read over this Book I would intreate you to go alone and ponder a little what you have read and bethink you as in the sight of God whether it be not true and do not neerly touch your souls and whether it be not time for you to look about you And also I intreate you that you will upon your knees beseech the Lord that he will open your eyes to understand the truth and turn your hearts to the Love of God and beg of him all that saving grace that you have so long neglected and follow it on from day to day till your hearts be changed And withall that you will go to your Pastors that are set over you to take care of the health and safety of your souls as Physitians do for the health of your bodies and desire them to direct you what course to take and acquaint them with your spiritual estate that you may have the benefit of their Advice and Ministerial help Or if you have not a faithful Pastor at home make use of some other in so great a need Thirdly When by Reading Consideration Prayer and Ministerial Advice you are once acquainted with your sin and misery with your Duty and Remedy delay not but presently forsake your sinful company and courses and turn to God and obey his Call Aâ— you love your souls take heed that you go not on against so loud a Call of God and against your own knowledge and consciences lest it go worse with you in the day of Iudgement then with Sodom and Gomorrah Enquire of God as a man that is willing to know the truth and not to be a wilful Câ—eater of his soul. Search the holy Scriptures daily and see whether these things be so or not try impartially whether it be safer to trust to Heaven or Earth and whether it be better follow God or man the Spirit or the flesh and better live in Holiness or sin and whether an unsanctified estate be safe for you to abide in one day longer And when you have found out which is best Resolve accordingly and make your choice without any more ado If you will be true to your own souls and do not love everlasting torments I beseech you as from the Lord that you will but take this reasonable advices O what happy Towns and Countreys and what a happy nation might we have if we could but perswade our neighbours to agree to such a necessary motion What joyful men would all faithful Ministers be if they could but see their people truly heavenly and holy This would be the Vnity the Peace the Safety the glory of our Churches the happiness of our neighbours and the comfort of our souls Then how comfortably should we preach Absolution and Peace to you and deliver the Sacraments which are the Seals of Peace to you And with what Love and Ioy might we live among you At your death-bed how boldly might we comfort and encourage your departing souls and at your Burial how comfortably might we leave you in the grave in expectation to meet your souls in heaven and to see your bodies raised to that glory But if still the most of you will go on in a careless ignorant fleshly wordly or unholy life and all our desires and labours cannot so far prevail as to keep you from the wilful damning of your selves we must then imitate our Lord who delighteth himself in those few that are his jewels and in the little Flock that shall receive the Kingdom when the most shall reap the misery which they sowed In nature excellent things are few The world hath not many Suns or Moons It s but a little of the earth that 's gold or silver Princes and Nobles are but a small part of the Sons of men And it is no great number that are Learned Iudicious or wise here in the world And therefore if the gate being strait and the way narrow there be but few that find salvation yet God will have his glory and pleasure in those few And when Christ shall come with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Iesus Christ his coming will to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all true believers 2 Thes. 1.7 8 9 10. And for the rest as God the Father vouchsafed to create them and God the Son disdained not to bear the penalty of their sins upon the cross and did not judge such suffering vain though he knew that by refusing the Sanctification of the Holy Ghost they would finally destroy themselves so we that are his Ministers though these be not gathered judge not our labour wholly lost see Isa 49 5. Reader I have done with thee when thou hast perused this Book but sin hath not yet done with thee even those that thou thoughtest had been forgotten long ago and Satan hath not yet done with thee though now he be out of sight and God hath not yet done with thee because thou wilt not be perswaded to have done with the deadly reigning sin I have written thee this perswasive as one that is going into another world where the things are seen that here I speak of and as one that knoweth thou must be shortly there thy self As ever thou wilt meet me with Comfort before the Lord that made us as ever thou wilt escape the everlasting plagues prepared for the final neglecters of salvation and for all that are not sanctified by the Holy Ghost and love not the communion of the Saints as members of the Holy Catholick Church and as ever thou hopest to see the face of Christ thy Iudge and of the Majesty of the Father with Peace and Comfort and to be received into glory when thou art turned naked out of this world I beseech thee I charge thee to hear and obey the Call of God and Resolvedly to Turn that thou maist Live But if thou Wilt not even when thou hast no true Reason for it but Because thou wilt not I summon thee to answer ' it before the Lord and require thee there to bear me witness that I gave thee warning and that thou wast not condemned for want of a Call to Turn and Live but because thou wouldst not believe it and obey it which also must be the Testimony of Thy serious Monitor Rich. Baxter Decemb. 