such as these seem Reasons sufficient to perswade you to forsake God and cast your selves into Hell the Lord deliver us from such Reasons and from such blind understandings and from such sensless hardened hearts Dare you stand to ever an one of these Reasons at the Barr of God Do you think it will then serve your turn to say Lord I did not Turn because I had so much to do in the world or because I did not like the lives of some professors or because I saw men of so many minds O how easily will the light of that day confound and shame such reasonings as these Had you the world to look after Let the world which you served now pay your wages and save you if it can Had you not a better world to look after first And were you not commanded to seek first Gods Kingdom and Righteousness and promised that other things should be added to you Mat. 6.33 And were you not told that godliness was profitable to all things having the promise of this life and of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4.8 Did the sins of professors hinder you you should rather have been the more heedful and learned by their falls to beware and have been the more careful and not the more careless It was the Scripture and not their lives that was your Rule Did the many opinions of the world hinder you Why the Scripture that was your Rule did teach you but one way and that was the right way If you had followed that even in so much as was plain and easie you should never have miscarried Will not such Answers as these confound and silence you If these will not God hath those that will when he asketh the man Mat. 22.12 Friend how camest thou in hither not having on a wedding garment that is What dost thou in my Church among professed Christians without an holy heart and life What answer did he make Why the text saith He was speechless he had nothing to say The clearness of the case and the Majesty of God will then easily stop the mouths of the most confident of you though you will not be put down by any thing that we can say to you now but will make good your cause be it never so bad I know already that never a Reason that now you can give will do you any good at last when your case must be opened before the Lord and all the world Nay I scarce think that your own Consciences are well satisfied with your Reasons For if they are it seems then you have not so much as a Purpose to Repent But if you do purpose to Repent it seems you do not put much confidence in your Reasons which you bring against it What say you yet Unconverted sinners Have you any good Reason to give why you should not Turn and presently Turn with all your hearts Or will you go to Hell in despight of Reason it self Bethink you what you do in time for it will shortly be too late to bethink you Can you find any fault with God or his work or wages Is he a bad Master Is the Devil whom you serve a better or is the flesh a better Is there any harm in an holy life is a life of worldliness and ungodliness better Do you think in your Consciences that it would do you any harm to be Converted and live an holy life What harm can it do you Is it harm to you to have the Spirit of Christ within you and to have a cleansed purified heart If it be bad to be Holy why doth God say Be ye holy for I am holy 1 Pet. 1.15 16. Leviticus 20.7 Is it evil to be like God Is it not said that God made man in his image Why this Holiness is his Image This Adam lost and this Christ by his Word and Spirit would restore to you as he doth to all that he will save Why were you Baptized into the Holy Ghost and why do you Baptize your children into the Holy Ghost as your Sanctifier if you will not be sanctified by him but think it an hurt to you to be sanctified Tell me truly as before the Lord Though you are loath to live an Holy life had you not rather die in the case of those that do so then of others If you were to die this day had you not rather die in the case of a Conveted man then of the Unconverted of an holy and heavenly man then of a carnal earthly man and would you not say as Balaam Numb 23.10 Let me die the death of the Righteous and let my last end be like his And why will you not now be of the mind that you will be of then First or last you must come to this either to be Converted or wish you had been when it is to late But what is it that you are afraid of losing if you Turn Is it your friends you will but change them God will be your friend and Christ and the Spirit will be your friend and every Christian will be your friend You will get one friend that will stand you in more stead then all the friends in the world could have done The friends you lose would but have ticed you to hell but could not have delivered you But the friend you get will save you from hell and bring you to his own eternal Rest. Is it your pleasures that you are afraid of losing You think you shall never have a merry day again if once you be Converted Alas that you should think it a greater pleasure to live in foolish sports and merriments and please your flesh then to live in the Believing thoughts of glory and in the love of God and in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost in which the state of grace consisteth Romans 14.17 If it be a greater pleasure to you to think of your Lands and inheritance if you were Lords of all the Country
