or six or seven hundred years custom you are as much offended with a motion for Reformation as if you were to lose you lives by it and hold fast old errors while you cry out against new ones Scarce a difference can arise among the ministers of the Gospel but you will fetch your own death from it And you will not hear or at least not obey the unquestionable Doctrine of any thing that jumps not with your conceits One will not hear a Minister because he readeth his Sermon and another will not hear him because he doth not read them One will not hear him because he saith the Lords prayer and another will not hear him because he doth not use it One will not hear them that are for Episcopacy and another will not hear them that are against it And thus I might shew it you in many other cases how you turn all that comes near you to your own destruction so clear is it that the ungodly are self-destroyers and that their perdition is of themselves ME thinks now upon the consideration of what is said and the review of your own waies you should bethink you what you have done and be ashamed and deeply humbled to remember it If you be not I pray you consider these following truths 1. To be your own destroyers is to sin against the deepest principle in your Natures even the principle of self preservation Every thing naturally desireth or inclineth to its own felicity well-fare or perfection And will you set your selves to your own destruction When you are commanded to love your neighbours as your selves it is supposed that you naturally love your selves But if you love your neighbours no better then your selves it seems you would have all the world be damned 2. How extreamly do you cross your own intentions I know you intend not your own damnation even when you are procuring it you think you are but doing good to your selves by gratifying the desires of your flesh But alas it is but as a draught of cold water in a burning feaver or as the scratching of an itching wild-fire which increaseth the disease and pain If indeed you would have pleasure or profit or honour seek them where they are to be found and do not hunt after them in the way to hell 3. What pitty is it that you should do that against your selves which none else in earth or hell can do If all the world were combined against you or all the Devils in Hell were combined against you they could not destroy you without your selves nor make you sin but by your own consent And will you do that against your selves which no one else can do you have hateful thoughts of the Devil because he is your enemy and endeavoureth your destruction And will you be worse then Devils to your selves Why thus it is with you if you had hearts to understand it when you run into sin and run from godliness and refuse to turn at the Call of God you do more against your own souls then men or devils could do besides And if you should set your selves and bend your wits to do your selves the greatest mischief you could not devise to do a greater 4. You are false to the trust that God hath reposed in you He hath much entrusted you with your own salvation and will you betray your trust He hath set you with all diligence to keep your hearts and is this the keeping of them Prov. 4.23 5. You do even forbid all others to pitty you when you will have no pitty on your selves if you cry to God in the time of your calamity for Mercy Mercy what can you expect but that he should thrust you away and say Nay thou wouldst not have mercy on thy self who brought this upon thee but thy own wilfulness And if your Brethren see you everlastingly in misery how shall they pitty you that were your own destroyers and would not be disswaded 6. It will everlastingly make you your own Tormenters in Hell to think on it that you brought your selves wilfully to that misery O what a griping thought it will be for ever to think with your selves That this was your own doing That you were warned of this day and warned again but it would not do That you wilfully sinned and wilfully turned away from God That you had time as well as others but you abused it You had Teachers as well as others but you refused their instructions You had holy examples but you did not imitate them You were offered Christ and Grace and Glory as well as others but you had more mind of your fleshly pleasures You had a price in your hands but you had not an heart to lay it out Proverbs 17.16 Can it choose but torment you to think of this your present folly O that your eyes were opened to see what you have done in the wilful wronging of your own souls and that you better understood those words of God Pro. 8 33 34 35 36. Hear instruction and be wise and refuse it not Blessed is the man that heareth me watching daily at my gates waiting at the posts of my doors For who so findeth me findeth life and shall obtain the favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul All they that hate me love death AND now I am come to the Conclusion of this work my heart is troubled to think how I shall leave you lest after this the flesh should still deceive you and the world and the Devil should keep you asleep and I should leave you as I find you till you awake in Hell Though in care of your poor souls I am affraid of this as knowing the obstinacy of a carnal heart yet I can say with the Prophet Ieremy 17.16 I have not desired the woful day the Lord knoweth I have not with Iames and Iohn desired that fire might come from heaven to consume them that refused Jesus Christ Luke 9.54 But it is the preventing of the eternal fire that I have been all this while endeavouring and O that it had been a needless work That God and conscience might have been as willing to spare me this labour as some of you could have been Dear friends I am so loth you should lie in everlasting fire and be shut out of Heaven if it be possible to prevent it that I shall once more ask you What do you now resolve Will you Turn or Die I look upon you as a Physitian on his Patient in a dangerous disease that saith to him Though you are far gone take this medicine and forbear but these few things that are hurtful to you and I dare warrant your life but if you will not do this you are but a dead man What would you think of such a man if the Physitian and all the friends he hath cannot perswade him to take one medicine to save his life or to forbear one or two poysonous things that
