A CALL TO THE Unconverted TO Turn and Live AND Accept of Mercy while Mercy may be had as ever they would find Mercy in the day of their extremity From the Living God By his unworthy Servant RICHARD BAXTER To be Read in Families where any are Unconverted London Printed by R. W. for Nevil Simmons Book-seller in Kederminster and are to be sold by him there and by Nathaniel Ekins at the Gun in Pauls Church-Yard 1658. The Reason of this Work IN that short acquaintance I had with that Reverend Learned servant of Christ Bishop Vsher he was oft from first to last importuning me to write a directory for the several ranks of Professed Christians which might distinctly give each one their portion beginning with the Unconverted and then proceeding to the babes in Christ and then to the strong and mixing some special helps against the several sins that they are addicted to By the suddenness of his motion at our first congress I perceived it was in his mind before And I told him both that it is abundantly done by many already and that his unacquaintedness with my weakness might make him think me fitter for it then I was But this did not satisfie him but still he made it his request I confess I was not moved by his Reasons nor did I apprehend any great need of doing more then is done in that way nor that I was likely to do more And therefore I parted from him without the least purpose to answer his desire But since his death his words oft came into my mind and the great Reverence I bore to him did the more incline me to think with some complacency of his motion And having of late intended to write a Family Directory I began to apprehend how congruously the forementioned work should lead the way and the several conditions of mens souls be spoken of before we come to the several Relations Hereupon I resolved by Gods assistance to proceed in the order following First to speak to the impenitent Unconverted sinners who are not yet so much as purposing to Turn or at least are not setting about the work And with these I thought a wakening Perswasive was a more necessary means then meer Directions For Directions suppose men willing to obey them but the persons that we have first to deal with are wilful and asleep in sin and as men that are past feeling having given themselves over to sin with greediness Ephes. 4.19 My next work must be for those that have some purposes to Turn and are about the work to Direct them for a through and true Conversion that they miscarry not in the birth The third part must be Directions for the younger and weaker sort of Christians that they may be stablished built up and persevere The fourth part Directions for lapsed and back-sliding Christians for their safe recovery Besides these there is intended some short Perswasives and Directions against some specâ—al errours of the times and against some common killing sins As for Directions to Doubting troubled Consciences that is done already And the strong I shall not write Directions for because they are so much taught of God already And then the last part is intended more specially for Families as such Directing the several Relations in their Duties Some of these are already written whether I shall have life and leisure for the rest God only knoweth And therefore I shall publish the several parts by themselves as I write them and the rather because they are intended for men of different states and because I would not deter them by the bulk or price from reading what is written for their benefit The use that this part is published for is 1. For Masters and Parents to read often in their Families if they have servants or children that are yet unconverted 2. For all such Unconverted persons to read and consider of themselves 3. For the richer sort that have any pitty on such miserable souls to give to the unsanctified that need them if they have not fitter at hand to use and give The Lord awake us to work while it is day for the saving of our own and others souls in subserviency to the Blessed God the Maker the Redeemer and the Sanctifier of souls Rich. Baxter Decemb. 10. 1657. To all unsanctified persons that shall read this Book Especially of my Hearers in the Burrough and Parish of Kederminster Men and Brethren THE Eternal God that made you for a life Everlasting and hath Redeemed you by his only Son when you had lost it and your-selves being mindful of you in your sin and misery hath indited the Gospel and sealed it by his Spirit and commanded his Ministers to preach it to the world that pardon being 〈◊〉 offered you and Heaven bâ—ing â—ot before you he might call you off from your fleshly pleasures and from following after this deceitfull world and acquaint you with the life that you were Created and Redeemed for before you are dead and past remedy He sendeth not you Prophets or Apostles tâ—at receive their message by immediate Revelation but yet he calleth you by his ordinary Ministers who are Commissioned by him to preach the same Gospel which Christ and his Apostles first delivered The Lord standeth over you and seeth how you forget him and your latter end and how light you make of Everlasting things as men that understand not what they have to do or suffer He seeth how bold you are in sin and how fearless of his threatnings and how careless of your souls and how the works of Infidels are in your lives while the belief of Christians is in your mouths He seeth the dreadful day at hand when your sorrows will begin and you must lament all this with fruitless cries in torment and desperation and when the remembrance of your folly will tear your hearts if true Conversion now prevent it not in