I cannot change my own heart what can I do without Gods grace and shall they therefore be acquit If not why then should you think to be acquit for a course of sin against the Lord 2. FRom hence also you may observe these three things together 1. What a subtile tempter Satan is 2. What a deceitful thing sin is 3. What a foolish creature corrupted man is A subtile tempter indeed that can perswade the greatest part of the world to go wilfully into everâ—asting fire when they have so many warnings and disswasives as they have A deceitful thing is sin indeed that can bewitch so many thousands to put with everlasting life for a thing so base and utterly unworthy A foolish creature is man indeed that will be so cheated of his salvation for nothing yea for a known nothing and that by an enemy and a known enemy You would think it impossible that any man in his wits should be perswaded for a trifle to cast himself into the fire or water or into a coal-pit to the destruction of his life And yet men will be enticed to cast themselves into Hell If your natural lives were in your own hands that you should not die till you would kill your selves how long would most of you live And yet when your everlasting life is so far in your own hands under God that you cannot be undone till you undo your selves how few of you will forbear your own undoing Ah what a silly thing is man and what a bewitching and befooling thing is sin 3. FRom hence also you may learn that it is no great wonder if wicked men be hinderers of others in the way to heaven and would have as many Unconverted as they can and would draw them into sin and keep them 〈◊〉 it Can you expect that they should have any mercy on others â—hat have none upon themselves â—nd that they should much stick at â—he destruction of others that â—â—ck not to destroy themselves They do no worse by others then â—hey do by themselves 4. LAstly you may hence learn that the greatest enemy to man is himself and the greatest judgement in this life that can befall him is to be left to himself and that the great work that Grace hath to do is to save us from our selves and the greatest accusations and complaints of men should be against themselves and that the greatest work that we have to do our selves is to resist our selves and the greatest enemy that we should daily pray and watch and strive against is our own carnal hearts and wills and the greatest part of your work if you would do good to others and help them to heaven is to save them from themselves even from their own blind understandings and corrupted wills and perverse affections and violent passions and unruly senses I only name all these for brevity sake and leave them to your further consideration WELL Sirs now we have found out the great Delinquent and Murderer of souls even mens selves their own wills what remains but that you judge according to the evidence and confess this great iniquity before the Lord and be humbled for it and do so no more To these three ends distinctly I shall add a few words more 1. Further to convince you 2. To humble you And 3. To reform you if there be yet any hope 1. We know so much of the exceeding gracious nature of God who is willing to do good and delighteth to shew mercy that we have no reason to suspect him of being the culpable cause of our death or to call him cruel He made all good and he preserveth and maintaineth all the eyes of all things do wait upon him and he giveth them their meat in due season he openeth his hand and satisfieth the desires of all the living Psalm 145.15 16. He is not only righteous in all his waies and therefore will deal justly and holy in all his works and therefore not the author of sin but he is also good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works Psal. 145.17 9. But as for man we know his mind is dark his will perverse his affections carry him so headlong that he is fitted by his folly and corruption to such a work as the destroying of himself If you saw a Lamb lie killed in the way would you sooner suspect the sheep or the dog or woolf to be the author of it if they both stood by or if you see an house broken and the people murdered would you sooner suspect the Prince or Iudge that is wise and just and had no need or a known Thief or Murderer I say therefore as Iames 1.13 14 15. Let no man say when he is tempted that he is tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth be any man to draw him to sin But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death You see here that sin is the brat of your own concupiscence and not to be fathered on God and that death is the off-spring of your own sin and the fruit which it will yield you as soon as it is ripe You have a treasure of evil in your selves as a spider hath of poyson from whence you are bringing forth hurt to your selves and spinning such webs as enâ—â—ngle your own souls Your Nature shews it s you that are the cause 2. It s evident that you are your own destroyers in that you are so Ready to entertain any Temptation almost that is offered you Satan is scarce readier to move you to any evil then you are ready to hear and do as he would have you If he would tempt your understanding to error and prejudâ—ce you yield If he would hinder you from good resolutions it is soon done If he would cool any good desires or affections it is soon done If he would kindle any lust or vile affections and desires in you it is soon done if he will put you on to evil thoughts or words or deeds you are so free that he needs not rod or spur if he would keep you from holy thoughts and words and waies a little doth it you need no curb You examine not his suggestions nor resist them with any resolution nor cast them out as he casts them in nor quench the sparks which he endeavoureth to kindle but you set in with him and meet him half way and embrace his motions and tempt him to tempt you And its easie to catch such greedy fish that are ranging for a bait and will take the bare hook 3. Your destruction is evidently long of your selves in that you Resist all that would help to save you and would do you good or hinder you from undoing your selves God would help and save you by his word and you resist it it is too strict for you He would