11. 1657. The Contents A Preface to the Unsanctified exhorting them to turn and answering some Objections The text opened p. 1. to 9. Doct. 1. It is the unchangeable Law of God that wicked men must Turn or Die p. 9. Proved p. 11. Obj. God will not be so unmerciful as to Damn us Answered p. 14 15. The Use p. 22. Who are wicked men and what Conversion is and how we may know whether we are wicked or Converted p. 27. to p. 45. Applyed p. 45. to p. 70. Doct. 2. It is the Promise of God that the wicked shall live if they will
and judgement and of the certainty and excellency of the Joys of Heaven and of the certainty and terrour of the torments of Hell and the Eternity of both and of the necessity of Conversion and an holy life Steep your hearts in such Considerations as these DIRECTION III. IF you will be Converted and Saved attend upon the word of God which is the ordinary means Read the Scripture or hear it read and other holy writings that do apply it constantly attend on the publike preaching of the Word As God will lighten the world by the Sun and not by himself alone without it So will he Convert and save men by his Ministers who are the Lights of the world Acts 26.17 18. Mat. 5.14 When he hath miraculously humbled Paul he sendeth him to Ananias Acts 9.10 and when he haâ—h sent an Angel to â—oâ—nelius it is but to bid him send for Peter who must tell him what he is to believe and do DIRECTION IV. BEtake your self to God in a course of earnest constaâ—t Prayer Confess and lament your former lives and beg his grace to illuminate and Convert you Beseech him to pardon what is past and to give you his Spirit and change your hearts and lives and lead you in his waies and save you from temptations And ply this work daily and be not weary of it DIRECTION V. PResently give over your known and wilâ—ul sins Make a stâ—nd and go that way no further Be drunk no more but avoid the place and occasion of it Cast away your lusts and sinful pleasures with detestation Curse and swear and rail no more and if you have wronged any restore as Zacheus did If you will commit again your old sins what blessing can you expect on the means for your Conversion DIRECTION VI. PResently if possible change your Company if it have hitherto been bad Not by forsaking your necessary Relations but your unnecessary sinful companions and joyn your selves with those that fear the Lord and enquire of them the way to heaven Acts 9.19 26. Psal. 15.4 DIRECTION VII DEliver up your selves to the Lord Iesus as the Physitian of your souls that he may pardon you by his blood and sanctifie you by his Spirit by his word and Ministers the instruments of the Spirit He is the way the truth and the life there is no coming to the Father but by him Iohn 14.6 Nor is there any other name under heaven by which you can be saved Acts 4.12 Study therefore his Person and Natures and what he hath done and suffered for you and what he is to you and what he will be and how he is fitted to the full supply of all your necessities DIRECTION VIII IF you mean indeed to Turn and Live Do it speedily without delay If you be not willing to Turn to day you be not willing to do it at all Remember you are all this while in your blood under the guilt of many thousand sins and under Gods wrath and you stand at the very brink of hell there is but a step between you and death And this is not a case for a man that is well in his wits to be quiet in Up therefore presently and fly as for your lives as you would be gone out of your house if it were all on fire over your head O if you did but know what continual danger you live in and what daily unspeakable loss you do sustain and whaâ— a safer and sweeter life you might live you would not stand trâ—flâ—ng but presently turn Multitudes miscarry that wilfulâ—y deâ—ay when they are convinced that it must be done Your lives are short and uncertain and what a case are you in if you die before you throuâ—hly turn You have staid too long already and wronged God too long sin getteth strength and rooting while you delay Your Conversion will grow more hard and doubtful You have much to do and therefore put not all off to the last lest God forsake you and give you up to your selves and then you are undone for ever DIRECTION IX IF you will Turn and Live do it unreservedly absolutely and universally Think not to capitulate with Christ and devide your heart betwixt him and the world and to part with some sins and keep the rest and to let go that which your flesh can spare This is but self-deluding you must in heart and resolution forsake all that you have or else you cannot be his Disciples Luke 14.26 33. If you will not take God and Heaven for your portion and lay all below at the feet of Christ but you must needs also have your good things here and have an earthly portion and God and Glory is not enough for you it is in vain to dream of salvation on these terms For it will not be If you seem never so Religious if yet it be but a Carnâ—l Religiousness and