comparison of your sinful miserable souls the Lord that better knows your case then you can know it hath made it our duty to speak to you in his name 2 Corinth 5.19 and to tell yâ—u plainly of your sin and misery and what will be your end and how sad a change you 'l shortly see if yet you go on a little longer Having bought you at so dear a rate as the blood of his Son Iesus Christ and made you so free and general a promise of pardon and grace and everlasting glory he commandeth as to tender all this to you as the gift of God and to intreate you to consider of the necessity and worth of what he offereth He seeth and pittieth you while you are drowned in worldly cares and pleasures and eagerly following childish toyes and wasting that short and precious time for a thing of nought in which you should make ready for an everlasting life and therefore he hath commanded us to Call after you and tell you how you lose your labour and are about to lose your souls
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
of his own free-will For the second God did that which belonged to him that is he gave man a perfect Law requiring him to continue in the Love of God and perfectly to obey him By the wilful breach of this Law man did not only forfeit his hopes of everlasting life but also turned his heart from God and fixed it on these lower fleshly things and hereby did blot out the spiritual Image of God from his soul. So that man did both fall short of the Glory of God which was his End and put himself out of the Way by which he should have attained it and this both as to the frame of his heart and of his life The holy Inclination and Love of his soul to God he lost and instead of it he contracted an Inclination and Love to the pleasing of his flesh or carnal-self by earthly things growing strange to God and acquainted with the creature And the course of his life was suited to the Bent and Inclination of his heart he lived to his carnal self and not to God he sought the creature for the pleasing of his flesh instead of seeking to please the Lord. With this Nature or Corrupt inclination we are all now born into the world For who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Iob 14.4 As a Lyon hath a fierce and cruel nature before he doth devour and as an Adder hath a venemous nature before he sting so in our very infancy we have those sinful Natures or Inclinations before we think or speak or do amiss And hence springeth all the sin of our lives And not only so but when God hath of his mercy provided us a Remedy even the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of our souls and bring us back to God again we naturally love our present state and are â—oth to be brought out of it and therefore are set against the means of our Recovery and though custom have taught us to thank Christ for his good will yet carnal self perswadeth us to refuse his Remedies and to desire to be excused when we are commanded to take the Medicines which he offereth and are called to forsake all and follow him to God and Glory I pray you read over this leaf again and mark it for in these few words you have a true Description of our natural state and consequently of a wicked man For every man that is in this state of corrupted nature is a wicked man and in a state of death By this also you are prepared to understand what it is to be Converted to which end you must further know That the mercy of God not willing that man should perish in his sin provided a Remedy by causing his Son to take our Nature and being in one person God and man to become a Mediator between God and man and by dying for our sins on the Cross to ransom us from the curse of God and the power of the Devil and having thus Redeemed us the Father hath delivered us into his hands as his own Hereupon the Father and the Mediator do make a New Law and Covenant for man not like the first which gave life to none but the perfectly obedient and condemned man for every sin but Christ hath made a Law of Grace or a Promise of Pardon and Everlasting life to all that by true Repentance and by Faith in Christ are Converted unto God Like an Act of Oblivion which is made by a Prince to a company of Rebels on condition they will lay down arms and come in and be loyal subjects for the time to come But because the Lord knoweth that the heart of man is grown so wicked that for all this men will not accept of the Remedy if they be left to themselves therefore the Holy Ghost hath undertaken it as his office to inspire the Apostles and seal up the Scripture by Miracles and Wonders and to illuminate and convert the souls of the Elect. So that by this much you see that as there are three persons in the Trinity the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost so each of these persons have their several works which are eminently ascribed to them The Fathers works were to Create us to Rule us 〈◊〉 his â—ational creatures by the Law of Nature and Judge us thereby And in mercy to provide us a Redeemer when we were lost and to send his Son and accept his Ransom The works of the Son for us were these To Ransom and Redeem us by his Sufferings and Righteousness to give out the Promise or Law of Grace and Rule and Judge the world as their Redeemer on terms of Grace and to make intercession for us that the benefits of his death may be communicated and to send the Holy Ghost which the Father also doth by the Son The works of the Holy Ghost for us are these to indite the Holy Scriptures by inspiring and guiding the Prophets and Apostles and sealing the Word by his Miraculous gifts and works and the illuminating and exciting