and to tell you what greater and better things you might certainly have if you would hearken to his Call Isaiah 55 1 2.3 We believe and obey the voice of God and come to you daily on his message who hath charged us to preach and be instant with you in season and out of season and to lift up our voice like a Trumpet and shew you your transgressions and your sins Isa. 58.1 2 Tim. 4.1 2. But wo and alas to the grief of our souls and your own undoing you stop your ears you stiffen your necks you harden your hearts and break our hearts and send us back to God with groans to tell him that we have done his message but can do no good on you nor scarcely get a sober hearing O that our eyes were as a fountain of tears that we might lament our ignorant careless people that have Christ before them and pardon and life and heaven before them and have not hearts to know and value them that might have Christ and grace and glory as well as others if it were not for their wilful negligence and contempt O that the Lord would fill our hearts with more compassion to these miserable souls that we might cast our selves even at their feet and follow them to their houses and speak to them with our bitter tears For long have we preached to many of them as in vain we study plainness to make them understand and many of them will not understand us We study serious piercing words to make them feel but they will not feel If the Greatest mattter would work with them we should awake them If the sweetest things would work we should entice them and win their hearts if the most dreadful things would work we should at least affright them from their wickedness if Truth and Certainty would take with them we should soon convince them if the God that made them and the Christ that bought them might be heard the ease would soon be altered with them if Scripture might be heard we should soon prevail if Reason even the best and strongest Reason might be heard we should not doubt but we should speedily convince them if experience might be heard even their own experience and the experience of all the world the matter would be mended Yea if the Conscience within them might be heard the case would be better with them then it is But if nothing can be heard wâ—at then shall we do for them If the dreadfull God of Heaven be slighted who then shall be regarded If the inestimable Love and blood of a Redeemer be made light of what then shall be valued If Heaven have no desiderable Glory with them and everlasting Ioys be nothing worth If they can jest at Hell and dance about the bottomless pit and play with the consuming fire and that when God and man do warn them of it What shall we do for such souls as these Once more in the name of the God of Heaven I shall do the Mâ—ssage to you which he had commanded us and leave it in these standing lines to convert your or condemn you to change you or to rise up in Iudgement against you and to be a witness to your faces that once you had a serious Call to Turn Hear all you that are the drudges of the world and the servants of the flesh and Satan That spend your daies in looking after prosperity on earth and drowâ— your consciences in drinking and gluttony and idleness and foolish sports and know you sin and yet will sin as if you set God at defiance and bid him do his worst and spare not Hearken all you that mind not God and have no heart to holy things and feel no savour in the Word or Worship of the Lord or in the thoughts or mention of eternal life that are careless of your immortal souls and never bestowed one hour in enquiring whaâ— case they are in whether sanctified or unsanctified and whether you are ready to appear before the Lord Hearken all you that by sinning in the light have sinned your selves into Atheism and Infidelity and do not believe the Word of God He that hath an ear to hear let him hear the Gratious and yet Dreadful Call of God! His eye is all this while upon you Your sins are registred and you shall surely hear of them all again God keepeth the Book now and he will write it all out upon your Consciences with his terrors and then you also shall keep it your selves O Sinners that you knew but what you are doing and who you are all this while offending The Sun it self is darkness before the glory of that Majesty which you daily abuse and carelesly provoke The sinning Angels were not able to stand before him but were cast down to be tormented Devils And dare such silly worms as you so fearlesly offend and set your selves against your Maker O that you did but a little know what a case that wretched soul is in that hath engaged the Living God against him The word of his mouth that made thee can unmake thee the frown of his face