of all which yet will never come to pass 5. And God as Ruler and Law-giver of the world hath so far a Practical Will for their salvation as to make them a free Deed of Gift of Christ and Life and an act of Oblivion for all their sins so be it they will not unthankfully reject it and to command his Messengers to offer this Gift to all the world and perswade them to accept it And so he doth all that as Law-giver or Promiser belongs to him to do for their salvation 6. But yet he resolveth as Law-giver that they that will not turn shall dye And as Iudge when their day of grace is past he will execute that Decree 7. So that he thus unfeignedly willeth the Conversion of those that never will be Converted but not as Absolute Lord with the fullest efficacious Resolution nor as a thing which he resolveth shall undoubtedly come to pass or would engage all his power to accomplish It is in the power of a Prince to set a guard upon a Murderer to see that he shall not murder and be hanged But if upon good reason he forbear this and do but send to his subjects and warn and intreate them not to be murderers I hope he may well say that he would not have them murder and be hanged he takes no pleasure in it but rather that they forbear and live And if he do more for some upon some special reason he is not bound to do so by all The King may well say to all the Murderers and Felons in the Land I have no pleasure in your death but rather that you would obey my Laws and live but If you will not I am resolved for all this that you shall die The Judge may truly say to the Thief or Murderer Alas man I have no delight in thy death I had rather thou hadst kept the Law and saved thy life but seeing thou wilt not I must condemn thee or else I should be unjust So though God have no Pleasure in your damnation and therefore calls upon you to Return and Live yet he hath Pleasure in the demonstration of his own Iustice and the executing his Laws and therefore he is for all this fully resolved that if you will not be Converted you shall be Condemned If God were so much against the death of the wicked as that he were resolved to do all that he can to hinder it then no man should be Condemned whereas Christ telleth you that few will be saved But so far God is against your damnation as that he will teach you and warn you and set before you life and death and offer you your choice and command his Ministers to intreate you not to damn your selves but accept his Mercy and so to leave you without excuse but if this will not do and if still you be Unconverted he professeth to you he is resolved of your damnation and hath commanded us to say to you in his name Verse 8. O wicked man thou shalt surely die And Christ hath little less then sworn it over and over with a Verily verily except ye be Converted and born again ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven Matth. 18.3 Iohn 3.3 Mark that he saith You cannot It is in vain to hope for it and in vain to dream that God is willing of it for it is a thing that cannot be In a word you see then the meaning of the Text that God the great Law-giver of the world doth take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but rather that they Turn and Live though yet he be resolved that none shall Live but those that Turn and as Iudge even delighteth in Justice and manifesting his hatred of sin though not in their misery which they have brought upon themselves in it self considered 2. And for the proofs of the point I shall be very brief in them because I suppose you easily believe it already 1. The very gracious nature of God proclaimed Exod. 34.6 20.6 and frequently elsewhere may assure you of this that he hath no Pleasure in your death 2. If God had more pleasure in thy Death then in thy Conversion and Life he would not have so frequently commanded thee in his word to Turn he would not have made thee such promises of Life if thou wilt but Turn he would not have perswaded thee to it by so many Reasons The tenour of his Gospel proveth the point 3. And his Commission that he hath given to the Ministers of the Gospel doth fully prove it If God had taken more pleasure in thy damnation then in thy Conversion and Salvation he would never have charged us to offer you Mercy and to teach you the Way of Life both publikely and privately and to intreate and beseech you to turn and live to acquaint you with your sins and foretell you of your danger and to do all that possibly we can for your Conversion and to continue patiently so doing though you should hate us or abuse us for our pains Would God have done this and appointed his Ordinances for your good if he had taken Pleasure in your death 4. It is proved also by the course of his providences If God had rather you were damned then Converted and Saved he would not second his word with his works and entice you by his daily kindness to himself and give you all the mercies of this life which are his means to lead you to Repentance Rom. 2.4 and bring you so often under his rod to force you into your wits he would not set so many examples before your eyes no nor wait on you so patiently as he doth from day to day and year to year These be not signs of one that taketh pleasure in your death If this had been his delight how easily could he have had thee long ago in Hell How oft before this could he have catcht thee away in the midst of thy sins with a curse or oath or lye in thy mouth in thy ignorance and pride and sensuality when thou wast last in thy drunkenness or last deriding the waies of God how easily could he have stopt thy breath and tamed thee with his Plagues and made thee sober in another world Alas how small a matter is it for the Lord Almighty to rule the tongue of the prophanest railer and tye the hands of the most malicious persecutor or calm the fury of the bitterest of his enemies and make them know that they are but worms If he should but frown upon thee thou wouldst drop into thy grave If he gave Commission to one of his Angels to go and destroy ten thousand sinners how quickly would it be done How easily can he lay thee on thy bed of languishing and make thee lie roaring there in pain and make thee eat the words of reproach which thou hast spoken against his Servants his Word his Worship and his holy Waies And make thee send to beg their prayers