the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel and so enabling them and helping them to publish that Word and by the same word Illuminating and Converting the souls of men So that as you could not have been reasonable creatures if the Father had not Created you nor have had any access to God if the Son had not Redeemed you so neither can you have a part in Christ or be saved except the Holy Ghost do sanctifie you So that by this time you may see the several causes of this work The Father sendeth the Son the Son Redeemeth us and maketh the Promise of Grace the Holy Ghost inditeth and sealeth this Gospel the Apostles are the Secretaries of the Spirit to write it the Preachers of the Gospel do proclaim it and perswade men to obey it And the Holy Ghost doth make their preaching effectual by opening the hearts of men to entertain it And all this to repair the image of God upon the soul and to set the heart upon God again and take it off the creature and carnal self to which it is revolted and so to turn the current of the life into an heavenly course which before was earthly and all this by the entertainment of Christ by Faith who is the Physitian of the soul. By this which I have said you may see what it is to be Wicked and what it is to be Converted Which I think will be yet plainer to you if I describe them as consisting of their several parts and for the first a wicked man may be known by these three things First he is one who placeth his chief content on earth and loveth the creature more then God and his fleshly prosperity above the heavenly felicity He savoureth the things of the flesh but neither discerneth nor savoureth the things of the Spirit though he will say that Heaven is better then earth yet doth he not really so esteem it to himself If he might be
though you Repent and be Converted No it is the clean contrary that we daily proclaim from the Lord and whoever is born again and by Faith and Repentance doth become a new creature shall certainly be saved and so far are we from perswading you to despair of this that we perswade you not to make any doubt of it It is Life and not Death that is the first part of our Message to you our Commission is to offer salvation certain salvation a speedy glorious everlasting salvation to every one of you to the poorest beggar as well as the greatest Lords to the worst of you even to drunkards swearers worldlings thieves yea to the despisers and reproachers of the holy way of salvation We are commanded by the Lord our Master to offer you a pardon for all that 's past if you will but now at last Return and Live we are commanded to beseech and intreate you to accept the offer and Return to tell you what preparation is made by Christ what Mercy stayes for you what Patience waiteth on you what Thoughts of kindness God hath towards you and how happy how certainly and unspeakably happy you may be if you will We have indeed also a Message of wrath and death yea of a twofold wrath and death but neither of them is our principal Message we must tell you of the wrath that is on you already and the death that you are born under for the breach of the Law of works but this is but to shew you the need of Mercy and provoke you to esteem the grace of the Redeemer And we tell you nothing but the truth which you must know for who will seek out for Physick that knows not that he is sick Our telling you of your misery is not it that makes you miserable but driveth you out to seek for mercy It is you that have brought this death upon your selves We tell you also of another death even remediless and much greater torment that will fall on those that will not be Converted But as this is true and must be told you so it is but the last and saddest part of our Message We are first to offer you Mercy if you will Turn and it is only those that will not Turn nor hear the voice of Mercy that we must fore-tell damnation to Will you but cast away your transgressions delay no longer but come away at the Call of Christ and be Converted and become new creatures and we have not a word of damning wrath or death to speak against you I do here in the name of the Lord of Life proclaim to you all that hear me this day to the worst of you to the greatest to the oldest sinner that you may have mercy and salvation if you will but Turn There is mercy in God there is sufficiency in the satisfaction of Christ the promise is free and full and universal you may have Life if you will but Turn But then as you love your souls Remember what Turning it is that the Scripture speaks of It is not to mend the old house but to pull down all and build anew on Christ the Rock and sure foundation It is not to mend somewhat in a Carnal course of life but to mortifie the flesh and live after the Spirit It is not to serve the flesh and the world in a more reformed way without any scandalous disgraceful sins and with a certain kind of Religiousness But it is to change your Master and your Work and End and set your face the contrary way and do all for the life that you never saw and Dedicate your selves and all you have to God This is the change that must be made if you will live Your selves are witnesses now that it is Salvation and not Damnation that is the great Doctrine I preach to you and the first part of my message to you Accept of this and we shall go no further with you for we would not so much as affright or trouble you with the name of damnation without necessity But if you will not be saved there 's no remedy but Damnation must take place For there is no middle place between the two You must have either Life or Death And we are not only to offer you Life