will cut thee off and cast thee out into utter darkness How eager are the Devils to be doing with thee that have tempted thee and do but wait for thâ— word from God to take and use thee as their own and then in a moment thou wilt be in Hell If God be against thee all things are against thee this world is but thy prison for all that thou so lovest it thou art but reserved in it to the day of wrath Job 21.30 Thy Iudge is coming thy soul is even going Yet a little while and thy friends shall say of thee He is dead and thou shalt see the things that now thou didst despise and feel that which now thou wilt not believe Death will bring such an Argument as thou canst not answer An Argument that shall effectually confute thy Cavils against the word and ways of God and all thy self-conceited dotages And then how soon will thy mind be changed Then be an unbeliever if thou canst stand then to all thy former words which thou wast wont to utter against the Scriptures or against a holy and a heavenly life Make good that cause then before the Lord which thou wast wont to plead against thy Teachers and against the people that feared God Then stand to thy old opinions and contemptuous thoughts of the diligence of the Saints Make ready now thy strongest Reasons and stand up then before the Iudge and plead like a man for thy fleshly thy unworldly and ungodly life But know that thou must have one to plead with that will not be outfaced by thee nor so easily put off as we thy fellow Creatuâ—es O poor deceived wretched soul there is nothing but a slender vail of flesh betwixt thee and that amazing sight which will quickly silence thee and turn thy tune and make thee of another mind As soon as
lie and yet dare you give the lie to God But if you tell God plainly you will not believe him blame him not if he never warn you more or if he forsake you and give you up as hopeless For to what purpose should he warn you if you will not believe him should he send an Angel from heaven to you its seems you would not believe For an Angel can speak but the Word of God and if an Angel should bring you another Gospel you are not to receive it but to hold him accursed Gal. 1.8 9. And surely there is no Angel to be believed before the Son of God who came from the Father to bring us this Doctrine If he be not to be believed then all the Angels in heaven are not to be believed And if you stand on these terms with God I shall leave you till he deal with you in a more convincing way God hath a voice that will make you hear Though he intreat you to hear the voice of his Gospel he will make you hear the voice of his condemning Sentence without intreaty We cannot make you believe against your wills but God will make you feelâ—gainst â—gainst your wills But let us hear what reason you have why you will not believe this word of God which tells us that the wicked must be Converted or condemned I know your reason it is because that you judge it unlikely that God should be so unmerciful you think it cruelty to damn men everlastingly for so small a thing as a sinful life And this leads us up to the second thing which is to justifie the Equity of God in his Laws and Judgements And first I think you will not deny but that it is most sutable to an immortal soul to be ruled by Laws that promise an immortal reward and threaten an endless punishment Otherwise the Law should not be suited to the nature of â—he subject who will not be fully ruled by any lower means then the Hopes or Fears of everlasting things As it is in case of temporal punishment if a Law were now made that the most hainous crimes shall be punished with an hundred years captivity this might be of some efficacy as being equal to our lives But if there had been no other penalties before the flood when men lived eight or nine hundred years it would not have been sufficient because men would know that they might have so many hundred years impunity afterward So is it in our present case 2. I suppose you will confess that the promise of an endless and unconceivable glory is not unsuitable to the wisdom of God or the case of man And why then should you not think so of the Threatning of an endless and unspeakable misery 3. When you find it in the Word of God that so it is and so it will be do you think your selves fit to contradict this Word Will you call your Maker to the Barr and examine his Word upon the accusation of falshood will you sit upon him and judge him by the Law of your Conceits Are you wiser and better and righteouser then he Must the God of heaven come to School to you to learn wisdom Must infinite wisdom learn of folly and infinite Goodness be corrected by a swinish sinner that cannot keep himself an hour clean Must the Almighty stand at the Bar of a worm Oh horrid arrogancy of sensless dust Shall every mole or cold or dung-hill accuse the Sun of darkness and undertake to illuminate the world Where were you when the Almighty made these Laws that he did not call you to his counsel Surely he made them before you were born without desiring your advice and you come into the world too late for to reverse them if you could have done so great a work you should have stept out of your Nothingness and have contradicted Christ when he was on earth or Moses before him or have saved Aâ—am and his sinful progeny from the threatned death that so there might have been no need of Christ And what if God withdraw his patience aud