whom thou didst despise in thy presumption How easily can he lay that flesh under gripes and groans and make it too weak to hold thy soul and make it more loathsom then the dung of the earth That flesh which now must have what it loves and must not be displeased though God be displeased but must be humoured in meats and drink and cloaths whatever God say to the contrary how quickly would the frowns of God consume it When thou wast passionately defending thy sin and quarrelling with them that would have drawn thee from it and shewing thy spleen against the reprover and pleading for the works of darkness how easily could God have snatcht thee away in a moment and set thee before his dreadful Majesty where thou shouldst see ten thousand times ten thousand of glorious Angels waiting on his throne and have called thee there to plead thy cause and asked thee What hast thou now to say against thy Creator his Truth his Servants or his holy waies Now plead thy cause and make the best of it that thou canst Now what canst thou say in excuse of thy sin Now give account of thy worldliness and fleshly life of thy time of all the mercies thou hast had O how thy stubborn heart would have melted and thy proud looks be taken down and thy countenance be appaled and thy stout words turned into speechless silence or dreadful cries if God had but set thee thus at his Bar and pleaded his own cause with thee which thou hast here so maliciously pleaded against How easily can he at any time say to thy guilty soul Come away and live in that flesh no more till the resurrection and it cannot resist A word of his mouth would take off the poise of thy present life and then all thy parts and powers would stand still and if he say unto thee Live no longer or live in Hell thou couldst not disobey But God hath yet done none of this but hath patiently forborn thee and mercifully upheld thee and given thee that breath which thou didst breath out against him and given those Mercies which thou didst sacrifice to thy flesh and afforded thee that provision which thou spentest to satisfie thy greedy throat he gave thee every minute of that time which thou didst waste in idleness or drunkenness or worldliness and doth not all this Patience and Mercy shew that he desired not thy damnation Can the candle burn without the oyl Can your houses stand without the earth to bear them As well as you can live an hour without the support of God And why did he so long support thy life but to see when thou wouldst bethink thee of the folly of thy waies and return and live Will any man purposely put arms into his enemies hands to resist him or hold the Candle to a Murderer that is killing his children or to an idle servant that Plaies or sleeps the while Surely it is to see whether thou wilt at last Return and Live that God hath so long waited on thee 5. It is further proved by the sufferings of his Son that God taketh no pleasure in the death of the wicked would he have ransomed them from death at so dear a rate Would he have astonished Angels and men by his condescension Would God have dwelt in flesh and have come in the form of a servant and have assumed humanity into one person with the Godhead and would Christ have lived a life of suffering and dyed a cursed death for sinners if he had rather taken pleasure in their death Suppose you saw him but so busie in preaching and healing them as you find him in Mark 3.21 or so long in fasting as in Mat. 4. or all night in prayer as in Luk. 6.12 or praying with thâ— drops of blood trickling from him instead of sweat as Luke 22.44 or suffering a cursed death upon the Cross and pouring out his soul as a sacrifice for our sins Would you have thought these the signs of one that delighted in the death of the wicked And think not to extenuate it by saying that this was only for his Elect. For it was thy sin and the sin of all the world that lay upon our Redeemer and his sacrifice and satisfaction is sufficient for all and the fruits of it are offered to one as well as another but it is true that it was never the intent of his mind to pardon and save any that would not by faith and repentance be Converted If you had seen and heard him weeping and bemoaning the state of a disobedient impenitent people Luke 19.41 42. or complaining of their stubborness as Mat. 23.37 Oh Ierusalem Ierusalem how oft would I have gathered thy chilâ—ren together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not Or if you had seen and heard him on the Cross praying for his persecutors Father forgive them for they know not what they do would you have suspected that he had delighted in the death of the wicked even of those that perish by their wilfull unbelief When God hath so loved not only loved but so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him by an effectual faith should not perish but have everlasting life I think he hath hereby proved against the malice of men and devils that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but