but to shew you the Grounds on which we do it and call you to believe that God doth mean indeed as he speaks that the Promise is true and extendeth Conditionally to you as well as others and that Heaven is no fancy but a true felicity If you ask where is our Commission for this offer among an hundred Texts of Scripture I will shew it you in these few First you see it here in my Text and the following verses and in the 18. of Ezek. as plain as can be spoken And in 2 Cor. 5.17 18 19 20 21. you have the very sum of our Commission If any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are past away â—ehold all things are become new And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Iesus Christ and hath given to us the Ministry of Reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ Reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses to them and hath committed unto us the word of Reconciliation now then we are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled unto God for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin thaâ— we might be made the Righteousnes of God in him So Mark 1â— 15 16. Go ye into all the word and preach the Gospel to every creature He that believeth that 〈◊〉 with such a Converting faith as â— expressed and is baptized shall 〈◊〉 saved and he that believeth 〈◊〉 shall be damned And Luke 2â— 46 47. Thus it behoved Chriâ—â— to suffer and to rise from the deâ—â— the third day and that Repentanâ—â— which is Conversion and Remission of sins should be preached in his name among all Nations And Acts 5.30.31 The God of our Fathers raised up Iesus whom ye flew and hanged on a tree him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins And Acts 13.38 39. Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses And lest you think this offer is restrained to the Jews see Gal. 6.15 For in Christ Iesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new creature And Luke 14.17 Come for all things are now ready and ver 23 24. You see by this time that we are commanded to offer Life to you all and to tell you from God that if you will Turn you may Live Here you may safely trust
of all which yet will never come to pass 5. And God as Ruler and Law-giver of the world hath so far a Practical Will for their salvation as to make them a free Deed of Gift of Christ and Life and an act of Oblivion for all their sins so be it they will not unthankfully reject it and to command his Messengers to offer this Gift to all the world and perswade them to accept it And so he doth all that as Law-giver or Promiser belongs to him to do for their salvation 6. But yet he resolveth as Law-giver that they that will not turn shall dye And as Iudge when their day of grace is past he will execute that Decree 7. So that he thus unfeignedly willeth the Conversion of those that never will be Converted but not as Absolute Lord with the fullest efficacious Resolution nor as a thing which he resolveth shall undoubtedly come to pass or would engage all his power to accomplish It is in the power of a Prince to set a guard upon a Murderer to see that he shall not murder and be hanged But if upon good reason he forbear this and do but send to his subjects and warn and intreate them not to be murderers I hope he may well say that he would not have them murder and be hanged he takes no pleasure in it but rather that they forbear and live And if he do more for some upon some special reason he is not bound to do so by all The King may well say to all the Murderers and Felons in the Land I have no pleasure in your death but rather that you would obey my Laws and live but If you will not I am resolved for all this that you shall die The Judge may truly say to the Thief or Murderer Alas man I have no delight in thy death I had rather thou hadst kept the Law and saved thy life but seeing thou wilt not I must condemn thee or else I should be unjust So though God have no Pleasure in your damnation and therefore calls upon you to Return and Live yet he hath Pleasure in the demonstration of his own Iustice and the executing his Laws and therefore he is for all this fully resolved that if you will not be Converted you shall be Condemned If God were so much against the death of the wicked as that he were resolved to do all that he can to hinder it then no man should be Condemned whereas Christ telleth you that few will be saved But so far God is against your damnation as that he will teach you and warn you and set before you life and death and offer you your choice and command his Ministers to intreate you not to damn your selves but accept his Mercy and so to leave you without excuse but if this will not do and if still you be Unconverted he professeth to you he is resolved of your damnation and hath commanded us to say to you in his name Verse 8. O wicked man thou shalt surely die And Christ hath little less then sworn it over and over with a Verily verily except ye be Converted and born again ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven Matth. 