sure of earth he would let go heaven and had rather stay here then be removed thither A life of perfect holiness in the sight of God and in his love and praises for ever in heaven doth not find such liking with his heart as a life of health and wealth and honour here upon earth And though he falsly profess that he loveth God above all yet indeed he never felt the power of Divine Love within him but his mind is more set on the world or fleshly pleasures then on God In a word whoever Loveth earth above heaven and fleshly prosperity more than God is a wicked unconverted man On the other side a Converted man is illuminated to discern the Loveliness of God and so far believeth the Glory that is to be had with God that his heart is taken up to it and set more upon it then on any thing in this world He had rather see the face of God and live in his everlasting love and praises then have all the wealth or pleasure of this world He seeth that all things else are vanity and nothing but God can fill the soul and therefore let the world go which way it will he layeth up his treasure and hopes in heaven and for that he is resolved to let go all As the fire doth mount upward and the Needle that is touched with the load-stone still turneth to the North so the Converted soul is enclined unto God Nothing else can satisfie him nor can he find any Content and Rest but in his Love In a word All that are Converted do Esteem and Love God beetter then all the world and the Heavenly felicity is dearer to them then their fleshly prosperity The proof of what I have said you may find in these places of Scripture Phil. 3.18 21. Mat. 6.19 20 21. Col. 3.1 2 3 4. Rom. 8.5 6 7 8 9 18 23. Psal. 73.25 26. Secondly a wicked man is one that maketh it the principal business of his life to prosper in the world and attain his fleshly ends And though he may read and hear and do much in the outward duties of Religion and forbear disgraceful sins yet this is all but upon the by and he never makes it the trade and principal business of his life to Please God and attain everlasting glory but puts off God with the leavings of the world and gives him no more service then the flesh can spare for he will not part with all for heaven On the contrary a Converted man is one that makes it the principal care and business of his life to Please God and to be saved and takes all the blessings of this life but as accommodations in his journey towards another life and useth the creature in subordination unto God he loveth an holy life and longeth to be more holy he hath no sin but what he hateth and longeth and prayeth and striveth to be rid of The drift and bent of his life is for God and if he sin it is contrary to the very bent of his heart and life and therefore he riseth again and lamenteth it and dare not wilfully live in any known sin There is nothing in this world so dear to him but he can give it up to God and forsake it for him and the hopes of glory All this you may see in Col. 3.1 2 3 4 5. Mat. 6.33 20. Luk. 18.22 23 29. Luk. 14.18 24 26 27. Rom. 8.13 Gal. 5.24 Luk. 12.21 c. Thirdly the soul of a wicked man did never truly discern and relish the mystery of Redemption nor thankfully entertain an offered Saviour nor is he taken up with the love of the Redeemer not willing to be ruled by him as the Physitian of his soul that he may be saved from the guilt and power of his sins and recovered unto God but his heart is insensible of this unspeakable benefit and is quite against the healing means by which he should be recovered Though he may be willing to be carnally Religious yet he never resigneth up his soul to Christ and to the motions and conduct of his Word and Spirit On the contrary the Converted soul having felt himself undone by sin and perceiving that he hath lost his peace with God and hopes of heaven and is in danger of everlasting misery doth thankfully entertain the tidings of Redemption and believing in the Lord Jesus as his only Saviour resigneth up himself to him for wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption He taketh Christ as the Life of his soul and liveth by him and useth him as his salve for every sore admiring the wisdom and Love of God in this wonderful work of mans Redemption In a word Christ doth even dwell in his heart by faith and the life that he now liveth is by the Faith of the Son of God that hath loved him and gave himself for him Yea it is not so much he that liveth as Christ in him For these see Iohn 1.11 12. 3.19 20. Rom. 8.9 Phil. 3.7 8 9 10. Gal. 2.20 Ioh. 15 2 3.4 1 Cor. 1.20 2.2 YOU see now in plain terms from the Word of God who are the wicked and who are the Converted Ignorant people think that if a man be no swearer not curser nor rayler nor drunkard nor fornicator nor extortioner nor wrong any body in their dealings and if they come to Church and say their prayers these cannot be wicked men Or if a man that hath been guilty of drunkenness or swearing or gameing or the like vices do but forbear them for the time to come they think that this is a Converted man Others think if a man that hath been an enemy and scorner at godliness do but approve it and joyn himself with those that are godly and be hated for it by the wicked as the godly are that this must needs be a Converted man And some are so foolish as to think they are Converted by taking up some new and false opinion and falling into some dividing party as Anabaptists Quakers Papists or such like And some think if they have but been affrighted by the fears of Hell and had Convictions and Gripes of Conscience and thereupon have purposed and promised amendment and taken up a life of Civil behavour and outward Religion that this must needs be true Conversion And these are the poor deluded souls that are like to lose the benefit of all our perswasions and when they hear that the wicked must Turn or Die they think that this is not spoken to them for they are not wicked but are Turned already And therefore it is that Christ told some of the Rulers of the Jews who were graver and civiler then the common people that Publicans and Harlots do go into the Kingdom of God before them Mat. 21.31 Not that an harlot or gross sinner can be saved without Conversion but because it was easier to make these gross sinners perceive their sin and misery and the necessity of a change