your souls for the Love of God is the Fountain of this offer Iohn 3.16 and the blood of the Son of God hath purchased it the faithfulness and truth of God is engaged to make the promise good Miracles have sealed up the truth of it Preachers are sent through the world to proclaim it the Sacraments are instituted and used for the solemn Delivery of the mercy offered to them that will accept it and the Spirit doth open the heart to entertain it and is it self the earnest of the full possession So that the truth of it is past controversie that the worst of you all and every one of you if you will but be Converted may be Saved Indeed if you will needs believe that you shall be saved without Conversion then you believe a falshood and if I should preach that to you I should preach a lie this were not to believe God but the Devil and your own deceitful hearts God hath his promise of Life and the Devil hath his promise of Life Gods promise is Return and Live The Devils promise is you shall live whether you turn or not The word of God is as I have shewed you Except ye be converted and become as little children ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven Matth. 18.3 Except a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God John 3.3 5. Without holiness none shall see God Hebrews 12.14 The Devils word is You may be saved without being born again and Converted you may do well enough without being holy God doth but frighten you he is more merciful then to do as he saith he will be better to you then his word And alas the greatest part of the world believe this word of the Devil before the word of God just as our first sin and misery came into the world God said to our first parents If ye eat ye shall Die And the Devil contradicteth him and saith Ye shall not Die and the woman believed the Devil before God So now the Lord saith Turn or Die. And the Devil saith You shall not die if you do but cry God mercy at last and give over the acts of sin when you can practise it no longer And this is the word that the world believes O hainous wickedness to believe the Devil before God! And yet that is not the worst but blasphemously they call this a Believing and Trusting God when they put him in the shape of Satan who was a lyar from the beginning and when they believe that the word of God is a lye they call this a Trusting God and say they Believe in him and Trust on him for salvation Where did ever God say that the unregenerate unconverted unsanctified shall be saved Shew such a word in Scripture I challenge you if you can Why this is the Devils word and to believe it is to believe the Devil and the sin that is commonly called Presumption and do you call this a believing and trusting God There is enough in the Word of God to comfort and strengthen the hearts of the sanctified but not a word to strengthen the hands of wickedness nor to give men the least hope of being saved though they be never sanctified But if you will Turn and come into the way of Mercy the Mercy of the Lord is ready to entertain you Then Trust God for salvation boldly and confidently for he is engaged by his word to save you He will be a Father to none but his children and he will save none but those that forsake the world the Devil and the flesh and come in to his family to be members of his Son and have Communion with his Saints But if they will not come in it is long of themselves His doors are open He keeps none back He never sent such a message as this to any of you Its now too late I will not receive thee though thou be Converted He might have done so and done you no wrong but he did not he doth not to this day He is still ready to receive you if you were but ready unfeignedly and with all your hearts to Turn And the fulness of this truth will yet more appear in the two following Doctrines which I shall therefore next proceed to before I make any further application of this Doct. 3. GOD taketh Pleasure in mens Conversion and Salvation but not in their Death or Damnation he had rather they would Return and Live then go on and die I shall first teach you how to understand this and then clear up the truth of it to you And for the first you must observe these following things 1. A simple willingness or complacency is the first act of the will following the simple apprehension of the understanding before it proceedeth to compare things together But the choosing act of the will is a following act and supposeth the comparing practical act of the understanding and these two acts may often be carried to contrary objects without any fault at all in the person 2. An unfeigned willingness may have divers degrees Some things I am so far willing of as that I will do all that lieth in my power to accomplish it and some things I am truly willing another should do when yet I will not do all that ever I am able to procure it having many Reasons to disswade me there from though yet I will do all that belongs to me to do 3. The will of a Ruler as such is manifested in making and executing Laws but the will of a man in his simple natural capacity or as absolute Lord of his own is manifested in desiring or resolving of events 4. A Rulers will as Law-giver is first and principally that his Laws be obeyed and not at all that the penalty be executed on any but only on supposition that they will not obey his precepts But a Rulers will as Iudge supposeth the Law already either kept or broken and therefore he resolveth on rewards or punishments accordingly Having given you these necessary Distinctions I shall next apply them to the case in hand in these following Propositions 1. It is in the glass of the word aâ—d creatures that in this life we must know God and so according to the nature of man we ascribe to him Vnderstanding and will removing all the imperfections that we can because we are capable of no higher Positive conceptions of him 2. And on the same grounds we do with the Scripture distinguish between the acts of Gods will as diversified from the respects of the objects though as to Gods essence they are all one 3. And the boldlyer because that when we speak of Christ we have the more ground for it from his humane nature 4. And thus we say that the simple Complacency Will or Love of God is to all that is Naturally or Morally good according to the nature and degree of its goodness And so he hath pleasure in the Conversion and Salvation
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
lovest thine own life even thine everlasting Life Turn and Live as ever thou wouldst escape eternal misery Turn Turn for why wilt thou die And is there a heart in man in a reasonable creature that can once refuse such a Message such a Command such an Exhortation as this O what a thing then is the heart of man Hearken then all that love themselves and all that regard your own salvation Here is the joyfullest Message that ever was sent to the ears of man Turn ye Turn ye why will you die You are not yet shut up under desperstion Here is mercy offered you Turn and you shall have it O Sirs with what glad and Joyful hearts should you receive this tidings I know this is not the first time that you have heard it but how have you regarded it or how do you regard it now Hear all you ignorant careless sinners the word of the Lord Hear all you worldlings you sensual flesh-pleasers you gluttons and drunkards and whore-mongers and swearers you railers and backbiters slanderers and lyars Turn ye Turn ye why will you die Hear all you cold and out-side professors and all that are strangers to the life of Christ and never knew the power of his Cross and Resurrection and never felt your hearts warmed with his Love and live not on him as the strength of your souls Turn ye Turn ye why will you die Hear all that are void of the Love of God whose hearts are not toward him nor taken up with the Hopes of glory but set more by your earthly prosperity and delights then by the Joyes of