sustentation and let you drop into Hell while you are quarrelling with his Word will you then believe that there is a Hell 4. If 〈◊〉 such an evil that it requireth the death of Christ for its expiation no wonder if it deserve our everlasting misery 5. And if the sin of the Devils deserved an endless torment why not also the sin of man 6. And me thinks you should perceive that it is not possible for the best of men much less for the wicked to be competent Judges of the desert of sin Alas we are all both blind and partial You can never know fully the desert of sin till you fully know the evil of sin and you can never fully know the evil of sin till you fully know 1. The Excellency of the soul which it deformeth 2. And the excellency of holiness which it doth obliterate 3. And the reason and excellency of the Law which it violateth And 4. the excellency of the Glory which it doth despise And 5. the excellency and office of Reason which it treadeth down 6. No nor till you know the infinite Excellency Almightiness and Holiness of that God against whom it is committed When you fully know all these you shall fully know the desert of sin Besides you know that the offendor is too partial to judge the Law or the proceedings of his Judge We judge by feeling which blinds our reason We see in common worldly things that most men think the cause is right which is their own and that all is wrong that 's done against them and let the most wise or just impartial friends perswade them to the contrary and its all in vain There 's few children but think the Father is unmerciful or dealeth hardly with them if he whip them There 's scarce the vilest swinish wretch but thinketh the Church doth wrong him if they excommunicate him Nor scarce a Thief or Murderer that is hanged but would accuse the Law and Judge of cruelty if that would serve turn 7. Can you think that an unholy soul is fit for heaven Alas they cannot love God here nor do him any service which he can accept They are contrary to God they loath that which he most loveth and love that which he abhorreth They are uncapable of that imperfect Communion with him which his Saints do here partake of How then can they live in that perfect love of him and full delights and Communion with him which is the blessedness of heaven You do not accuse your selves of unmercifulness if you make not your enemy your bosom Counseller or if you take not your swine to bed and board with you no nor if you take away his life though he never sinned And yet will you blame the absolute Lord the most wise and gracious Soveraign of the world if he condemn the Unconverterted to perpetual misery Vse I Beseech you now
Well Sirs look inwards now and tell me How are your hearts affected with these offers of the Lord You hear what is his mind he delighteth not in your death he calls to you Turn turn it s a fearful sign if all this move thee not or do but half move thee and much more if it make thee more careless in thy misery because thou hearest of the mercifulness of God The working of the medicine will partly tell us whether there be any hope of the Cure O what glad tidings would it be to those that are now in Hell if they had but such a Message from God! What a joyful word would it be to hear this Turn and Live Yea what a welcome word would it be to thy self when thou hast felt that wrath of God but an hour Or if after a thousand or ten thousand years torment thou couldst but hear such a word from God Turn and Live and yet wilt thou now neglect it and suffer us to return without our errand Behold sinners we are set here as the Messengers of the Lord to set before you Life and Death What say you which of them will you choose Christ standeth as it were by thee with Heaven in one hand and Hell in the other and offereth thee thy choice which wilt thou choose The voice of the Lord maketh the Rocks to tremble Psalm 20. and is it nothing to hear him threaten thee if thou wilt not Turn Dost thou not understand and feel this voice Turn ye Turn ye Why will ye die Why it is the voice of Love of infinite Love of thy best and kindest friend as thou mightest easily perceive by the motion and yet canst thou neglect it It is the voice of pitty and compassion The Lord seeth whither thou art going better then thou dost which makes him call after thee Turn Turn He seeth what will become of thee if thou turn not He thinketh with himself Ah this poor sinner will cast himself into endless torments if he do not Turn I must in Iustice deal with him according to my righteous Law and therefore he calleth after thee Turn Turn O sinner if you did but know the thousandth part as well as God doth the danger that is near you and the misery that you are running into we should have no more need to call after you to Turn Moreover this voice that calleth to thee is the same that hath prevailed with thousands already and called all to heaven that are now there And they would not now for a thousand worlds that they had made light of it and not Turned to God Now what are they possessing that Turned at Gods Call Now they perceive that it was indeed the voice of Love that meant them no more harm then their salvation And if thou wilt obey the same Call thou shalt come to the same Happiness There be millions that must for ever lament that they Turned not but there 's never a soul in Heaven that is sorry that they were Converted Well Sirs are you yet resolved or are you not