they would not refuse thee let the world say what they would against it And are all these ready to receive thee and yet art thou not ready to come in Yea Heaven it self is Ready the Lord will receive thee into the glory of his Saints as vile a beast as thou hast been if thou wilt but be cleansed thou maist have a place before his throne his Angels will be ready to guard thy soul to the place of Joy if thou do but unfeignedly come in And is God ready the Sacrifice of Christ Ready the Promise Ready and Pardon Ready are Ministers Ready and the People of God Ready and Heaven it self Ready and Angels Ready and all these but waiting for thy Conversion and yet art thou not Ready What not Ready to live when thou hast been dead so long not Ready to come to thy right understanding as the Prodigal is said to come to himself Luke 15.17 when thou hast been besides thy self so long Not ready to be saved when thou art even ready to be condemned Art thou not ready to lay hold on Christ that would deliver thee when thou art even ready to drown and sink into damnation Art thou not ready to be saved from Hell when thou art even ready to be cast remedilesly into it Alas man dost thou know what thou dost if thou die unconverted there is no doubt to be made of thy damnation and thou art not sure to live an hour And yet art thou not ready to turn and to come in O miserable wretch hast thou not served the flesh and the Devil long enough Yet hast thou not had enough of sin Is it so good to thee or so profitable for thee Dost thou know what it is that thou wouldst yet have more of it Hast thou had so many calls and so many mercies and so many blows and so many examples hast thou seen so many laid in the grave and yet art thou not ready to let go thy sins and come to Christ What! after so many convictions and gripes of Conscience after so many purposes and promises art thou not yet ready to turn and live Oh that thy eyes thy heart were opened to know how fair an offer is now made to thee and what a Joyful message it is that we are sent on to bid thee come for all things are ready 2. Consider also what Calls thou hast to Turn and Live How many how loud how earnest how dreadful and yet what encourageing joyful Calls For the principal Inviter it is God himself He that commandeth Heaven and Earth commandeth thee to turn and presently without delay to turn He commands the Sun to run its course and to rise upon thee every morning and though it be so glorious a creature and many times bigger then all the earth yet it obeyeth him and faileth not one minute of its appointed time He commandeth all the planets and the orbs of Heaven and they obey He commandeth the Sea to ebb and flow and the whole Creation to keep its course and all obey him The Angels of heaven obey his will when he sends them to Minister to such silly worms as we on earth Hebrews 1.14 And yet if he command but a sinner to Turn He will not obey him He only thinks himself wiser then God and He cavils and pleads the cause of sin and will not away If the Lord Almighty say the word the Heavens and all therein obey him but if he call but a drunkard out of an Ale-house he will not obey or if he call a worldly fleshly sinner to deny himself and mortifie the flesh and set his heart on a better inheritance he will not obey If thou hadst any love in thee thou wouldst know the voice and say Oh this is my Fathers Call how can I find in my heart to disobey For the sheep of Christ do know and hear his voice and they follow him and he giveth them eternal life Iohn 10.4 If thou hadst any spiritual life and sense in thee at least thou wouldst say this Call is the dreadful voice of God and who dare disobey For saith the Prophet Amos 3.8 The Lyon hath roared who will not fear God is not as man that thou shouldst dally and play with him Remember what he said to Paul at his Conversion It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks Act. 9.5 Wilt thou yet go on and despise his word and resist his Spirit and stop thine ear against his Call Who is it that will have the worst of this Dost thou know whom thou disobeyest and contendest with and what thou art doing It were a far wiser and easier task for thee to contend with the thorns and spurn them with thy bare feet and beat them with thy bare hands or put thy head into the burning fire Be not deceived God will not be mocked Galat. 