Heaven all you that are Religious but a little on the by and give God no more then your flesh can spare that have not denyed your carnal selves and forsaken all that you have for Christ in the estimation and grounded resolution of your souls but have any one thing in the world so dear to you that you cannot spare it for Christ if he require it but will rather venture on his displeasure then forsake it Turn ye Turn ye Why will you die If you never heard it or observed it before remember that you were told from the Word of God this day that if you will but Turn you may Live and if you will not Turn you shall surely die What now will you do Sirs What is your resolution Will you Turn or will you not Halt not any longer between two opinions if the Lord he God follow him if your flesh be God then serve it still If Heaven be better then earth and fleshly pleasures come away then and seek a better Country and lay up your treasure where rust and motheâ— do not corrupt and thieves cannot break through and steal and be awakened at last with all your might to seek the Kingdom that cannot be moved Heb. 12.28 and to employ your lives on an higher design and turn the stream of your cares and labours another way then formerly you have done But if earth be better then heaven or will do more for you or last you longer then keep it and make your best of it and follow it still Sirs are you resolved what to do if you be not I will set a few more moving Considerations before you to see if Reason will make you resolve Consider first What preparations Mercy hath made for your salvation and what pitty it is that any man should be damned after all this The time was when the flaming sword was in the way and the curse of Gods Law would have kept thee back if thou hadst been never so willing to turn to God The time was when thy self and all the friends that thou hast in the world could never have procured thee the pardon of thy sins past though thou hadst never so much lamented and reformed them But Christ hath removed this impediment by the ransom of his blood The time was that God was wholly unreconciled as being not satisfied for the violation of his Law But now he is so far satisfied and reconciled as that he hath made thee a free Act of Oblivion and a free deed of Gift of Christ and Life and offereth it to thee and intreateth thee to accept it and it may be thine if thou wilt For he was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and hath committed to us the word of actual reconciliation 2 Cor. 5.18 19. Sinners we are commanded to do this Message to you all as from the Lord Come for all things are ready Luke 14.17 Are all things ready and are you unready God is Ready to entertain you and pardon all that you have done against him if you will but come As long as you have sinned as wilfully as you have sinned as hainously as you have sinned he is ready to cast all behind his back if you will but come Though you have been Prodigals and run away from God and have staid so long he is ready even to meet you and embrace you in his arms and rejoyce in your Conversion if you will but Turn Even the earthly worldling the swinish drunkard may find God ready to bid them welcome if they will but come Doth not this turn thy heart within thee O sinner if thou have an heart of flesh and not of stone in thee methinks this should melt it Shall the dreadful infinite Majesty of heaven even wait for thy returning and be ready to receive thee who hast abused him and forgotten him so long Shall he delight in thy Conversion that might at any time glorifie his Justice in thy damnation and yet doth it not melt thy heart within thee and art thou not yet ready to come in Hast thou not as much reason to be ready to come as God hath to invite thee and bid thee welcome But that 's not all Christ hath done his part on the Cross and made such way for thee to the Father that on his account thou maist be welcome if thou wilt come And yet art thou not Ready A Pardon is Ready expresly granted and offered thee in the Gospel And yet art thou unready The Ministers of the Gospel are Ready to assist thee to instruct thee and pronounce the absolving words of peace to thy soul they are Ready to pray for thee and to seal up thy pardon by the administration of the holy Sacrament And yet art thou not ready Aâ—l that fear God about thee are Ready to rejoyce in thy Conversion and to receive thee into the Communion of Saints and to give thee the right hand of fellowship yea though thou hadst been one that had been cast out of their society they dare not but forgive where God forgiveth when it is manifest to them by thy confession and amendment they dare not so much as hit thee in the teeth with thy former sins because they know that God will not upbraid thee with them If thou hadst been never so scandalous if thou wouldst but heartily be Converted and come in
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
say they are all mine If upon the curse you may say From this I am delivered When you read the Law you may see what you are saved from when you read the Gospel you may see him that Redeemed you and see the course of his Love and holy Life and sufferings and trace him in his temptations tears and blood in the work of your salvation You may see death conquered and Heaven opened and your Resurrection and Glorification provided for in the Resurrection and Glorification of your Lord. If you look on the Saints you may say They are my Brethren and Companions If on the unsanctified you may rejoyce to think that you are saved from that state If you look upon the heavens the Sun and Moon and Stars innumerable you may think and say My Fathers face is infinitely more glorious It s higher matters that he hath prepared for his Saints Yonder is but the outward Court of Heaven The blessedness that he hath promised me is so much higher that flesh and blood cannot behold it If you think of the grave you may remember that the Glorified Spirit a Living Head and a Loving Father have all so near Relation to your dust that it cannot be forgotten or neglected but will more certainly revive then the plants and flowers in the spring because that the soul is still alive that is the Root of the Body and Christ is alive that is the Root of both Even death which is the King of fears may be remembred and entertained with joy as being the day of your deliverance from the remnants of sin and sorrow and the day which you believed and hoped and waâ—ted for when you shall see the blessed things which you had heard of and shall find by present joyful experience what it was to choose the better part and to be a sincere believing Saint What say you sirs is not this a more delightfull life to be assured of Salvation and ready to die then to live as the ungodly that have their hearts overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life and so that day comes upon them unawares Luke 21.34 â—6 Might you not live a comfortable life if once you were made the Heirs of Heaven and sure to be saved when you leave the world O look about you then and think what you do and cast not away such hopes as these for very nothing The flesh and world