had rather that they would Turn and Live 6. Lastly if all this will not yet satisfie you take his own word that knoweth best his own mind or at least believe his oath but this leadeth me up to the fourth Doctrine Doct. 4. THE Lord hath confirmed it to us by his Oath that he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that he Turn and Live that he may leave man no pretence to question the truth of it If you dare question his word I hope you dare not question his oath As Christ hath solemnly protested that the unregenerate and Unconverted cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven Mat. 18.3 Iohn 3.3 So God hath sworn that his pleasure is not in their death but in their Conversion and Life And as the Apostle saith Heb. 6.13 16 17 18. Because he can swear by no greater then himself he saith As I live c. For men verily swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of strife wherein God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of Promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by on oath that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us which we have as an Anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast If there be any man that cannot reconcile this truth with the Doctrine of Predestination or the actual damnation of the wicked that 's his own ignorance he
in their hearts said Men and Brethren what shall we do How might we come to be truly converted We are willing if we did but know our duty God forbid that we should choose destruction by refusing conversion as hitherto we have done If these be the thoughts and purposes of your hearts I say of you as God did of a promising people Deut. 5.28 29. They have well said all that they have spoken O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandements alwaies Your Purposes are good O that there be but an heart in you to perform these purposes And in hope hereof I shall gladly give you direction what to do and that but briefly that you may the easier Remember it for your Practice DIRECTION I. IF you would be converted and saved labour to understand the necessity and true Nature of Conversion For what and from what and to what and by what it is that you must Turn Consider in what a lamentable condition you are till the hour of your conversion that you may see it is not a state to be rested in You are under the guilt of all the sins that ever you committed and under the wrath of God and the curse of his Law you are bondslaves to the Devil and daily imployed in his work against the Lord your selves and others you are spiritually dead and deformed as being void of the holy life and nature and image of the Lord. You are unfit for any holy work and do nothing that is truly pleasing unto God You are without any promise or assurance of his pâ—otection and live in continual danger of his Justice not knowing what hour you may be snatcht away to Hell and most certain to be damned if you die in that condition And nothing short of Conversion can prevent it What ever civilities or amendments or vertues are short of true conversion will never procure the saving of your souls Keep the true sense of this natural misery and so of the necessity of Conversion on your hearts And then you must understand what it is to be converted It is to have a New Heart or Disposition and a New Conversation Quest. 1. For what must you Turn Answ. For these ends following which you may attain 1. You shall immediately be made living Members of Christ and have interest in him and be renewed aâ—ter the Image of God and be adorned with all his graces and quickned with a new and heavenly life and lived from the tyrannie of Satan and the dominion of sin and be justified from the curse of the Law and have the pardon of all the sins of your whole lives and be accepted of God and made his Sons and have liberty with boldness to call him Father and go to him by prayer in all your needs with a promise of acceptance you shall have the Holy Ghost to dwell in you to sâ—nctifie and guide you you shall have part in the brother-hood communion and prayers of the Saints You shall be fitted for Gods service and be freed from the Dominion of sin and be usefull and a blessing to the place where you live and shall have the promise of this life and that which is to come You shall want nothing that is truly good for you and your necessary afflictions you shall be enabled to bear you may have some taste of communion with God in the Spirit especially in all holy Ordinances where God prepareth a feast for your souls shall be heirs of heaven while you live on earth and may for-see by faith the everlasting glory and so may live and die in peace and you will never be so low but your happiness will be incomparably greater then your misery How precious is every one of these blessings which I do but briefly name and which in this life you may receive And then 2. at death your souls shall go to Christ and at the day of judgement both soul and body shall be Justifyed and Glorified and enter into your Masters Joy where your happiness will consist in these particulars 1. You shall be perfected your selves your mortal bodies shall be made immortal and the corruptible shall put on incorruption you shall no more be hungry or thirsty or weary or sick nor shall you need to fear either shame or sorrow or death or hell Your souls shall be perfectly freed from sin and perfectly fitted for the knowledge and love and praises of the Lord. 2. Your imployment shall be to behold your glorified Redeemer with all your holy fellow Citizens of Heaven and to see the Glory of the most blessed God and to Love him