6.7 Whoever else be mocked God will not you were better play with the fire in your thatch then with the fire of his burning wrath For our God is a consuming fire Hebrews 12.29 O how unmeet a match art thou for God! It is a fearful thing to fall into his hands Hebrews 10.31 and therefore it is a fearful thing to contend with him or resist him As you love your souls take heed what you do What will you say if he begin in wrath to plead with you What will you do if he take you once in hand Will you then strive against his Judgement as now you do against his grace faith the Lord Isa. 27.4 5. Fury is not in me that is I delight not to destroy you I do it as it were unwillingly but yet who would set the bryars and thorns against me in battle I would go through them I would burn them together Or let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shâ—ll make peace with me It s an unequal combat for the bryars and stubble to make war with the fire As thus you see Who it is that calleth you that should move you to hear his Call and Turn so consider also by what instruments and how often how earnestly he doth it 1. Every leâ—f of the blessed Book of God hath as it were a voice and calls out unto thee Turn and live Turn or thou wilt die How canst thou open it and read a leaf or hear a Chapter and not perceive God bids thee Turn It is the voice of every Sermon that thou hearest For what else is the scope and drift of all but to call and perswade and intreat thee for to Turn 3. It is the voice of many a motion of the Spirit that secretly speaks over these words again and urgeth thee to Turn 4. It is likely sometime it is the voice of thy own Conscience Art thou not sometime convinced that all is not well with thee and doth not conscience tell thee that thou must be a new man and take a new course and often call upon
and to tell you what greater and better things you might certainly have if you would hearken to his Call Isaiah 55 1 2.3 We believe and obey the voice of God and come to you daily on his message who hath charged us to preach and be instant with you in season and out of season and to lift up our voice like a Trumpet and shew you your transgressions and your sins Isa. 58.1 2 Tim. 4.1 2. But wo and alas to the grief of our souls and your own undoing you stop your ears you stiffen your necks you harden your hearts and break our hearts and send us back to God with groans to tell him that we have done his message but can do no good on you nor scarcely get a sober hearing O that our eyes were as a fountain of tears that we might lament our ignorant careless people that have Christ before them and pardon and life and heaven before them and have not hearts to know and value them that might have Christ and grace and glory as well as others if it were not for their wilful negligence and contempt O that the Lord would fill our hearts with more compassion to these miserable souls that we might cast our selves even at their feet and follow them to their houses and speak to them with our bitter tears For long have we preached to many of them as in vain we study plainness to make them understand and many of them will not understand us We study serious piercing words to make them feel but they will not feel If the Greatest mattter would work with them we should awake them If the sweetest things would work we should entice them and win their hearts if the most dreadful things would work we should at least affright them from their wickedness if Truth and Certainty would take with them we should soon convince them if the God that made them and the Christ that bought them might be heard the ease would soon be altered with them if Scripture might be heard we should soon prevail if Reason even the best and strongest Reason might be heard we should not doubt but we should speedily convince them if experience might be heard even their own experience and the experience of all the world the matter would be mended Yea if the Conscience within them might be heard the case would be better with them then it is But if nothing can be heard wâ—at then shall we do for them If the dreadfull God of Heaven be slighted who then shall be regarded If the inestimable Love and blood of a Redeemer be made light of what then shall be valued If Heaven have no desiderable Glory with them and everlasting Ioys be nothing worth If they can jest at Hell and dance about the bottomless pit and play with the consuming fire and that when God and man do warn them of it What shall we do for such souls as these Once more in the name of the God of Heaven I shall do the Mâ—ssage to you which he had commanded us and leave it in these standing lines to convert your or condemn you to change you or to rise up in Iudgement against you and to be a witness to your faces that once you had a serious Call to Turn Hear all you that are the drudges of the world and the servants of the flesh and Satan That spend your daies in looking after prosperity on earth and drowâ— your consciences in drinking and gluttony and idleness and foolish sports and know you sin and yet will sin as if you set God at defiance and bid him do his worst and spare not Hearken all you that mind not God and have no heart to holy things and feel no savour in the Word or Worship of the Lord or in the thoughts or mention of eternal life that are careless of your immortal souls and never bestowed one hour in enquiring whaâ— case they are in whether sanctified or unsanctified and whether you are ready to appear before the Lord Hearken all you that by sinning in the light have sinned your selves into Atheism and Infidelity and do not believe the Word of God He that hath an ear to hear let him hear the Gratious and yet Dreadful Call of God! His eye is all this while upon you Your sins are registred and you shall surely hear of them all again God keepeth the Book now and he will write it all out upon your Consciences with his terrors and then you also shall keep it your selves O Sinners that you knew but what you are doing and who you are all this while offending The Sun it self is darkness before the glory of that