can give you no such Hopes or Comforts And besides all the misery that you bring upon your selves you are the troublers of others as long as you are Vnconverted You trouble Magistrates to rule you by their Laws You trouble Ministers by resisting the light and guidance which they offer you Your sin and misery is the greatest grief and trouble to them in the world You trouble the Common-wealth and draw the Iudgements of God upon us It s you that most disturb the holy peace and order of the Churches and hinder our Vnion and Reformation and are the shame and trouble of the Churches where you intrude and of the places where you are Ah Lord How heavy and sad a case is this that even in England where the Gospel doth abound above any other Nation in the world where Teaching is so plain and common and all the helps we can desire are at hand when the sword hath been hewing us and Iudgement hath run as a fire through the Land when deliverances have relieved us and so many admirable mercies have engaged us to God and to the Gospel and an holy life that yet after all this our Cities and Towns and Countries should abound with multitudes of unsanctified men and swarm with so much sensuality as everywhere to our grief we see One would have thought that after all this Light and all this experience and all these Iudgements and Mercies of God the people of this Nation should have joyned together as one man to Turn to the Lord and should have come to their godly Teachers and lamented all their former sin and desired him to joyn with them in publike Humiliation to confess them openly and beg pardon of them from the Lord and should have craved his Instruction for the time to come and be glad to be Ruled by the Spirit within and the Ministers of Christ without according to the Word of God One would think that after such Reason and Scripture evidence as they hear and after all these means and mercies there should not be an ungodly persoâ— lest among us nor a worldling oâ— a drunkard or a hater of Reformation or an enemy to holiness be found in all our Towns or Countreys If we be not all agreed about some Ceremoâ—ies or Forms of Government one would think that before this We should have been all agreed to live a holy and heavenly lâ—fe in obedience to God his word and Ministers and in Love and Peace with one another But alas how far are our people from this course most of them in most places do set their hearts on earthly things and seek not first the Kingdom of God and the righteouâ—neâ—s hereof but look at holinesâ— as a needless thing Their Families are prayerless or else a few heaâ—tlâ—ss lâ—feless words must serve instead of hearty fervent daily prayers their children are not taught the knowledge of Christ and the Covenant of Grace nor brought up in the nurture of the Lord though they faâ—sly promised all this in their Baptism They instruct not their servants in the matters of salvation but so their work be done they care not There are more oaths and â—nâ—ses and ribbald or railing speeches in their families then gracious words that tend to edification How few are the Families that fear the Lord and enquire at his Word and Ministers how they should live and what they should do and are willing to be taught and ruled and that heartily look after everlasting Life And those few that God hath made so happy are commonly the by-word of their neighbours when we see some live in drunkenness and some in pride and worldliness and most of them have little care of their salvation though the cause be gross and past all controversie yet will they hardly be convinced of their misery and more hardly recovered and reformed But when we have done all that we are able to save them from their sins we leave the most of them as we find them And if according to the Law of God we cast them out of the Communion of the Church when they have obstinately rejected all our admonitions they rage at us as if we were their enemies and their hearts are filled with malice against us and they will sooner set themselves against the Lord and his Laws and Church and Ministers then against their deadly siâ—s This is the dolefull case of England We have Magistrates that countenance the ways of Godliness and a happy opportunity for Vnity and Reformation is before us and faithfull Ministers long to
an executive power But when the Memorial Book of God is opened which is written for them that fear the Lord and think upon his name and when the Lord shall say of them These are mine as he is making up his Iewels and spareth them as â— man spareth his Son that serveth him then shall those Infidels â—â—turn to their wits and the righteous shall return from their fears and sufferings and shall discern between the Righteous and the Wicked between those that served God and those that served him not Mal. 3.16 17 18. Another Objection I find most common in the mouths of the ungodly especially of late years They say We can do nothing without God We cannot have grace if God will not give it us and if he will we shall quickly Turn If he have not predestinated us and will not Turn us how can we Turn our selves or be saved It is not in him that wills nor in hâ—m that runs And thus they think they are excused I have answered this formerly and in this book but let me now say this much 1. Though you cannot cure your selves you can hurt and poison your selves It s God that must sanctifie your hearts but who corrupted them Will you wilfully take Poison because you cannot cure your selves Me think you should the more forbear it You should the more take heed of sinning if you cannot mend what sin doth marr 2. Though you cannot be converted without the special Grace of God yet you must know that God giveth this Grace in the use of his holy means which he hath appointed to that end and common grace may enable you to forbear your gross sinning as to the outward act and to use those means Can you truly say that you do as much as you are able to do Are you not able to go by an Ale-house door or to shut your mouths and keep out the drink or to forbear the company that hardneth you in sin Are you not able to go to hear the word and think of what you heard when you come home and to consider with your selves of your own condition and of everlasting things Are you not able to read good Books from day to day at least on the Lords day and to conversâ— with those that fear the Lord You cannot say that you have done what you were able 3. And therefore you must know that you can forfeit the Grace and help of God by your wilful sinning or negligence though you cannot without Grace turn to God If you will not do what you can its just with God to deny you that grace by which you might do more 4. And for Gods Decrees you must know that they separate not the end and means but tie them together God never decreed to save any but the sanctified nor to damn any but the unsanctified God doth as truly Decree from everlasting whether your Land this year shall be barren or fruitful and just how long you shall live in the world as he hath Decreed whether you shall be saved or not And yet you would think that man but a fool that would forbear plowing