perfectly and be beloved by him and to praise him everlastingly 3. Your glory will contribute to the glory of the new Jerusalem the City of the Living God which is more then to have a private felicity to your selves 4. Your Glory will contribute to the Glorifying of your Redeemer who will everlastingly be magnified and pleased in you that are the travail of his soul and this is more then the Glorifying of your selves 5. And the eternal Majesty the living God will be glorified in your Glory both as he is magnified by your praises and as he communicateth of his glory and goodness to you and as he is pleaâ—ed in you and in the accomplishment of his glorious works in the glory of the â—ew Jerusalem and of his Son All this the pooâ—est beggar of you that is Converted shall Certainly and Eâ—â—lâ—sly enjoy 2. You see For what you must Turn Next you must understand From what you must Turn Aâ—d that is in a word From your Carnal Self which is the End of all the Unconverted Fâ—om the flesh that would be pleased before God and would still be enticing you thereto From the world that is the bait And from the Devil that is the Angler for souls and the deceiver And so from all known and wilfull sin 3. Next you must know To what you must Turn And that is To God as your End To Christ as the way to the Father To Holiness as the way appointed you by Christ And so to the use of all the helps and means of grace afforded you by the Lord. 4. Lastly you must know By what you must Turn And that is by Christ as the only Redeemer and Intercessor And by the Holy Ghost as the Sanctifier And by the Word as his Instrument or Means And by Faith and Repentance as the means and duties on your part to be performed All this is of necessity DIRECTION II. IF you will be Converted and Saved be much in secret serious Consideration Inconsiderateness undoes the world Withdraw your selves oft into retired secrecy and there bethink you of the end why you were made of the life you have lived the time you have lost the sin you have committed of the love and sufferings and fulness of Christ of the danger you are in of the nearness of death
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
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
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
A CALL TO THE Unconverted TO Turn and Live AND Accept of Mercy while Mercy may be had as ever they would find Mercy in the day of their extremity From the Living God By his unworthy Servant RICHARD BAXTER To be Read in Families where any are Unconverted London Printed by R. W. for Nevil Simmons Book-seller in Kederminster and are to be sold by him there and by Nathaniel Ekins at the Gun in Pauls Church-Yard 1658. The Reason of this Work IN that short acquaintance I had with that Reverend Learned servant of Christ Bishop Vsher he was oft from first to last importuning me to write a directory for the several ranks of Professed Christians which might distinctly give each one their portion beginning with the Unconverted and then proceeding to the babes in Christ and then to the strong and mixing some special helps against the several sins that they are addicted to By the suddenness of his motion at our first congress I perceived it was in his mind before And I told him both that it is abundantly done by many already and that his unacquaintedness with my weakness might make him think me fitter for it then I was But this did not satisfie him but still he made it his request I confess I was not moved by his Reasons nor did I apprehend any great need of doing more then is done in that way nor that I was likely to do more And therefore I parted from him without the least purpose to answer his desire But since his death his words oft came into my mind and the great Reverence I bore to him did the more incline me to think with some complacency of his motion And having of late intended to write a Family Directory I began to apprehend how congruously the forementioned work should lead the way and the several conditions of mens souls be spoken of before we come to the several Relations Hereupon I resolved by Gods assistance to proceed in the order following First to speak to the impenitent Unconverted sinners who are not yet so much as purposing to Turn or at least are not setting about the work And with these I thought a wakening Perswasive was a more necessary means then meer Directions For Directions suppose men willing to obey them but the persons that we have first to deal with are wilful and asleep in sin and as men that are past feeling having given themselves over to sin with greediness Ephes. 4.19 My next work must be for those that have some purposes to Turn and are about the work to Direct them for a through and true Conversion that they miscarry not in the birth The third part must be Directions for the younger and weaker sort of Christians that they may be stablished built up and persevere The fourth part Directions for lapsed and back-sliding Christians for their safe recovery Besides these there is intended some short Perswasives and Directions against some specâ—al errours of the times and against some common killing sins As for Directions to Doubting troubled Consciences that is done already And the strong I shall not write Directions for because they are so much taught of God already And then the last part is intended more specially for Families as such Directing the several Relations in their Duties Some of these are already written whether I shall have life and leisure for the rest God only knoweth And therefore I shall publish the several parts by themselves as I write them and the rather because they are intended for men of different states and because I would not deter them by the bulk or price from reading what is written for their benefit The use that this part is published for is 1. For Masters and Parents to read often in their Families if they have servants or children that are yet unconverted 2. For all such Unconverted persons to read and consider of themselves 3. For the richer sort that have any pitty on such miserable souls to give to the unsanctified that need them if they have not fitter at hand to use and give The Lord awake us to work while it is day for the saving of our own and others souls in subserviency to the Blessed God the Maker the Redeemer and the Sanctifier of souls Rich. Baxter Decemb. 