Do I need to say any more to you What will you do will you Turn or not Speak man in thy heart to God though thou speak not out to me Speak left he take thy silence for a denyal Speak quickly lest he never make thee the like offer more Speak resolvedly and not waveringly for he will have no Indifferents to be his Followers Say in thy heart now without any more delay even before thou stir hence By the Grace of God I am resolved presently to turn And because I know my own insufficiency I am resolved to wait on God for his Grace and to follow him in his ways and forsake my former courses and companions and give up my self to the guidance of the Lord. Sirs You are not shut up in the darkness of Heathenism nor in the desperation of the damned Life is before you and you may have it on reasonable terms if you will yea on free-cost if you will accept it The way of God lyeth plain before you the Church is open to you the company of the godly is open to you you may have Christ and pardon and Holiness if you will What say you Will you or will you not If you say nay or say nothing and still go on God is witness and this Congregation is witness and your own Consciences are witness how fair an offer you had this day Remember you might have had Christ and would not Remember when you have lost it that you might have had eternal Life as well as others and would not and all because you would not Turn But let us come to the next Doctrine and hear your Reasons Doct 6. The Lord condescendeth to reason the case with Vnconverted sinners and to ask them why they will die A strange Disputation it is both as to the Controversie and as to the Disputants 1. The Controversie or Question propounded to dispute of is Why wicked men will damn themselves Or Why they will rather die then Turn Whether they have any sufficient reason for so doing 2. The Disputants are God and * man the most Holy God and wicked unconverted sinners 1. Is it not a strange Thing which God doth seem here to suppose that any man should be willing to die and be damned Yea that this should be the case of all the wicked that is of the greatest part of the world but you will say This cannot be for nature desireth the preservation and felicity of it self and the wicked are more selfish then others and not less and therefore how can any man be willing to be damned To which I answer 1. It is a certain Truth that no man can be willing of any evil as evil but only as â—t hath some appearance of good much less can any man be willing to be eternally tormented Misery as such is desired by none 2. But yet for all that it is most true which God here teacheth us that the cause why the wicked die and are damned is because they will die and be damned And this is true in several respects 1. Because they will go the way that leads to Hell though they are told by God and man whether it goes and where it ends and though God hath so often professed in his word that if they hold on in that way they shall be condemned and that they shall not be saved unless they Turn Isa. 48.22 57.21 There is no Peace saith the Lord unto the wicked Isa. 59 8. The way of Peace they know not there is no Iudgement in their goings They have made them crooked paths Whosoever goeth therein shall not know Peace They have the word and the Oath of the living God for it that if they will not Turn they shall not enter into his Rest. And yet wicked they are and wicked they will be let God and man say what they will Fleshly they are and fleshly they will be
Worldlings they are and Worldlings they will be though God hath told them that the Love of the world is enmity to God and that if any man love the world in that measure the love of the Father is not in him James 4.4 1 John 2.15 so that consequentially these men are willing to be damned though not directly They are willing of the way to Hell and Love the certain cause of their torment though they be not willing of Hell it self and do not love the pain which they must endure Is not this the Truth of your case Sirs You would not burn in Hell But you will kindle the fire by your sin and cast your selves into it you would not be tormented with Devils for ever But you will do that which will certainly procure it in despite of all that can be said against it It is just as if you would say I will drink this rats-bane or other poison but yet I will not die I will cast my self headlong from the top of a steeple but yet I will not kill my self I will thrust this knife into my heart but yet I will not take away my life I will put this fire into the thatch of my house but yet I will not burn it Just so it is with wicked men they will be wicked and they will live after the flesh and the world and yet they would not be damned But do you not know that the means do lead unto the end and that God hath by his righteous Law concluded that you must repent or perish He that will take poyson may as well say plainly I will kill my self for it will prove no better in the end Though perhaps he loved it for the sweetness of the Sugar that was mixt with it and would not be perswaded that it was poyson but that he might take it and do well enough But it is not his conceits and confidence that will save his life So if you will be Drunkards or Fornicators or worldlings or live after the flesh you may as well say plainly we will be damned For so you shall be unless you Turn would you not rebuke the folly of a thief or murderer