and sowing and say If God have Decreed that my ground shall bear corn it will bear it whether I plough and sow or not If God have decreed that I shall live I shall live whether I eat or not but if he have not it is not eating that will keep me alive Do you know how to answer such a man or do you not If you do then you know how to answer your selves for the case is alike Gods Decree is as peremptory about your bodies as your souls If you do not then try first these conclusions upon your bodies before you venture to try them on your souls see first whether God will keep you alive without food or rayment and whether he will give you corn without tillage and labour and whether he will bring you to your journeys and without your travel or carriage and if you speed well in this then try whether he will bring you to heaven without your diligent use of means and sit down and say we cannot sanctifie our selves And for the point of Free-will which you harp so long upon Divines are not so much disagreed about it as you imagine Augustine as well as Pelagius Calvin as well as Arminius the Dominicans as well as the Iesuits all do generally maintain that man hath Free-will but the Orthodox say that Free-will is corrupted and disposed to evil Epiphanius condemned Origen for saying that man had lost the image of God and makes it a point of Heresie And yet one may truly say that man hath lost Gods image and another may truly say that he hath not lost it For there is a twofold image of God on man the one is Natural and that is Our Reason and Free-will and this is not lost The other is Qualitative and Ethical and this is our Holiness and this is lost and by Grace restored No man of brains denyeth that man hath a will that 's Naturally free It s free from violence and its a self determining Principle But it is not free from evil Dispositions It is Habitually averse to God and Holiness and enclined to earthly fleshly things It is enslaved by a sinful byas This no man me thinks that it a Christian should deny and of the Aged I see not how an Infidel can deny it Alas we easily confess to you that you have not this Spiritual Moral-Free will which is but your right Inclination and your Habitual Willingness it self If you had a will that were freed from wicked Inclinations I had no need to write such Books aâ— this to perswade you to be willing in a case which your own salvation lyeth on To the grief of our souls we perceive after all our preaching and perswasions that the ungodly have not this spiritual free wil. But this is nothing but your willingness it self inclination to be willing and therefore the want of it is so far from excusing you that the more you want it that is the more you are wilful in sin the worse you are and the sorer will be your punishment And our preaching and perswasion and your Hearing and Considering are the appointed means it get this Moral power or Freedom that is to make you truly willing Well Sirs I have but three requests to you and I have done First that you will seriously read over this small Treatise and if you have such as need it in your Families that you would read it over and over to them and if those that fear God would go now and then to their ignorant neighbours and read â—his or some other Book to them of â—his subject they might be a meanâ— of winning of souls If we cannot intreate so small a Labour of men for their own salvation as to read such short Instructions as these they set little by themselves and will most justly perish Secondly when you have
25. they plainly say that the way of the Lord is not equal and God saith It is their wayes that are not equal So here they say Verse 19. If our transgressions and our sins be upon us and we pine away in them how shall we then live As if they should say If we must die and be miserable how can we help it As if it were not long of them but God But God in my text doth clear himself of it and telleth them how they may help it if they will and perswadeth them to use the means and if they will not be perswaded he lets them know that it is long of themselves and if this will not satisfie them he will not therefore forbear to punish them It is He that will be the Judge and he will Judge them according to their wayes They are no Judges of him or of themselves as wanting authority and wisdom and impartiality Nor is it their cavilling and quarrelling with God that shall serve their turn or save them from the execution of Justice which they murmur at The words of this Verse contain 1. Gods purgation or clearing of himself from the blame of their Destruction This he doth not by disowning his Law that the wicked shall die nor by disowning his Judgement and Execution according to that Law or giving them any hope that the Law shall not be executed But by professing that it is not their death that he takes pleasure in but their returning rather that they may live And this he confirmeth to them by his Oath 2. An express Exhortation to the wicked to Return wherein God doth not only Command but perswade and condescend also to reason the case with them Why they will die The direct end of this Exhortation is That they may Turn and Live The Secundary or reserved ends upon supposition that this is not attained are these two First to convince them by the means which he used that it is not long of God if they be miserable Secondly to convince them from their manifest wilfulness in rejecting all his commands and perswasions that it is long of themselves and they die even because they Will die The substance of the Text doth lie in these observations following Doct. 1. It is the unchangable Law of God that wicked men must Turn or Dye Doct. 2. It is the promise of God that the wicked shall live if they will but Turn Doct. 3. God taketh pleasure in mens Conversion and Salvation but not in their death or damnation He had rather they would return and live then go on and die Doct. 4. This is a most certain truth which because God would not have men to question he hath confirmed it to them solemnly by his Oath Doct. 5. The Lord doth redouble his commands and perswasions to the wicked to Turn â—â—ct 6. The Lord condescendeth to reason the case with them and asketh the wicked Why they will die Doct. 7. If after all this the wicked will not turn it is not long of God that they perish but of themselves their own wilfulness is the cause of their damnation they therefore die because they will die Having laid the Text open before your eyes in these plain propositions I shall next speak somewhat of each of them in order though very briefly Doct. 1. IT is the unchangeable Law of God that wicked men must Turn or Die If you will believe God believe this There is but one of these two wayes for every wicked man either Conversion or Damnation I know the wicked will hardly be perswaded either of the truth or Equity of this No wonder if the Guilty quarrel with the Law Few men are apt to believe that which they would not have to be true And fewer would have that to be true which they apprehend to be against them But it is not quarrelling with the Law or with the Judge that will save the Malefactor Believing and regarding the