10. 1657. To all unsanctified persons that shall read this Book Especially of my Hearers in the Burrough and Parish of Kederminster Men and Brethren THE Eternal God that made you for a life Everlasting and hath Redeemed you by his only Son when you had lost it and your-selves being mindful of you in your sin and misery hath indited the Gospel and sealed it by his Spirit and commanded his Ministers to preach it to the world that pardon being 〈◊〉 offered you and Heaven bâ—ing â—ot before you he might call you off from your fleshly pleasures and from following after this deceitfull world and acquaint you with the life that you were Created and Redeemed for before you are dead and past remedy He sendeth not you Prophets or Apostles tâ—at receive their message by immediate Revelation but yet he calleth you by his ordinary Ministers who are Commissioned by him to preach the same Gospel which Christ and his Apostles first delivered The Lord standeth over you and seeth how you forget him and your latter end and how light you make of Everlasting things as men that understand not what they have to do or suffer He seeth how bold you are in sin and how fearless of his threatnings and how careless of your souls and how the works of Infidels are in your lives while the belief of Christians is in your mouths He seeth the dreadful day at hand when your sorrows will begin and you must lament all this with fruitless cries in torment and desperation and when the remembrance of your folly will tear your hearts if true Conversion now prevent it not in comparison of your sinful miserable souls the Lord that better knows your case then you can know it hath made it our duty to speak to you in his name 2 Corinth 5.19 and to tell yâ—u plainly of your sin and misery and what will be your end and how sad a change you 'l shortly see if yet you go on a little longer Having bought you at so dear a rate as the blood of his Son Iesus Christ and made you so free and general a promise of pardon and grace and everlasting glory he commandeth as to tender all this to you as the gift of God and to intreate you to consider of the necessity and worth of what he offereth He seeth and pittieth you while you are drowned in worldly cares and pleasures and eagerly following childish toyes and wasting that short and precious time for a thing of nought in which you should make ready for an everlasting life and therefore he hath commanded us to Call after you and tell you how you lose your labour and are about to lose your souls
Death hath draw this curtain thou shalt see that which will quickly leave thee speechless And how quickly will that day and hour come When thou hast had but a few more merry hours and but a few more pleasant draughts and morsels and a little more of the honours or riches of the world thy portion will be spent and thy pleasures ended and all is then gone that thou settest thy heart upon of all that thou soldst thy Saviour and Salvation for there 's nothing left but the heavy reckoning As a thief that sits merrily drinking the money in an Ale-house which he hath stoln when men are riding in post haste to apprehend him so is it with you While you are drowned in cares or fleshly pleasures and making merry with your own shame death is coming in post haste to seize upon you and carry your souls to such a place and state as now you little know or think of Suppose when you are hold and busie in your sin that a messenger were but coming post from London to apprehend you and take away your lives though you saw him not yet if you knew that he was coming it would marr your mirth and you would be thinking of the haste he makes and hearkning when he knocked as your door O that you could but see what haste death makes though yet it have not overtaken you No post so swift No messenger more sure As sure as the Sun will be with you in the morning though it hath many thousands and hundred thousand miles to go in the night so sure will death be quickly with you and then where is your sport and pleasure then will you jest and brave it out Then will you jear at them that warned you Then is it better to be a Believing Saint or a sensual Worldling And then whose shall all those things be that you have gathered Luke 12.19 20 21. Do you not observe that dayes and weeks are quickly gone and nights and mornings come apace and speedâ—ly succeed each other You sleep but your damnation slumbereth not You linger but your judgment this long time lingreth not 2 Pet. 2.3 4 5. to which you are reserved for punishment 2 Pet. 2.8 9. O that you were wise to understand this and that you did consider your latter end Deut. 32.29 He that hath an ear to hear let him hear the Call of God in this day of his salvation O careless sinners that you did but know the Love that you unthankfully neglect and the preciousness of the blood of Christ which you despise O that you did but know the Riches of the Gospel Oh that you did but know a little know the certainty and the glory and blessedness of that everlasting life which now you will not set your hearts upon nor be perswaded first and diligently to seek Heb. 11.6 12.28 Matth. 