the fleshes prosperity or pleasure or safety be still exâ—epted in your devotedness to God this is as certain a way to death as open prophaness though it be more plausible DIRECTION X. IF you will Turn and Live do it Resolvedly and stand not still deliberating as if it were a doubtful case Stand not wavering as if you were yet uncertain whether God or the flesh be the better Master or whether Heaven or Hell be the better End or whether sin or holiness be the better way But away with your former lusts and presently habitually fixedly Resolve Be not one day of one mind and the next of another but be at a point with all the world and Resolvedly give up your selves and all you have to God Now while you are reading or hearing this Resolve Before you sleep another night Resolve Before you stir from the place Resolve Before Satan have time to take you off Resolve You never Turn indeed till you do Resolve and that with a firm unchangeable Resolution So much for the Directions AND now I have done my part in this work that you may Turn at the Call of God and Live What will become of it I cannot tell I have cast the seed at Gods command but it is not in my power to give the increase I can go no further with my message I cannot bring it to your hearts not make it work I cannot do your parts for your to entertain it and consider of it Nor I cannot do Gods part by opening your heartâ— to cause you to entertain it Nor can I shew you Heaven or Hell to your eye-sight nor give you new and tender hearts If I knew what more to do for your Conversion I hope I should do it But 〈◊〉 thou that art the gracious Father of Spirits that hast sworn thâ—n delightest not in the death of the wicked but rather that they Turn and Live deny not thy blessiâ—g to theâ—e Perswasions and Directions and suffer not thine enemies to triumph in thy sight and the great deceiver of souls to prevail against the Son thy Spirit and thy Word O pitty poor Vnconverted sinners that have not hearts to pitty or help themselves Command the blind to see and the deaf to hear and the dead to live and let not sin and death be able to resist thee Awaken the secure Resolve the uâ—resolved Confirm the wavering and let the eyes of sinners that read these lines be next employed in weeping over their sins and bring them to themselves and to thy Son before their sin have brought them to perdition If thâ—u say but the word these poor endeavours shall prosper to the winning of many a soul to their everlasting Ioy and thine everlasting glory Amen Finitur 1656. Decemb. 31. Mr. R. Rowly of Sâ—rew bury upon Aâ—ham-bridge
Doth he give us Sun and Moon and Stars the earth and all the creatures to attend us and serve us with their lives and virtues and yet doth he not care for our hearts or service This is as foolish as to say that he hath made all the world in vain and careth not for it now he hath made it 7. If he cared not for the frame of our hearts and lives he would not have sent his Son to Redeem us and to cleanse us from all iniquity and sanctifie us a peculiar people to himself Tit. 2.14 Surely the price that was paid for sinners and the wonderful design of God in our Redemption doth shew that he makes not light of sin and that he is wonderfully in love with holiness 8. If God did not regard our hearts and lives he would not have made it the office of his Ministers to call us daily to Repentance and an holy life Nor commanded them to make such a stir with sinners to win them unto God He would not have appointed all his Ordinances publick and private also to this end Doth God command all this ado for a thing that he regards not 9. Nor would he punish the world with Hell hereafter or so many dreadful judgements here as thousands feel if he cared not what they think or do Methinks men that are so often groaning under his rod should feel that he looks after their hearts and wayes 10. And how can the Holy Ghost be our Sanctifier if God be so indifferent whether we be clean or unclean Dare you think that the Holy Ghost doth take upon him a needless work 11. Methinks you might perceive even in the malice of the Tempter that God is holy and hateth iniquity and his Word is true that telleth us of the eternal punishment of sin This Scripture tells us of the Angels fall and that many of them are become Devils by their sin and are malicious enemies of mans salvation And do you not easily perceive it to be true How come they else to be such importunate Tempters of men which we feel alas by too much experience Or if this evidence be not palpable enough to convince the Infidel How come they to make so many bargains with Conjurers and Witches to draw them from God and Salvation as they have done How come they to appear in terrible shapes to so many as they have done and still upon designs that declare their own dejected base Condition and their enmity to God and man and their eager desire to engage men in a way of sin If any Infidel will not believe that really there have been Witches and Apparitions and consequently that there are Devils who are miserable and malicious spirits who by sin are cast out of the favour of God and would draw men into their miserable case let them come and reason the case with me and I shall quickly tell them of so many sure undenyable instances and give them so much proof of the truth of it as shall leave them nothing to say against it â—â—less they will