Law might have prevented his death but denying and accusing â—t will but hasten it If it were not so an hundred would bring their reasons against the Law for one that would brind his reason to the Law and men would rather choose to give their reasons why they should not be punished then to hear the commands and reasons of their Governours which require them to obey The Law was not made for you to Judge but that you might be ruled and Judged by it But if there be any so blind 〈◊〉 to venture to question either the Truth or the Justice of this Law of God I shall briefly give you that Evidence of both which not thinks should satisfie a reasonable man And first if you doubt whether this be the word of God or not besides an hundred other texts you may be satisfied by these few Mat. 18.3 Verely I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little children ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven John 3 3. Verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God 2 Cor. 5.17 If a man be in Christ he is a new creature Old things are past away behold all thing are become new Colos 3.9.10 Ye have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him Heb. 12.14 Without holiness none shall see God Rom. 8.8 9. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Gal. 6.15 For in Christ Iesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new creature 1 Pet. 1.3 According to his abundant grace he hath begotten us again to a lively hope Verse 23. Being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever 1 Pet. 2.1 2. Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby Psalm 9.17 The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the Nations that forget God Psalm 11.5 And the Lord loveth the righteous but the wicked his soul hateth As I need not stay to open these Texts which are so plain so I think I need not add any more of that multitude which speak the like If thou be a man that dost believe the Word of God here 's already enough to satisfie thee that the wicked must be converted or condemned You are already brought so far that you must either confess that this is true or say plainly you will not believe the Word of God And if once you be come to that pass there is but small hopes of you look to your selves as well as you can for its like you will not be long out of Hell You would be ready to flie in the face of him that should give you the
sure of earth he would let go heaven and had rather stay here then be removed thither A life of perfect holiness in the sight of God and in his love and praises for ever in heaven doth not find such liking with his heart as a life of health and wealth and honour here upon earth And though he falsly profess that he loveth God above all yet indeed he never felt the power of Divine Love within him but his mind is more set on the world or fleshly pleasures then on God In a word whoever Loveth earth above heaven and fleshly prosperity more than God is a wicked unconverted man On the other side a Converted man is illuminated to discern the Loveliness of God and so far believeth the Glory that is to be had with God that his heart is taken up to it and set more upon it then on any thing in this world He had rather see the face of God and live in his everlasting love and praises then have all the wealth or pleasure of this world He seeth that all things else are vanity and nothing but God can fill the soul and therefore let the world go which way it will he layeth up his treasure and hopes in heaven and for that he is resolved to let go all As the fire doth mount upward and the Needle that is touched with the load-stone still turneth to the North so the Converted soul is enclined unto God Nothing else can satisfie him nor can he find any Content and Rest but in his Love In a word All that are Converted do Esteem and Love God beetter then all the world and the Heavenly felicity is dearer to them then their fleshly prosperity The proof of what I have said you may find in these places of Scripture Phil. 3.18 21. Mat. 6.19 20 21. Col. 3.1 2 3 4. Rom. 8.5 6 7 8 9 18 23. Psal. 73.25 26. Secondly a wicked man is one that maketh it the principal business of his life to prosper in the world and attain his fleshly ends And though he may read and hear and do much in the outward duties of Religion and forbear disgraceful sins yet this is all but upon the by and he never makes it the trade and principal business of his life to Please God and attain everlasting glory but puts off God with the leavings of the world and gives him no more service then the flesh can spare for he will not part with all for heaven On the contrary a Converted man is one that makes it the principal care and business of his life to Please God and to be saved and takes all the blessings of this life but as accommodations in his journey towards another life and useth the creature in subordination unto God he loveth an holy life and longeth to be more holy he hath no sin but what he hateth and longeth and prayeth and striveth to be rid of The drift and bent of his life is for God and if he sin it is contrary to the very bent of his heart and life and therefore he riseth again and lamenteth it and dare not wilfully live in any known sin There is nothing in this world so dear to him but he can give it up to God and forsake it for him and the hopes of glory All this you may see in Col. 3.1 2 3 4 5. Mat. 6.33 20. Luk. 18.22 23 29. Luk. 14.18 24 26 27. Rom. 8.13 Gal. 5.24 Luk. 12.21 c. Thirdly the soul of a wicked man did never truly discern and relish the mystery of Redemption nor thankfully entertain an offered Saviour nor is he taken up with the love of the Redeemer not willing to be ruled by him as the Physitian of his soul that he may be saved from the guilt and power of his sins and recovered unto God but his heart is insensible of this unspeakable benefit and is quite against the healing means by which he should be recovered Though he may be willing to be carnally Religious yet he never resigneth up his soul to Christ and to the motions and conduct of his Word and Spirit On the contrary the Converted soul having felt himself undone by sin and perceiving that he hath lost his peace with God and hopes of heaven and is in danger of everlasting misery doth thankfully entertain the tidings of Redemption and believing in the Lord Jesus as his only Saviour resigneth up himself to him for wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption He taketh Christ as the Life of his soul and liveth by him and useth him as his salve for every sore admiring the wisdom and Love of God in this wonderful work of mans Redemption In a word Christ doth even dwell in his heart by faith and the life that he now liveth is by the Faith of the Son of God that hath loved him and gave himself for him Yea it is not so much he that liveth as Christ in him For these see Iohn 1.11 12. 