6.33 Did you but know the endless Life with God which you now neglect how quickly would you cast away your sin how quickly would you change your mind and life your course and company and turn the stream of your affections and lay out your care another way How resolutely would you scorn to yield to such temptations as now deceive you and carry you away How zealously would you bestir your selves for that most blessed life How earnest would you be with God in Prayer How diligent in hearing and learning and enquiring How serious in meditating on the Laws of God Psal. 1.2 How fearful of sinning in thought word or deed and how careful to please God and grow in Holiness O what a changed people you would be And why should not the certain Word of God be believed by you and prevail with you which openeth to you these glorious and eternal things Yea let me tell you that even here on earth you little know the difference between the Life which you refuse and the Life which you choose The Sanctified are conversing with God when you dare scarce think of him and when you are conversing but with earth and flesh Their Conversation is in heaven when you are utter strangers to it and your belly is your God and you are minding earthly things Phil. 3.18 19.20 They are seeking after the face of God when you seek for nothing higher then this world They are busily laying out for an endless life where they shall be equal with the Angels Luke 20.36 when you take up with a shadow and a transitory thing of nought How low and base is your earthly fleshly sinful life in comparison of the noble spiritual life of true Believers Many a time have I looked on such men with grief and pitty to see them trudge about the world and spend their lives and care and labour for nothing but a little food and rayment or a little fading pelf or fleshly pleasure or aiery honours as if they had no higher things to mind What difference is there between the lives of these men and of the beasts that perish that spend their time in working and eating and living but that they may live You taste not of the inward heavenly pleasures which Believers taste and live upon I had rather have a little of their comforts which the fore-thoughts of their Heavenly inheritance doth afford them though I had all their Scorns and Sufferings with it then to have all your pleasures and treacherous Prosperity I would not have one of your secret gripes and pangs of conscience and dark and dreadfull thoughts of death and the Life to come for all that ever the world hath done for you or all â—hat you can reasonably hope that it should do If I were in your Vnconverted Carnal state and knew but what I know and believed but what I now believe methinks my life would be a foretaste of Hell How oft should I be thinking of the Terrours of the Lord and of the dismal day that 's hasting on Sure Death and Hell would be still before me I should think of them by day and dream of them by night I should lie down in fear and rise in fear and live in fear lest death should come before I were Converted I should have small felicity in any thing that I possessed and little pleasure in any company and a little joy in any thing in the world as long as I knew my seâ—f to be under the Curse and wrath of God I should be still afraid of hearing that voice Luke 12.20 Thou fool this night shall thy soul be required of thee And that fearfull sentence would be written upon my conscience Isa. 48.22 and 57.21 There is no Peace saith my God to the wicked O poor sinners it is a joyfuller life then this that you might live if you were but willing but truly willing to hearken to Christ and come home to God You might then draw near to God with boldness and call him your Father and comfortably trust him with your souls and bodies If you look upon Promises you may
but Turn that is unfeignedly and throughly Turn p. 70. Proved p. 77. Doct. 3. God taketh pleasure in mens Conversion and salvation but not 〈◊〉 their death or damnation He had rather they would Turn and Live then go on and Die p 85. Expounded to p. 93. Proved p. 93. to p. 103. 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 doubt of it p. 103. Vse Who is it then that takes pleasure in mens sin and death Not God nor Ministers nor any good men p. 106. Doct. 5. So earnest is God for the Conversion of sinners that he doubleth his commands and exhortations with vehemency Turn ye Turn ye Applyed p. 120. Some Motives to obey Gods Call and Turn p. 126. Doct. 6. The Lord condescendeth to reason the case with Unconverted sinners and to ask them Why they will die p. 152. A strange Disputation 1. For the Question 2. The Disputants Wicked men will die or destroy themselves p. 154. Vse The sinners cause is certainly unreasonable p. 163. Their seeming Reasons confuted p. 175 Qu. Why are men so unreasonable and loth to Turn and will destroy themselves p. 200. answered Doct. 7. If after all this men will not turn it is not long of God that they are condemned but of themselves even of their own wilfulness They die because they will die that is because they will not turn p. 209. Vse 1. How unfit the wicked are to charge God with their Damnation It is not because God is unmerciful but because they are cruel and merciless to themselves p. 225. Obj. We cannot convert our selves nor have we Free-will Answered p. 235. and in the Preface Vse 2. The subtilty of Satan the deceitfulness of sin and the folly of sinners manifested p. 238 Vse 3. No wonder if the wicked would hinder the Conversion and Salvation of others p. 240. Vse 4. Man is the greatest enemy to himself p. 241. Mans destruction is of himself proved p. 242. The hainous aggravations of self-destroying p. 257. The concluding Exhortation p. 263. Ten Directions for those that had rather Turn then Die p. 273. to the end These Books following of the same Authors are also Printed for Nevil Simmons Book-selseller in Kederminster TRue Christianity or Christs Absolute dominion and mans necessary self-resignation and Subjection in two Assize Sermons preacht at Worcester in 12o. A Sermon of Judgement preached at Pauls before the Honorable Lord Major and Aldermen of the City of London Decem. 