Majesty which you daily abuse and carelesly provoke The sinning Angels were not able to stand before him but were cast down to be tormented Devils And dare such silly worms as you so fearlesly offend and set your selves against your Maker O that you did but a little know what a case that wretched soul is in that hath engaged the Living God against him The word of his mouth that made thee can unmake thee the frown of his face will cut thee off and cast thee out into utter darkness How eager are the Devils to be doing with thee that have tempted thee and do but wait for thâ— word from God to take and use thee as their own and then in a moment thou wilt be in Hell If God be against thee all things are against thee this world is but thy prison for all that thou so lovest it thou art but reserved in it to the day of wrath Job 21.30 Thy Iudge is coming thy soul is even going Yet a little while and thy friends shall say of thee He is dead and thou shalt see the things that now thou didst despise and feel that which now thou wilt not believe Death will bring such an Argument as thou canst not answer An Argument that shall effectually confute thy Cavils against the word and ways of God and all thy self-conceited dotages And then how soon will thy mind be changed Then be an unbeliever if thou canst stand then to all thy former words which thou wast wont to utter against the Scriptures or against a holy and a heavenly life Make good that cause then before the Lord which thou wast wont to plead against thy Teachers and against the people that feared God Then stand to thy old opinions and contemptuous thoughts of the diligence of the Saints Make ready now thy strongest Reasons and stand up then before the Iudge and plead like a man for thy fleshly thy unworldly and ungodly life But know that thou must have one to plead with that will not be outfaced by thee nor so easily put off as we thy fellow Creatuâ—es O poor deceived wretched soul there is nothing but a slender vail of flesh betwixt thee and that amazing sight which will quickly silence thee and turn thy tune and make thee of another mind As soon as
all that love your souls that instead of quarrelling with God and with his Word you will presently stoop to it and use it for your good All you that are yet unconverted in this Assembly take this as the undoubted truth of God You must ere long be converted or condemned There is no other way but Turn or Dye When God that cannot lye hath told you this When you hear it from the Maker and Judge of the world its time for him that hath ears to hear By this time you may see what you have to trust to You are but dead and damned men except you will be converted Should I tell you otherwise I should deceive you with a lye Should I hide this from you I should undoe you and be guilty of your blood as the verses before my Text assure me Ver. 8. When I say to the wicked O wicked man thou shalt surely dye if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way that wicked man shall dye in his iniquity but his blood will I require at thine hand You see then though this be a rough unwelcome Doctrine it s such as we must preach and you must hear It is easier to hear of Hell then feel it If your necessities did not require it we would not gall your tender ears with truths that seem so harsh and grievous Hell would not be so full if people were but willing to know their case and to hear and think of it The reason why so few escape it is because they strive not to enter in at the strait gate of Conversion and to go the narrow way of holinesâ— while they have time and they strive not because they be not wakened to a lively feeling of the danger they are in and they be not wakened because they are doth to hear or think of it and that is partly through foolish tenderness and carnal self-love and partly because they do not well believe the Word that threatneth it If you will but throughly believe this truth me thinks the weight of it should force you to remember it and it should follow you and give you no rest till you are converted If you had but once heard this word by the voice of an Angel Thou must be Converted or Condemned Turn or Die would it not stick in your mind and haunt you night and day so that in your sinning you would remember it and at your labour you would remember it as if the voice were still in your ears Turn or Die O happy were your souls if it might thus work with you and never be forgotten or let you alone till it have driven home your hearts to God But if you will cast it out by forgetfulness or unbelief how can it work to your Conversion and Salvation But take this with you to yoâ—r sorrow though you may put this out of your minds you cannot put it out of the Bible but there it will stand as a sealed truth which you shall experimentally know for ever that there is no other way but Turn or Die O what 's the matter then that the hearts of sinners be not pierced with such a weighty truth A man would think now that every Unconverted soul that hears these words should be pricked to the heart and think with themselves This is my own case and never be quiet till they found themselves converted Believe it Sirs this drowsie careless temper will not last long Conversion and Condemnation are both of them awakening things and one of them will make you feel ere long I can foretel it as truly as if I saw it with my eyes that either Grace or Hell will shortly bring these matters to the quick and make you say What have I done What a foolâ—â—â— wicked course have I taken The scornful and the stupid state of sinners will last but a little