18.3 Iohn 3.3 Mark that he saith You cannot It is in vain to hope for it and in vain to dream that God is willing of it for it is a thing that cannot be In a word you see then the meaning of the Text that God the great Law-giver of the world doth take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but rather that they Turn and Live though yet he be resolved that none shall Live but those that Turn and as Iudge even delighteth in Justice and manifesting his hatred of sin though not in their misery which they have brought upon themselves in it self considered 2. And for the proofs of the point I shall be very brief in them because I suppose you easily believe it already 1. The very gracious nature of God proclaimed Exod. 34.6 20.6 and frequently elsewhere may assure you of this that he hath no Pleasure in your death 2. If God had more pleasure in thy Death then in thy Conversion and Life he would not have so frequently commanded thee in his word to Turn he would not have made thee such promises of Life if thou wilt but Turn he would not have perswaded thee to it by so many Reasons The tenour of his Gospel proveth the point 3. And his Commission that he hath given to the Ministers of the Gospel doth fully prove it If God had taken more pleasure in thy damnation then in thy Conversion and Salvation he would never have charged us to offer you Mercy and to teach you the Way of Life both publikely and privately and to intreate and beseech you to turn and live to acquaint you with your sins and foretell you of your danger and to do all that possibly we can for your Conversion and to continue patiently so doing though you should hate us or abuse us for our pains Would God have done this and appointed his Ordinances for your good if he had taken Pleasure in your death 4. It is proved also by the course of his providences If God had rather you were damned then Converted and Saved he would not second his word with his works and entice you by his daily kindness to himself and give you all the mercies of this life which are his means to lead you to Repentance Rom. 2.4 and bring you so often under his rod to force you into your wits he would not set so many examples before your eyes no nor wait on you so patiently as he doth from day to day and year to year These be not signs of one that taketh pleasure in your death If this had been his delight how easily could he have had thee long ago in Hell How oft before this could he have catcht thee away in the midst of thy sins with a curse or oath or lye in thy mouth in thy ignorance and pride and sensuality when thou wast last in thy drunkenness or last deriding the waies of God how easily could he have stopt thy breath and tamed thee with his Plagues and made thee sober in another world Alas how small a matter is it for the Lord Almighty to rule the tongue of the prophanest railer and tye the hands of the most malicious persecutor or calm the fury of the bitterest of his enemies and make them know that they are but worms If he should but frown upon thee thou wouldst drop into thy grave If he gave Commission to one of his Angels to go and destroy ten thousand sinners how quickly would it be done How easily can he lay thee on thy bed of languishing and make thee lie roaring there in pain and make thee eat the words of reproach which thou hast spoken against his Servants his Word his Worship and his holy Waies And make thee send to beg their prayers
whom thou didst despise in thy presumption How easily can he lay that flesh under gripes and groans and make it too weak to hold thy soul and make it more loathsom then the dung of the earth That flesh which now must have what it loves and must not be displeased though God be displeased but must be humoured in meats and drink and cloaths whatever God say to the contrary how quickly would the frowns of God consume it When thou wast passionately defending thy sin and quarrelling with them that would have drawn thee from it and shewing thy spleen against the reprover and pleading for the works of darkness how easily could God have snatcht thee away in a moment and set thee before his dreadful Majesty where thou shouldst see ten thousand times ten thousand of glorious Angels waiting on his throne and have called thee there to plead thy cause and asked thee What hast thou now to say against thy Creator his Truth his Servants or his holy waies Now plead thy cause and make the best of it that thou canst Now what canst thou say in excuse of thy sin Now give account of thy worldliness and fleshly life of thy time of all the mercies thou hast had O how thy stubborn heart would have melted and thy proud looks be taken down and thy countenance be appaled and thy stout words turned into speechless silence or dreadful cries if God had but set thee thus at his Bar and pleaded his own cause with thee which thou hast here so maliciously pleaded against How easily can he at any time say to thy guilty soul Come away and live in that flesh no more till the resurrection and it cannot resist A word of his mouth would take off the poise of thy present life and then all thy parts and powers would stand still and if he say unto thee Live no longer or live in Hell thou couldst not disobey But God hath yet done none of this but hath patiently forborn thee and mercifully upheld thee and given thee that breath which thou didst breath out against him and given those Mercies which thou didst sacrifice to thy flesh and afforded thee that provision which thou spentest to satisfie thy greedy throat he gave thee every minute of that time which thou didst waste in idleness or drunkenness or worldliness and doth not all this Patience and Mercy shew that he desired not thy damnation Can the candle burn without the oyl Can your houses stand without the earth to bear them As well as you can live an hour without the support of God And why did he so long support thy life but to see when thou wouldst bethink thee of the folly of thy waies and return and live Will any man purposely put arms into his enemies hands to resist him or hold the Candle to a Murderer that is killing his children or to an idle servant that Plaies or sleeps the while Surely it is to see whether thou wilt at last Return and Live that God hath