3.19 20. Rom. 8.9 Phil. 3.7 8 9 10. Gal. 2.20 Ioh. 15 2 3.4 1 Cor. 1.20 2.2 YOU see now in plain terms from the Word of God who are the wicked and who are the Converted Ignorant people think that if a man be no swearer not curser nor rayler nor drunkard nor fornicator nor extortioner nor wrong any body in their dealings and if they come to Church and say their prayers these cannot be wicked men Or if a man that hath been guilty of drunkenness or swearing or gameing or the like vices do but forbear them for the time to come they think that this is a Converted man Others think if a man that hath been an enemy and scorner at godliness do but approve it and joyn himself with those that are godly and be hated for it by the wicked as the godly are that this must needs be a Converted man And some are so foolish as to think they are Converted by taking up some new and false opinion and falling into some dividing party as Anabaptists Quakers Papists or such like And some think if they have but been affrighted by the fears of Hell and had Convictions and Gripes of Conscience and thereupon have purposed and promised amendment and taken up a life of Civil behavour and outward Religion that this must needs be true Conversion And these are the poor deluded souls that are like to lose the benefit of all our perswasions and when they hear that the wicked must Turn or Die they think that this is not spoken to them for they are not wicked but are Turned already And therefore it is that Christ told some of the Rulers of the Jews who were graver and civiler then the common people that Publicans and Harlots do go into the Kingdom of God before them Mat. 21.31 Not that an harlot or gross sinner can be saved without Conversion but because it was easier to make these gross sinners perceive their sin and misery and the necessity of a change
their worldly business and little trouble their minds with such thoughts And if they be but restrained from scandalous sins and can say I am no whore-monger nor thief nor curser nor swearer nor tipler nor exâ—ortioner I go to Church and say my prayers they think that this is true Conversion and they shall be saved as well as any Alas this is foolish cheating of your selves This is too much contempt of an endless glory and too gross neglect of your immortal souls Can you make so light of Heaven and Hell Your corpses will shortly all lye in the dust and Angels or Devils will presently seize upon your souls and every man and woman of you all will shortly be among other company and in another case then now you are you will dwell in those houses but a little longer you will work in your shops and fields but a little longer you will sit in those seats and dwell on this earth but a little longer you will see with those eyes and hear with those ears and speak with those tongues but a little longer till the Resurrection day and can you make shift to forget this O what a place will you be shortly in of Joy or Torment O what a sight will you shortly see in Heaven or Hell O what thoughts will shortly fill your hearts with unspeakable Delight or Horrour What work will you be employed in to Praise the Lord with Saints and Angels or to cry out in fire unquenchable with Devils And should all this be forgotten And all this will be endless and sealed up by an unchangeable decree Eternity Eternity will be the measure of your Joyes or sorrows and can this be forgotten And all this is true Sirs most certain true when you have gone up and down a little longer and slept and awak't a few tunes more you 'l be dead and gone and find all true that now I tell you and yet can you now so much forget it You shall then remember that you heard this Sermon and that this day from this place you were remembered of these things and perceive them matters a thousand times greater then either you or I could here conceive and yet shall they be now so much forgotten Beloved friends if the Lord had not awakened me to believe and lay to heart these things my self I should have remained in the dark and selfish state and have perished for ever but if he have truly made me sensible of them it will constrain me to compassionate you as well as my self If your eyes were so far opened as to see Hell and you saw your neighbours that were Unconverted dragg'd thither with hideous cries though they were such as you accounted honest people on earth and feared no such matter by themselves such a sight would make you go home and think of it and think again and make you warn all about you as the damned worldling in Luke 16.28 would have had his Brethen warned lest they come to that place of torment Why faith is a kind of sight it is the eye of the soul the Evidence of things aot seen If I believe God it is next to seeing And therefore I beseech you excuse me if I be half as earnest with you about these matters as if I had seen them If I must die to morrow and it were in my power to come again from another world and tell you what I had seen would you not be willing to hear me and would you not believe and regard what I should tell you If I might preach one Sermon to you after I am dead and have seen what is done in the world to come would you not have me plainly speak the truth and would you not crowd to hear me and would you not lay it to heart but this must not be God hath his appointed way of teaching you by Scripture and Ministers and he will not humour Unbelievers so far as to send men from the dead to them and to alter his establisht way if any man quarrel with the Sun God will not humour him so far as to set him up a clearer light Friends I beseech you regard me now as you would do if I should come from the dead to you for I can give you as full assurance of the truth of what I say to you as if I had been there and seen it with my eyes For its possible for one from the dead to deceive you but Jesus Christ can never deceive you the Word of God delivered in Scripture and sealed up by the Miracles and holy workings of the Spirit can never deceive you Believe this or believe nothing Believe and obey this or you are undone Now as ever you believe the Word of God and as ever you care for the salvation of your souls let me beg of you this reasonable request and I beseech you deny me not that you would without any more delay when you are gone from hence remember what you heard and enter into an earnest search of your hearts and say to your selves Is it so indeed must I Turn or Die Must I be Converted or Condemned It s time for me then to look about me before it be too lâ—te Oh why did I not look after this till now Why did I venturously poste off or flubber over so great a business Was I awake or in my wits Oh blessed God what a mercy is it that thou didst not cut off my life all this while before I had any certain hope of eternal life Well God forbid that I should neglect this work any longer What state is my soul in Am I Câ—nverted or am I not Was ever such a change or work done upon my soul Have I been illuminated by the Word and Spirit of the Lord to see the odiousness of sin the need of a Saviour the Love of Christ and the Excellencies of God and Glory Is my heart broken or humbled within me for my former life Have I thankfully entertained my Saviour and Lord that offered himself with pardon and life to my soul Do I hate my former sinful life and the remnant of every sin that is in me Do I flie from them as my deadly enemies Do I give up my self to a life of Holiness and Obedience to God Do I love it and delight in it Can I truly say that I am dead to the world and carnal self and that I live for God and the Glory which he hath promised Haâ—h Heaven more of my Estimation and Resolution then Earth And is God the dearest and the Highest in my soul Once I am sure I lived principally to the world and flâ—sh and God had nothing but some heartless services which the world could spare and which were the leavings of the flesh Is my heart now turned another way Have I a new design and a new end and a new train of holy affectâ—ons Have I set my hopes and heart in heaven And is it now the scope and design