while As soon as they either Turn or Die the presumptuous dream will be at an end and then their wits and feeling will return BUT I foresee there are two things that are like to harden the unconverted and make me lose all my labour except they can be taken out of the way and that is the misunderstanding of these two words The Wicked and Turn Some will think with themselves It s true the wicked must Turn or Die but whâ—â—'s that to me I am not wicked though I am a sinner as all men be Others will think It s true thaâ— we maâ— Turn from our evil waies but I am Turned long ago I hope this is not now to do And thus while wicked men think they are not wicked but are already Converted we lose all our labour in perswading them to Turn I shall therefore before I go any further tell you here who are meant by the wicked and who they be that must turn or die and also what is meant by Turning and who they be that are truly converted And this I have purposely reserved for this place preferring the Method that fits my end And here you must observe that in the sense of the Text a wicked man and a converted man are contraries No man is a wicked man that is converted and no man is a converted man that is wicked So that to be a wicked man and to be an unconverted man is all one And therefore in opening one we shall open both Before I can tell you what either Wickedness or Conversion is I must go to the bottom and fetch up the matter from the beginning It pleased the great Creator of the world to make three sorts of living creatures Angels he made pure Spirits without flesh and therefore he made them only for Heaven and not for to dwell on earth Bruits were made flesh without immortal souls and therefore they were made only for earth and not for Heaven Man is of a middle nature between both as partaking of both flesh and Spirit and therefore he was made both for Earth and Heaven But as his flesh is made to be but a servant to his Spirit so is he made for earth but as his passage or way to Heaven and not that this should be his home or happiness The blessed state that man was made for was to behold the Glorious Majesty of the Lord and to praise him among his holy Angels and to love him and be filled with his Love for ever And as this was the End that man was made for so God did give him means that were fitted to the attaining of it These means were principally two First the right Inclination and Disposition of the mind of man Secondly the right ordering of his life and practice For the first God suited the Disposition of man unto his End giving him such knowledge of God as was fit for his present state and an Heart Disposed and Inclined to God in holy Love But yet he did not fix or confirm him in this condition but having made him a free agent he left him in the hands
perswade them to it if we would beg it of them with tears we cannot perswade them and what more can we do These are the secret complaints and moans that many a poor Minister is fain to make And do you think that he hath any Pleasure in this Is it a Pleasure to him to see you go on in sin and cannot stop you to see you so miserable and cannot so much as make you sensible of it to see you merry when you are not sure to be an hour out of Hell to think what you must for ever suffer because you will not Turn and to think what an everlasting life of Glory you wilfully despise and cast away What sadder thing can you bring to their hearts and how can you devise to grieve them more Who is it then that you Pleasure by your sin and death It is none of your understanding godly friends Alas it is the grief of their souls to see your misery and they lament you many a time when you give them little thanks for it and when you have not hearts to lament your selves Who is it then that takes Pleasure in your sin It is none but the three great enemies of God whom you renouâ—ced in your Baptism and now are turned falsly to serve 1. The Devil indeed takes pleasure in your sin and death For this is the very end of all his temptations For this he watcheth night and day You cannot devise to please him better then to go on in sin How glad is he when he sees thee going to the Ale-house or other sin and when he heareth thee curse or swear or rail How glad is he when he heareâ—h thee revile the Minister that would draw thee from thy sin and help to save thee These are his delight 2. The wicked also are delighted in it For it is agreeable to their nature 3. But I know for all this that it is not the pleasing of the Devil that you intend even when you please him but it is your own flesh the greatest and most dangerous enemy that you intend to please It is the flesh that would be pampered that would be pleased in meat and drink and cloathing that would be pleased in your company and pleased in applause and credit with the world and pleased in sports and lost and idleness this is the gulf that devoureth all This is the very god that you serve for the Scripture saith of such that their bellies are thâ—ir gods Phil. 3.18 But I beseech you stay a little and consider the business 1. Quest. Should your flesh be pleased before your Maker Will you displease the Lord and displease your Teachers and your godly friends and all to please your brutish appetites or sensual desires Is not God worthy to be the Ruler of your flesh If he shall not Rule it he will not save it you cannot in reason expect that he should 2. Qu. Your flesh is pleased with your sin but is your conscience pleased Doth not it grudge within you and tell you sometimes that all is not well and that your case is not so safe as you make it to be