so long waited on thee 5. It is further proved by the sufferings of his Son that God taketh no pleasure in the death of the wicked would he have ransomed them from death at so dear a rate Would he have astonished Angels and men by his condescension Would God have dwelt in flesh and have come in the form of a servant and have assumed humanity into one person with the Godhead and would Christ have lived a life of suffering and dyed a cursed death for sinners if he had rather taken pleasure in their death Suppose you saw him but so busie in preaching and healing them as you find him in Mark 3.21 or so long in fasting as in Mat. 4. or all night in prayer as in Luk. 6.12 or praying with thâ— drops of blood trickling from him instead of sweat as Luke 22.44 or suffering a cursed death upon the Cross and pouring out his soul as a sacrifice for our sins Would you have thought these the signs of one that delighted in the death of the wicked And think not to extenuate it by saying that this was only for his Elect. For it was thy sin and the sin of all the world that lay upon our Redeemer and his sacrifice and satisfaction is sufficient for all and the fruits of it are offered to one as well as another but it is true that it was never the intent of his mind to pardon and save any that would not by faith and repentance be Converted If you had seen and heard him weeping and bemoaning the state of a disobedient impenitent people Luke 19.41 42. or complaining of their stubborness as Mat. 23.37 Oh Ierusalem Ierusalem how oft would I have gathered thy chilâ—ren together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not Or if you had seen and heard him on the Cross praying for his persecutors Father forgive them for they know not what they do would you have suspected that he had delighted in the death of the wicked even of those that perish by their wilfull unbelief When God hath so loved not only loved but so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him by an effectual faith should not perish but have everlasting life I think he hath hereby proved against the malice of men and devils that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but had rather that they would Turn and Live 6. Lastly if all this will not yet satisfie you take his own word that knoweth best his own mind or at least believe his oath but this leadeth me up to the fourth Doctrine Doct. 4. THE Lord hath confirmed it to us by his Oath that he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that he Turn and Live that he may leave man no pretence to question the truth of it If you dare question his word I hope you dare not question his oath As Christ hath solemnly protested that the unregenerate and Unconverted cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven Mat. 18.3 Iohn 3.3 So God hath sworn that his pleasure is not in their death but in their Conversion and Life And as the Apostle saith Heb. 6.13 16 17 18. Because he can swear by no greater then himself he saith As I live c. For men verily swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of strife wherein God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of Promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by on oath that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us which we have as an Anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast If there be any man that cannot reconcile this truth with the Doctrine of Predestination or the actual damnation of the wicked that 's his own ignorance he
perswade them to it if we would beg it of them with tears we cannot perswade them and what more can we do These are the secret complaints and moans that many a poor Minister is fain to make And do you think that he hath any Pleasure in this Is it a Pleasure to him to see you go on in sin and cannot stop you to see you so miserable and cannot so much as make you sensible of it to see you merry when you are not sure to be an hour out of Hell to think what you must for ever suffer because you will not Turn and to think what an everlasting life of Glory you wilfully despise and cast away What sadder thing can you bring to their hearts and how can you devise to grieve them more Who is it then that you Pleasure by your sin and death It is none of your understanding godly friends Alas it is the grief of their souls to see your misery and they lament you many a time when you give them little thanks for it and when you have not hearts to lament your selves Who is it then that takes Pleasure in your sin It is none but the three great enemies of God whom you renouâ—ced in your Baptism and now are turned falsly to serve 1. The Devil indeed takes pleasure in your sin and death For this is the very end of all his temptations For this he watcheth night and day You cannot devise to please him better then to go on in sin How glad is he when he sees thee going to the Ale-house or other sin and when he heareth thee curse or swear or rail How glad is he when he heareâ—h thee revile the Minister that would draw thee from thy sin and help to save thee These are his delight 2. The wicked also are delighted in it For it is agreeable to their nature 3. But I know for all this that it is not the pleasing of the Devil that you intend even when you please him but it is your own flesh the greatest and most dangerous enemy that you intend to please It is the flesh that would be pampered that would be pleased in meat and drink and cloathing that would be pleased in your company and pleased in applause and credit with the world and pleased in sports and lost and idleness this is the gulf that devoureth all This is the