that would say I will steall and kill but I will not be hanged when he knows that if he do the one the Judge in justice will see that the other be done If he say I will steal and murder he may as well say plainly I will be hanged So if you will go on in a carnal life you may as well say plainly we will go to Hell 2. Moreover The wicked will not use those means without which there is no hope of their Salvation He that will not eat may as well say plainly he will not live unless he can tell how to live without meat He that will not go his journey may as well say plainly he will not come to the end He that falls into the water and will not come out nor suffer another to help him out may as well say plainly he will be drowned So if you be carnal and ungodly and will not be converted nor use the means by which you should be converted but think it more ado then needs you may as well say plainly you will be damned For if you have found out a way to be saved without Conversion you have done that which never was done before 3. Yea this is not all but the wicked are unwilling even of salvation it self Though they may desire somewhat which they call by the name of Heaven yet Heaven it self considered in the true nature of the felicity they desire not Yea their hearts are quite against it Heaven is a state of perfect holiness and of continual Love and Praise to God And the wicked have no heart to this The imperfect Love and Praise and holiness which is here to be attained they have no mind of Much less of that which is so much greater The joyes of Heaven are of so pure and spiritual a nature that the heart of the wicked cannot truly desire them So that by this time you may see on what ground it is that God supposeth that the wicked are willing of their own destruction They will not turn though they must Turn or die they will rather venture on certain misery then be converted and then to quiet themselves in their sin they will make themselves believe that they shall nevertheless escape 2. And as the Controversie is matter of wonder that ever men should be such enemies to themselves as wilfully to cast away their souls so are the Disputants too That God should stoop so low as thus to plead the case with man and that man should be so strangely blind and obstinate as to need all this in so plain a case yea and to resist all this when their own salvation lieth upon the issue No wonder if they will not hear us that are men when they will not hear the Lord himself As God saith Ezek. 3.7 when he sent the Prophet to the Israelites The house of Israel will not hearken unto thee For they will not hearken unto me For all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted No wonder if they can plead against a Minister or a godly Neighbour when they will plead against the Lord himself even against the plainest passages of his word and think that they have Reason on their side When they weary the Lord with their words they say wherein have we wearied him Mal. 2.17 The Priests that despised his name durst ask Wherein have we despised thy name And when they polluted his Altar and made the Table of the Lord contempâ—ible they durst say Wherein have we polluted thee Mal. 1.6 7. But Wo unto him saith the Lord that striveth with his Maker Let the Potsheards strive with the Potsheards of the earth Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it What makest thou Isa. 45.9 Quest. But why is it that God will reason the Cause with man Answ. 1. Because that man being a reasonable creature is accordingly to be dealt with and by Reason to be perswaded and overcome God hath therefore endued them with Reason that they might use it for him One would think a reasonable creature should not go against the clearest and greatest Reason in the world when it is set before him 2. At least men shall see that God did require nothing of them that was unreasonable but that whatever he commandeth them and whatever he forbiddeth them he hath all the right Reason in the world on his side and they have good Reason to obey him but none to disobey And thus even the damned shall be forced to justifie God and confess that it was but Reason that they should have turned to him and they shall be forced to condemn themselves and confess that they had little reason to cast away themselves by the neglecting of his Grace in the day of their visitation Vse LOOK up your best and strongest Reasons
sanctifie you by his Spirit and you resist and quench it If any man reprove you for your sin you fly in his face with evil words and if he would draw you to an holy life and tell you of your present danger you give him little thanks but either bid him look to himself he shall not answer for you or else at best you put him off with an heartless thanks and will not Turn when you are perswaded If Ministers would privately instruct and help you you will not come at them your unhumbled souls do feel but little need of their help If they would Catechize you you are too old to be Catechised though you are not too old to be ignorant and unholy Whatever they can say to you for your good you are so self-conceited and wise in your own eyes even in the depth of ignorance that you will regard nothing that agreeth not with your present conceits but contradict your Teachers as if you were wiser then they you resist all that they can say to you by your ignorance and wilfulness and foolish Cavils and shifting evasions