still say We will not believe Yea so much as that I will not be beholden to the vilest Atheist or Infidel to believe it if he will not quite renounce his Reason but give it leave to see the Light 12. Lastly if yet you think that God the Soveraign Ruler of the world that is everywhere present and preserveth all doth care so little what men are or what they do whether they are holy or unholy obedient or disobedient to his Laws then methinks that you your selves and all the rest of your fellow-creatures should little care Two Questions therefore I must here propound to you 1. Do not you care what men say of you or do to you Are you contented that men slander you and abase you or set your houses or Towns on fire or destroy your cattle or wives and children and imprison wound or kill your selves If you will make a great matter of what men say or do against you can you be so mad for it is no better as to think that the Omnipotent Holy God should little regard what 's said or done against himself and against hâ—s servants and that by such silly worms as men that are his workmanship Did not selfishness make you blind and partial you would know that one sin against God deserves more punishment then ten thousand thousand times as much against such silly things as you Do you make no matter of difference between a bad servant and a good an obedient and a disobedient child a Son that would lay down his life for you and a Son that longs for your death that he may have your Lands between a faithful friend and a deadly enemy If you do not you are not men but something else in humane shape If you do then you are somewhat worse then men if yet you would have the Blessed God to make no great difference between those that love him above all the world and those that regard him not between the Holy and unholy soul. And 2. I would ask you Whether you would have the Rulers of the world to take no care what men say or do or would you not If not then you would have all the world turned loose and you would have every man that is poorer then you have leave to rob you and every man that hateth you have leave to beat you or to kill you and every man that liketh your house or lands or goods or cattle to have leave to take them from you and every man to defile your wives or daughters that hath a mind to it And so we should see whether it is that Infidelity leads men But if you like not this then you are most unreasonable if you would have Magistrates to be regardful of mens actions and not God If Magistrates must hang men for wronging you and the Eternal Majesty must not punish them for wronging him and breaking his Laws which is infinitely a greater matter As if you would have a Constable punish men and the King or Iudge to have no regard of it For Kings are under God as Constables are under Kings and a thousandfold lower The truth is wicked men are fallen so far from God to themselves that they are as gods to themselves in their own esteem and besides themselves they know no God and therefore any wrong that is done against them or any good that is done for them they would have regarded but the wrong and disobedience that is against God they would have nothing made of And they have such narrow blasphemous thoughts of God as if he were a finite creature like themselves that can be but in one place at once that makes them so blaspheme his Providence and think he minds not Good or Evil and will not reward the godly or punish the ungodly but â—ere like the Idols of the Heathen that have eyes and see not ears and hear not and hands without
of his own free-will For the second God did that which belonged to him that is he gave man a perfect Law requiring him to continue in the Love of God and perfectly to obey him By the wilful breach of this Law man did not only forfeit his hopes of everlasting life but also turned his heart from God and fixed it on these lower fleshly things and hereby did blot out the spiritual Image of God from his soul. So that man did both fall short of the Glory of God which was his End and put himself out of the Way by which he should have attained it and this both as to the frame of his heart and of his life The holy Inclination and Love of his soul to God he lost and instead of it he contracted an Inclination and Love to the pleasing of his flesh or carnal-self by earthly things growing strange to God and acquainted with the creature And the course of his life was suited to the Bent and Inclination of his heart he lived to his carnal self and not to God he sought the creature for the pleasing of his flesh instead of seeking to please the Lord. With this Nature or Corrupt inclination we are all now born into the world For who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Iob 14.4 As a Lyon hath a fierce and cruel nature before he doth devour and as an Adder hath a venemous nature before he sting so in our very infancy we have those sinful Natures or Inclinations before we think or speak or do amiss And hence springeth all the sin of our lives And not only so but when God hath of his mercy provided us a Remedy even the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of our souls and bring us back to God again we naturally love our present state and are â—oth to be brought out of it and therefore are set against the means of our Recovery and though custom have taught us to thank Christ for his good will yet