very god that you serve for the Scripture saith of such that their bellies are thâ—ir gods Phil. 3.18 But I beseech you stay a little and consider the business 1. Quest. Should your flesh be pleased before your Maker Will you displease the Lord and displease your Teachers and your godly friends and all to please your brutish appetites or sensual desires Is not God worthy to be the Ruler of your flesh If he shall not Rule it he will not save it you cannot in reason expect that he should 2. Qu. Your flesh is pleased with your sin but is your conscience pleased Doth not it grudge within you and tell you sometimes that all is not well and that your case is not so safe as you make it to be and should not your soul and conscience be pleased before that corruptible flesh 3. Quest. But is not your flesh preparing for its own displeasure also it loves the bait but doth it love the hook It loves the strong drink and sweet morsels it loves its case and sports and merriment it loves to be rich and well spoken of by men and to be some body in the world but doth it love the curse of God Doth it love to stand trembling before his Bar and to be judged to everlasting fire Doth it love to be tormented with the Devils for ever Take all together for there is no separating sin and hell but only by faith and true Conversion if you will keep one you must have the other If Death and Hell be pleasant to you no wonder then if you go on in sin but if they be not as I am sure they be not then what if sin were never so pleasant is it worth the loss of Life Eternal Is a little drink or meat or ease is the good words of sinners is the riches of this world to be valued above the Joyes of heaven Or are they worth the suffering of Eternal fire Sirs these questions should be considered before you go any further by every man that hath Reason to consider and that believes he hath a soul to save or lose Well the Lord here sweareth that he hath no Pleasure in your Death but rather that you would Turn and Live if yet you will go on and Dye rather then Turn remember it was not to Please God that you did it it was to Please the world and to please your selves And if men will damn themselves to please themselves and run into endless Torments for Delight and have not the wit the hearts the grace to hearken to God or man that would reclaim them what remedy but they must take what they get by it and repent it in another manner when it is too late Before I proceed any further in the Application I shall come to the next Doctrine which giveth me a fuller ground for it Doct. 5. SO earnest is God for the Conversion of sinners that he doubleth his commands and exhortations with vehemency Turn ye Turn ye Why will ye Dye This Doctrine is the Application of the former as by a Use of Exhortation and accordingly I shall handle it Is there ever an Unconverted sinner that heareth these vehement words of God Is there ever a man or woman in this Assembly that is yet a stranger to the renewing sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost It is an happy Assembly if it be not so with the most Hearken then to the voice of your maker and Turn to him by Christ without delay Would you know the will of God Why this is his will that you presently Turn Shall the living God send so earnest a Message to his creatures and should they not obey Hearken then all you that live after the flesh the Lord that gave thee thy breath and being hath sent a message to thee from heaven and this is his Message Turn ye Turn ye why will you die He that hath ears to hear let him hear Shall the voice of the Eternal Majesty be neglected If he do but terribly thunder thou art afraid O but this voice doth more nearly concern thee If he did but tell thee thou shalt die to morrow thou wouldst not make light of it O but this word concerneth thy life or death everlasting It is both a Command and an Exhortation As if he had said to thee I charge thee upon the allegiance that thou owest to me thy Creator and Redeemer that thou renounce the flesh the world and the Devil and Turn to me that thou maist Live I condescend to intreate thee as thou either lovest or fearest him that made thee as thou
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
and judgement and of the certainty and excellency of the Joys of Heaven and of the certainty and terrour of the torments of Hell and the Eternity of both and of the necessity of Conversion and an holy life Steep your hearts in such Considerations as these DIRECTION III. IF you will be Converted and Saved attend upon the word of God which is the ordinary means Read the Scripture or hear it read and other holy writings that do apply it constantly attend on the publike preaching of the Word As God will lighten the world by the Sun and not by himself alone without it So will he Convert and save men by his Ministers who are the Lights of the world Acts 26.17 18. Mat. 5.14 When he hath miraculously humbled Paul he sendeth him to Ananias Acts 9.10 and when he haâ—h sent an Angel to â—oâ—nelius it is but to bid him send for Peter who must tell him what he is to believe and do DIRECTION IV. BEtake your self to God in a course of earnest constaâ—t Prayer Confess and lament your former lives and beg his grace to illuminate and Convert you Beseech him to pardon what is past and to give you his Spirit and change your hearts and lives and lead you in his waies and save you from temptations And ply this work daily and be not weary of it DIRECTION V. PResently give over your known and wilâ—ul sins Make a stâ—nd and go that way no further Be drunk no more but avoid the place and occasion of it Cast away your