17. 1654. and now enlarged in 12o. Making light of Christ and Salvation â—oo oft the Issue of Gospel Invitations manifest in a Sermon preached at Law-â—eace Iury in London 8o. The Agreement of divers Ministers of Christ in the County of Worcester for Catechizing or personal Instructing all in their several Parishes that will Consent thereunto containing 1. The Articles of our Agreement 2. An Exhortation to the people to submit to this necessary work 3. The Profession of Faith and Catechism in 8o. Guildas Salvianus the Reformed Pastor shewing the nature of the Pastoral work especially in private instruction and Catechizing in 8o. Certain Disputations of Right to Sacraments and the True Nature of Visible Christianity 4o. Of Justification four Disputationâ— clearing and amicably defending the Truth against the unnecessary Oppositions of divers Learned and Reverend Brethren 4o. A Treatise of Conversion preached and now published for the use of those that are strangers to a true Conversion especially the grosly Ignorant and Ungodly 4 One sheet for the Ministry against the Malignants of all sorts A Winding-sheet for Popery One sheet against the Quakers A second sheet for the Ministry Justifying our Calling against Quakers Seekers and Papists and all that deny us to be the Ministers of Christ. Directions to Justices of Peace especially in Corporations to the discharge of their duty to God written at the request of a Magistrate and Published for the use of others that need it The Crucifying of the world by the Cross of Christ With a Preface to the Nobles Gentlemen and all the Rich erecting them how they may be Richer A CALL TO THE Unconverted Ezek. 33.11 Say unto them As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live Turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die O' house of Israel IT hath been the astonishing wonder of many a man as well as me to read in the holy Scrippture how few will be saved and that the greatest part even of those that are called will be everlastingly shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven and be tormented with the Devils in Eternal fire Infidels believe not this when they read it and therefore must feel it Those that do believe it are forced to cry out with Paul Rom. 11.33 Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his Iudgements and his waies past finding out But nature it self doth teach us all to lay the blame of evil works upon the doers and therefore when we see any hainous thing done a principle of justice doth provoke us to enquire after him that did it that the evil of the work may return the evil of shame upon the author If we saw a man killed and cut in pieces by the way we would presently ask Oh who did this cruel deed If the town were wilfully set on fire you would ask What wicked wretch did this So when we read that the most will be firebrands of hell for ever we must needs think with our selves How comes this to pass and who is it long of Who is it that is so cruel as to be the cause of such a thing as this And we can meet with few that will own the guilt It is indeed confest by all that Satan is the cause but that doth not resolve the doubt because he is not the principal cause He doth not force men to sin but tempt them to it and leave it to their own wills whether they will do it or not He doth not carry men to an Ale-house and force open their mouths and pour in the drink nor doth he hold them that they cannot go to Gods service nor doth he force their hearts from holy thoughts It lieth therefore between God himself and the sinner One of them must needs be the principall cause of all this misery which ever it is For there is no other to cast it upon And God disclaimeth it He will not take it upon him And the wicked disclaim it usually and they will not take it upon them And this is the Controversie that is here managing in my text The Lord complaineth of the people and the people think it is long of God The same controversie is handled Chap. 18. where Verse
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