carnal self perswadeth us to refuse his Remedies and to desire to be excused when we are commanded to take the Medicines which he offereth and are called to forsake all and follow him to God and Glory I pray you read over this leaf again and mark it for in these few words you have a true Description of our natural state and consequently of a wicked man For every man that is in this state of corrupted nature is a wicked man and in a state of death By this also you are prepared to understand what it is to be Converted to which end you must further know That the mercy of God not willing that man should perish in his sin provided a Remedy by causing his Son to take our Nature and being in one person God and man to become a Mediator between God and man and by dying for our sins on the Cross to ransom us from the curse of God and the power of the Devil and having thus Redeemed us the Father hath delivered us into his hands as his own Hereupon the Father and the Mediator do make a New Law and Covenant for man not like the first which gave life to none but the perfectly obedient and condemned man for every sin but Christ hath made a Law of Grace or a Promise of Pardon and Everlasting life to all that by true Repentance and by Faith in Christ are Converted unto God Like an Act of Oblivion which is made by a Prince to a company of Rebels on condition they will lay down arms and come in and be loyal subjects for the time to come But because the Lord knoweth that the heart of man is grown so wicked that for all this men will not accept of the Remedy if they be left to themselves therefore the Holy Ghost hath undertaken it as his office to inspire the Apostles and seal up the Scripture by Miracles and Wonders and to illuminate and convert the souls of the Elect. So that by this much you see that as there are three persons in the Trinity the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost so each of these persons have their several works which are eminently ascribed to them The Fathers works were to Create us to Rule us 〈◊〉 his â—ational creatures by the Law of Nature and Judge us thereby And in mercy to provide us a Redeemer when we were lost and to send his Son and accept his Ransom The works of the Son for us were these To Ransom and Redeem us by his Sufferings and Righteousness to give out the Promise or Law of Grace and Rule and Judge the world as their Redeemer on terms of Grace and to make intercession for us that the benefits of his death may be communicated and to send the Holy Ghost which the Father also doth by the Son The works of the Holy Ghost for us are these to indite the Holy Scriptures by inspiring and guiding the Prophets and Apostles and sealing the Word by his Miraculous gifts and works and the illuminating and exciting the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel and so enabling them and helping them to publish that Word and by the same word Illuminating and Converting the souls of men So that as you could not have been reasonable creatures if the Father had not Created you nor have had any access to God if the Son had not Redeemed you so neither can you have a part in Christ or be saved except the Holy Ghost do sanctifie you So that by this time you may see the several causes of this work The Father sendeth the Son the Son Redeemeth us and maketh the Promise of Grace the Holy Ghost inditeth and sealeth this Gospel the Apostles are the Secretaries of the Spirit to write it the Preachers of the Gospel do proclaim it and perswade men to obey it And the Holy Ghost doth make their preaching effectual by opening the hearts of men to entertain it And all this to repair the image of God upon the soul and to set the heart upon God again and take it off the creature and carnal self to which it is revolted and so to turn the current of the life into an heavenly course which before was earthly and all this by the entertainment of Christ by Faith who is the Physitian of the soul. By this which I have said you may see what it is to be Wicked and what it is to be Converted Which I think will be yet plainer to you if I describe them as consisting of their several parts and for the first a wicked man may be known by these three things First he is one who placeth his chief content on earth and loveth the creature more then God and his fleshly prosperity above the heavenly felicity He savoureth the things of the flesh but neither discerneth nor savoureth the things of the Spirit though he will say that Heaven is better then earth yet doth he not really so esteem it to himself If he might be
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
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