lusts and sinful pleasures with detestation Curse and swear and rail no more and if you have wronged any restore as Zacheus did If you will commit again your old sins what blessing can you expect on the means for your Conversion DIRECTION VI. PResently if possible change your Company if it have hitherto been bad Not by forsaking your necessary Relations but your unnecessary sinful companions and joyn your selves with those that fear the Lord and enquire of them the way to heaven Acts 9.19 26. Psal. 15.4 DIRECTION VII DEliver up your selves to the Lord Iesus as the Physitian of your souls that he may pardon you by his blood and sanctifie you by his Spirit by his word and Ministers the instruments of the Spirit He is the way the truth and the life there is no coming to the Father but by him Iohn 14.6 Nor is there any other name under heaven by which you can be saved Acts 4.12 Study therefore his Person and Natures and what he hath done and suffered for you and what he is to you and what he will be and how he is fitted to the full supply of all your necessities DIRECTION VIII IF you mean indeed to Turn and Live Do it speedily without delay If you be not willing to Turn to day you be not willing to do it at all Remember you are all this while in your blood under the guilt of many thousand sins and under Gods wrath and you stand at the very brink of hell there is but a step between you and death And this is not a case for a man that is well in his wits to be quiet in Up therefore presently and fly as for your lives as you would be gone out of your house if it were all on fire over your head O if you did but know what continual danger you live in and what daily unspeakable loss you do sustain and whaâ— a safer and sweeter life you might live you would not stand trâ—flâ—ng but presently turn Multitudes miscarry that wilfulâ—y deâ—ay when they are convinced that it must be done Your lives are short and uncertain and what a case are you in if you die before you throuâ—hly turn You have staid too long already and wronged God too long sin getteth strength and rooting while you delay Your Conversion will grow more hard and doubtful You have much to do and therefore put not all off to the last lest God forsake you and give you up to your selves and then you are undone for ever DIRECTION IX IF you will Turn and Live do it unreservedly absolutely and universally Think not to capitulate with Christ and devide your heart betwixt him and the world and to part with some sins and keep the rest and to let go that which your flesh can spare This is but self-deluding you must in heart and resolution forsake all that you have or else you cannot be his Disciples Luke 14.26 33. If you will not take God and Heaven for your portion and lay all below at the feet of Christ but you must needs also have your good things here and have an earthly portion and God and Glory is not enough for you it is in vain to dream of salvation on these terms For it will not be If you seem never so Religious if yet it be but a Carnâ—l Religiousness and the fleshes prosperity or pleasure or safety be still exâ—epted in your devotedness to God this is as certain a way to death as open prophaness though it be more plausible DIRECTION X. IF you will Turn and Live do it Resolvedly and stand not still deliberating as if it were a doubtful case Stand not wavering as if you were yet uncertain whether God or the flesh be the better Master or whether Heaven or Hell be the better End or whether sin or holiness be the better way But away with your former lusts and presently habitually fixedly Resolve Be not one day of one mind and the next of another but be at a point with all the world and Resolvedly give up your selves and all you have to God Now while you are reading or hearing this Resolve Before you sleep another night Resolve Before you stir from the place Resolve Before Satan have time to take you off Resolve You never Turn indeed till you do Resolve and that with a firm unchangeable Resolution So much for the Directions AND now I have done my part in this work that you may Turn at the Call of God and Live What will become of it I cannot tell I have cast the seed at Gods command but it is not in my power to give the increase I can go no further with my message I cannot bring it to your hearts not make it work I cannot do your parts for your to entertain it and consider of it Nor I cannot do Gods part by opening your heartâ— to cause you to entertain it Nor can I shew you Heaven or Hell to your eye-sight nor give you new and tender hearts If I knew what more to do for your Conversion I hope I should do it But 〈◊〉 thou that art the gracious Father of Spirits that hast sworn thâ—n delightest not in the death of the wicked but rather that they Turn and Live deny not thy blessiâ—g to theâ—e Perswasions and Directions and suffer not thine enemies to triumph in thy sight and the great deceiver of souls to prevail against the Son thy Spirit and thy Word O pitty poor Vnconverted sinners that have not hearts to pitty or help themselves Command the blind to see and the deaf to hear and the dead to live and let not sin and death be able to resist thee Awaken the secure Resolve the uâ—resolved Confirm the wavering and let the eyes of sinners that read these lines be next employed in weeping over their sins and bring them to themselves and to thy Son before their sin have brought them to perdition If thâ—u say but the word these poor endeavours shall prosper to the winning of many a soul to their everlasting Ioy and thine everlasting glory Amen Finitur 1656. Decemb. 31. Mr. R. Rowly of Sâ—rew bury upon Aâ—ham-bridge