and unthankfull rejections so that no good that is offered can find any welcome acceptance and entertainment with you 4. Moreover its apparent that you are self-destroyers in that you draw the matter of your sin and destruction even from the blessed God himself You like not the contrivances of his Wisdom You like not his Justice but take it for cruelty You like not his Holiness but are ready to think he is such a one as your selves Psal. 50.21 and makes as light of sin as you You like not his Truth but would have his Threanings even his peremptory Threatnings prove false And his goodness which you seem most highly to approve you partly resist as it would lead you to repentance and partly abuse to the strengthning of you sin as if you might the freelyer sin because God is Merciful and because his Grace doth so much abound Yea you fetch destruction from â—he blessed Redeemer and Death from the Lord of life himself And nothing more emboldneth you in sin then that Christ hath died for you as if now the danger of death were over and you might boldly venture As if Christ were become a servant to Satan and your sins and must wait upon you while you are abusing him and because he is become the Physitian of souls and he is able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him you think he must suffer you to refuse his help and throw away his Medicines and must save you whether you will come to God by him or no so that a great part of your sins are occasioned by your bold presumption upon the death of Christ. Not considering that he came to redeem his people from their sins and to sanctifie them a peculiar people to himself and to conform them in Holiness to the image of their heavenly Father and to their head Mat. 1.21 Tit. 2.14 1 Pet. 1.15 16. Col. 3.10 11. Phil. 3.9 10. 6. You also fetch your own destruction from all the providences and works of God When you think of his eternal fore-knowledge and Decrees it is to harden you in your sin or possess your minds with quarrelling thoughts as if his Decrees might spare you the labour of repentance and an holy life or else were the cause of your sin and death If he afflict you you repine If he prosper you you the more forget him and are the backwarder to the thoughts of the life to come If the wicked prosper you forget the end that will set all reckonings strait and are ready to think it s as good be wicked as godly And thus you draw your death from all 7. And the like you do from all the Creatures and mercies of God to you He giveth them to you as the tokens of his love and furniture for his service and you turn them against him to the pleasing of your flesh You eat and drink to please your appetite and not for the glory of God and to enable you for his work Your cloathes you abuse to pride Your Riches draw your hearts from heaven Phil. 3.18 Your honours and applause do puff you up If you have health and strength it makes you more secure and forget your end Yea other mens mercies are abused by you to your hurt If you see their honours and dignity you are provoked to envy them If you see their riches you are ready to covet them If you look upon beauty you are stirred up to lust and it s well if godliness be not an eye-fore to you 8. The very gifts that God bestoweth on you and the Ordinances of grace which he hath instituted for his Church you turn to sin If you have better parts then others you grow proud and self-conceited if you have but common gifts you take them for special Grace You take the bare hearing of your duty for so good a work as if it would excuse you for not obeying it Your Prayers are turned into sin because you regard iniquity in your hearts Psalm 66.18 and depart not from iniquity when you call on the name of the Lord 2 Tim. 2.19 Your prayers are abominable because you turn away your ear from hearing the Law Prov. 28.9 And are more ready to offer the Sacrifice of fools thinking you do God some special service then to hear his word and obey it Eccles. 5.1 You examine not your selves before you receive the Supper of the Lord but not discerning the Lords body do eat and drink judgement to your selves 1 Cor. 11.28 29. 9. Yea the persons that you converse with and all their actions you make the occasions of your sin and destruction If they live in the fear of God you hate them If they live ungodlily you imitate them if the wicked are many you think you may the more boldly follow them if the godly be few you are the more emboldened to despise them If they walk exactly you think they are too precise if one of them fall in a particular temptation you stumble upon them and turn away from holiness because that others are imperfectly holy as if you were warranted to break your necks because some others have by their heedlesness sprained a sinnew or put out a bone If an hypocrite discover himself you say They are all alike and think your selves as honest as the best A Professor can scarce slip into any miscarriage but because he cuts his finger you think you may boldly cut your throats If ministers deal plainly with you you say they rail If they speak gently or coldly you eiâ—her sleep under them or are little more affected then the seats you sit upon If any errours creep into the Church some greedily entertain them and others reproach the Christian Doctrine for them which is most against them And if we would draw you from any ancient rooted errour which can but plead two or three