lie and yet dare you give the lie to God But if you tell God plainly you will not believe him blame him not if he never warn you more or if he forsake you and give you up as hopeless For to what purpose should he warn you if you will not believe him should he send an Angel from heaven to you its seems you would not believe For an Angel can speak but the Word of God and if an Angel should bring you another Gospel you are not to receive it but to hold him accursed Gal. 1.8 9. And surely there is no Angel to be believed before the Son of God who came from the Father to bring us this Doctrine If he be not to be believed then all the Angels in heaven are not to be believed And if you stand on these terms with God I shall leave you till he deal with you in a more convincing way God hath a voice that will make you hear Though he intreat you to hear the voice of his Gospel he will make you hear the voice of his condemning Sentence without intreaty We cannot make you believe against your wills but God will make you feelâ—gainst â—gainst your wills But let us hear what reason you have why you will not believe this word of God which tells us that the wicked must be Converted or condemned I know your reason it is because that you judge it unlikely that God should be so unmerciful you think it cruelty to damn men everlastingly for so small a thing as a sinful life And this leads us up to the second thing which is to justifie the Equity of God in his Laws and Judgements And first I think you will not deny but that it is most sutable to an immortal soul to be ruled by Laws that promise an immortal reward and threaten an endless punishment Otherwise the Law should not be suited to the nature of â—he subject who will not be fully ruled by any lower means then the Hopes or Fears of everlasting things As it is in case of temporal punishment if a Law were now made that the most hainous crimes shall be punished with an hundred years captivity this might be of some efficacy as being equal to our lives But if there had been no other penalties before the flood when men lived eight or nine hundred years it would not have been sufficient because men would know that they might have so many hundred years impunity afterward So is it in our present case 2. I suppose you will confess that the promise of an endless and unconceivable glory is not unsuitable to the wisdom of God or the case of man And why then should you not think so of the Threatning of an endless and unspeakable misery 3. When you find it in the Word of God that so it is and so it will be do you think your selves fit to contradict this Word Will you call your Maker to the Barr and examine his Word upon the accusation of falshood will you sit upon him and judge him by the Law of your Conceits Are you wiser and better and righteouser then he Must the God of heaven come to School to you to learn wisdom Must infinite wisdom learn of folly and infinite Goodness be corrected by a swinish sinner that cannot keep himself an hour clean Must the Almighty stand at the Bar of a worm Oh horrid arrogancy of sensless dust Shall every mole or cold or dung-hill accuse the Sun of darkness and undertake to illuminate the world Where were you when the Almighty made these Laws that he did not call you to his counsel Surely he made them before you were born without desiring your advice and you come into the world too late for to reverse them if you could have done so great a work you should have stept out of your Nothingness and have contradicted Christ when he was on earth or Moses before him or have saved Aâ—am and his sinful progeny from the threatned death that so there might have been no need of Christ And what if God withdraw his patience aud sustentation and let you drop into Hell while you are quarrelling with his Word will you then believe that there is a Hell 4. If 〈◊〉 such an evil that it requireth the death of Christ for its expiation no wonder if it deserve our everlasting misery 5. And if the sin of the Devils deserved an endless torment why not also the sin of man 6. And me thinks you should perceive that it is not possible for the best of men much less for the wicked to be competent Judges of the desert of sin Alas we are all both blind and partial You can never know fully the desert of sin till you fully know the evil of sin and you can never fully know the evil of sin till you fully know 1. The Excellency of the soul which it deformeth 2. And the excellency of holiness which it doth obliterate 3. And the reason and excellency of the Law which it violateth And 4. the excellency of the Glory which it doth despise And 5. the excellency and office of Reason which it treadeth down 6. No nor till you know the infinite Excellency Almightiness and Holiness of that God against whom it is committed When you fully know all these you shall fully know the desert of sin Besides you know that the offendor is too partial to judge the Law or the proceedings of his Judge We judge by feeling which blinds our reason We see in common worldly things that most men think the cause is right which is their own and that all is wrong that 's done against them and let the most wise or just impartial friends perswade them to the contrary and its all in vain There 's few children but think the Father is unmerciful or dealeth hardly with them if he whip them There 's scarce the vilest swinish wretch but thinketh the Church doth wrong him if they excommunicate him Nor scarce a Thief or Murderer that is hanged but would accuse the Law and Judge of cruelty if that would serve turn 7. Can you think that an unholy soul is fit for heaven Alas they cannot love God here nor do him any service which he can accept They are contrary to God they loath that which he most loveth and love that which he abhorreth They are uncapable of that imperfect Communion with him which his Saints do here partake of How then can they live in that perfect love of him and full delights and Communion with him which is the blessedness of heaven You do not accuse your selves of unmercifulness if you make not your enemy your bosom Counseller or if you take not your swine to bed and board with you no nor if you take away his life though he never sinned And yet will you blame the absolute Lord the most wise and gracious Soveraign of the world if he condemn the Unconverterted to perpetual misery Vse I Beseech you now
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
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