then it is to a child to play for pins why should it not be a greater Joy to you to think of the Kingdom of Heaven being yours then of all the riches or pleasure of the world As it is but foolish childishness that makes children so delight in gawds that they would not leave them for all your Lands so it is but foolish worldliness and fleshliness and wickedness that makes you so much delight in your houses and lands and meat and drink and ease and honour as that you would not part with them for the heavenly delights But what will you do for pleasure when these are gone Do you not think of that When your pleasures end in horrour and go out with a stinking snuff the Pleasures of the Saints are then at the best I have had my self but a little taste of the heavenly pleasures in the fore-thoughts of the blessed approaching day and in the present perswasions of the Love of God in Christ but I have taken too deep a draught of earthly pleasures so that you may see if I be partial it is on your side and yet I must profess from that little experience that there is no comparison there is more joy to be had in a day if the Sun of life shine clear upon us in the state of Holiness then in an whole life of sinful pleasures I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of God then to dwell in the Tents of wickedness Psalm 84.10 A day in his Courts is better then a thousand anywhere else Psal. 84.10 The mirth of the wicked is like the laughter of a mad man that knows not his own misery and therefore Solomon faith of such laughter It is mad and of mirth What doth it Eccles. 2.2 And Eccles. 7.2 3 4 5 6. It is better to go to the house of mourning then to go to the house of feasting for that is the end of all men and the living will lay it to his heart Sorrow is better then laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise then to hear the song of fools For as the crackling of thorns under a pot so is the laughter of the fool All the pleasures of fleshly things is but like the scratching of a man that hath the itch It is his disease that makes him desire it and a wise man had rather be without his pleasure and be troubled with his itch Your loudest laughter is but like that of a man that is tickled he laughs when he hath no cause of joy And it is a wiser thing for a man to give all his estate and his life to be tickled to make him laugh then for you to part with the Love of God and the comforts of Holiness and the Hopes of Heaven and to cast your selves into damnation that you may have your flesh tickled with the pleasures of sin for a little while Judge as you are men whether this be a wise mans part It is but your carnal unsanctified nature that makes an holy life seem grievous to you and a course of sensuality seem more delightful If you will but Turn the Holy Ghost will give you another nature and inclination and then it will be more plesant to you to be rid of your sin then now it is to keep it and you will then say that you know not what a comfortable life was till now and that it was never well with you till God and Holiness were your delight Quest. BVT how cometh it to pass that men should be so unreasonable in the matters of their salvation they have wit enough in other matters What makes them so loth to be Converted that there should need so many words in so plain a case and all will not do but the most will live and de Vnconverted Answ. To name them only in a few words the causes are these 1. Men are naturally in Love with earth and flesh They are born sinners and their nature hath an enmity to God and godliness as the Nature of the Serpent hath to a man And when all that we can say goes against an habitual inclination of their natures no marvail if it little prevail 2. They are in Darkness and know not the very things which they hear Like a man that was born blind and hears an high commendation of the light but what will bearing do unless he see it They know not what God is nor what is the power of the Cross of Christ nor what the Spirit of holiness is nor what it is to live in love by faith They know not the certainty and suitableness and excellency of the heavenly inheritance They know not what Conversion and an holy mind and Conversation is even when they hear of it They are in a mist of ignorance They are lost and bewildred in sin like a man that hath lost himself in the night and knows not where he is nor how to come to himself again till the day-light do recover him 3. They are wilfully confident that they need no Conversion but some partial amendment but that they are in the way to heaven already and are Converted when they are not And if you meet a man that is quite out of his way you may long enough call on him to turn back again if he will not believe you that he is out of his way 4. They are become slaves to their flesh and drowned in the world to make provision for it Their lusts and passions and appetites have distracted them and got such an hand over them that they cannot tell how to deny them nor how to mind any thing else So that the drunkard saith I love a cup of good dâ—ink and I cannot forbear it The glutton saith I love good â—hear and I cannot forbear The fornicator saith I love to have my lust fulfilled and I cannot forbear And the gamester loves to have his sports and he cannot forbear So that they are become even captivated slayes to their flesh and their 〈◊〉 wilfulness is become an impotency and what they would not do they say they cannot And the worldling is so taken up with earthly things that he hath neither heart nor mind nor time for heavenly but as in Pharaâ—â—s dâ—eam Gen. 41.4 the lean kine did eat up the fat ones so this lean and barren earth doth eat up all the thoughts of heaven 5. Some are so carried away by the stream of evil company that they are possessed with hard thoughts of a godly life by hearing them speak against it or at least they think they may venture to do as they see most do and so they hold on in their sinful waies and when one is cut off and cast into Hell and another snatcht away from among them to the same condemnation it doth not