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
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
hath no pretence left to deny or question therefore the truth of the point in hand For this is confirmed by the Oath of God and therefore must not be distorted to reduce it to other points but doubtful points must rather be reduced to it and certain truths must be believed to agree with it though our shallow brains do hardly discern the agreeement Vse I Do now intreate thee if thou be an Unconverted sinner that hearest these words that thou wouldst ponder a little upon the forementioned Doctrines and bethink thy self awhile who it is that takes pleasure in thy sin and damnation Certainly it is not God he hath sworn for his part that he takes no pleasure in it And I know it is not the pleasing of him that you intend in it You dare not say that you drink and swear and neglect holy duties and quench the motions of the Spirit to please God That were as if you shouâ—d reproach the Prince and break his Laws and seek his death and say you did all this to please him Who is it then that takes Pleasure in your sin and death Not any that bear the image of God for they must be like-manded to him God knows its small pleasure to your faithful Teachers to see you serve your deadly enemy and madly venture your eternal state and wilfully run into the flames of Hell It s small pleasure to them to see upon your souls in the sad effects such blindness and hard-heartedness and carelesness and presumption such wilfulness in evil and such unteachableness and stifness against the waies of life and peace they know these are marks of death and of the wrath of God and they know from the word of God what 's like to be the end of them And therefore it is no more Pleasure to them then to a tender Physitian to see the Plague-marks break out upon his Patient Alas to foresee your everlasting Torments and know not how to prevent them To see how near you are to hell and we cannot make you believe it and consider it To see how easily how certainly you might scape if we knew but how to make you willing How fair you are for everlasting salvation if you would but Turn and do your best and make it the care and business of your lives but you will not do it If our lives lay on it we cannot perswade you to it We study day and night what to say to you that may convince you and perswade you and yet it is undone we lay before you the word of God and shew you the very Chapter and verse where it is written that you cannot be Saved except you be Converted and yet we leave the most of you as we find you We hope you will believe the word of God though you believe not us and that you will regard it when we shew you the plain Scripture for it but we hope in vain and labour in vain as to any saving change upon your hearts And do you think that this is a pleasant thing to us Many a time in secret prayer we are fain to complain to God with sad hearts Alas Lord we have spoken to them in thy name but they little regard us we have told them what thou bidst us tell them concerning the danger of an unconverted state but they do not believe us We have told them that thou hast protested that there is no peace to the wicked Isaiah 48.22 and 57.21 but the worst of them all will scarce believe that they are wicked we have shewed them thy word where thâ—u hast said that if thâ—y live after the flesh they shall die Rom. 8.13 but they say they will believe in thee when they will not believe thee and that they will trust in thee when they give no credit to thy word and when they hope that the threatnings of thy word are false they will yet call this a hoping in God and though we shew them where thou hast said that when a wicked man dyeth all his hopes perish yet cannot we perswade them from their deceitful hopes Prov. 11.7 We tell them what a base unprofitable thing sin is but they love it and therefore will not leave it We tell them how dear they buy this pleasure and what they must pay for it in everlasting torment and they bless themselves and will not believe it but will do as the most do and because God is merciful they will not believe him but will venture their souls come on it what will we telâ— them how ready the Lord is to receive them and this doth but make them delay their repentance and be bolder in their sin Some of them say they purpose to repent but they are still the same and some say they do repent already when yet they are not Converted from their sins We exhort them we intreat them we offer them our help but we cannot prevail with them but they that were drunkards are drunkards still and they that were voluptuous flesh pleasing wretches are such still and they that were worldlings are wordlings still and they that were ignorant and proud and self-conceited are so still Few of them will see and confess their sin and fewer will forsake it but comfort themselves that all men are sinners as if there were no difference between a Converted sinner and an Vnconverted Some of them will not come near us when we are willing to instruct them but think they know enough already and need not our instruction and some of them will give us the hearing and do what their list and most of them are like dead men that cannot feâ—l so that when we tell them of the matters of everlasting consequence we cannot get a word of it to their hearts If we do not obey them and humour them in baptizing the children of the most obstinately wicked and giving them the Lords Supper and doing all that they would have us though never so much against the word of God they will hate us and rail at us but if we beseech them but to confess and forsake their sins and save their souls they will not do it We tell them if they will but Turn we will deny them none of the Ordinances of God neither Baptism to their children nor the Lords Supper to themselves but they will not hear us they would have us to disobey God and damn our own souls to please them and yet they will not turn and save their own souls to please God They are wiser in their own eyes then all their Teachers they rage and are confident in their own way and if we would never so fain we cannot change them Lord this is the case of our miserable neighbours and we cannot help it we see them ready to drop into hell and we cannot help it we know if they would unfeignedly turn they might be saved but we cannot perswade them if we would beg it of them on our knees we cannot
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