and should not your soul and conscience be pleased before that corruptible flesh 3. Quest. But is not your flesh preparing for its own displeasure also it loves the bait but doth it love the hook It loves the strong drink and sweet morsels it loves its case and sports and merriment it loves to be rich and well spoken of by men and to be some body in the world but doth it love the curse of God Doth it love to stand trembling before his Bar and to be judged to everlasting fire Doth it love to be tormented with the Devils for ever Take all together for there is no separating sin and hell but only by faith and true Conversion if you will keep one you must have the other If Death and Hell be pleasant to you no wonder then if you go on in sin but if they be not as I am sure they be not then what if sin were never so pleasant is it worth the loss of Life Eternal Is a little drink or meat or ease is the good words of sinners is the riches of this world to be valued above the Joyes of heaven Or are they worth the suffering of Eternal fire Sirs these questions should be considered before you go any further by every man that hath Reason to consider and that believes he hath a soul to save or lose Well the Lord here sweareth that he hath no Pleasure in your Death but rather that you would Turn and Live if yet you will go on and Dye rather then Turn remember it was not to Please God that you did it it was to Please the world and to please your selves And if men will damn themselves to please themselves and run into endless Torments for Delight and have not the wit the hearts the grace to hearken to God or man that would reclaim them what remedy but they must take what they get by it and repent it in another manner when it is too late Before I proceed any further in the Application I shall come to the next Doctrine which giveth me a fuller ground for it Doct. 5. SO earnest is God for the Conversion of sinners that he doubleth his commands and exhortations with vehemency Turn ye Turn ye Why will ye Dye This Doctrine is the Application of the former as by a Use of Exhortation and accordingly I shall handle it Is there ever an Unconverted sinner that heareth these vehement words of God Is there ever a man or woman in this Assembly that is yet a stranger to the renewing sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost It is an happy Assembly if it be not so with the most Hearken then to the voice of your maker and Turn to him by Christ without delay Would you know the will of God Why this is his will that you presently Turn Shall the living God send so earnest a Message to his creatures and should they not obey Hearken then all you that live after the flesh the Lord that gave thee thy breath and being hath sent a message to thee from heaven and this is his Message Turn ye Turn ye why will you die He that hath ears to hear let him hear Shall the voice of the Eternal Majesty be neglected If he do but terribly thunder thou art afraid O but this voice doth more nearly concern thee If he did but tell thee thou shalt die to morrow thou wouldst not make light of it O but this word concerneth thy life or death everlasting It is both a Command and an Exhortation As if he had said to thee I charge thee upon the allegiance that thou owest to me thy Creator and Redeemer that thou renounce the flesh the world and the Devil and Turn to me that thou maist Live I condescend to intreate thee as thou either lovest or fearest him that made thee as thou
lovest thine own life even thine everlasting Life Turn and Live as ever thou wouldst escape eternal misery Turn Turn for why wilt thou die And is there a heart in man in a reasonable creature that can once refuse such a Message such a Command such an Exhortation as this O what a thing then is the heart of man Hearken then all that love themselves and all that regard your own salvation Here is the joyfullest Message that ever was sent to the ears of man Turn ye Turn ye why will you die You are not yet shut up under desperstion Here is mercy offered you Turn and you shall have it O Sirs with what glad and Joyful hearts should you receive this tidings I know this is not the first time that you have heard it but how have you regarded it or how do you regard it now Hear all you ignorant careless sinners the word of the Lord Hear all you worldlings you sensual flesh-pleasers you gluttons and drunkards and whore-mongers and swearers you railers and backbiters slanderers and lyars Turn ye Turn ye why will you die Hear all you cold and out-side professors and all that are strangers to the life of Christ and never knew the power of his Cross and Resurrection and never felt your hearts warmed with his Love and live not on him as the strength of your souls Turn ye Turn ye why will you die Hear all that are void of the Love of God whose hearts are not toward him nor taken up with the Hopes of glory but set more by your earthly prosperity and delights then by the Joyes of Heaven all you that are Religious but a little on the by and give God no more then your flesh can spare that have not denyed your carnal selves and forsaken all that you have for Christ in the estimation and grounded resolution of your souls but have any one thing in the world so dear to you that you cannot spare it for Christ if he require it but will rather venture on his displeasure then forsake it Turn ye Turn ye Why will you die If you never heard it or observed it before remember that you were told from the Word of God this day that if you will but Turn you may Live and if you will not Turn you shall surely die What now will you do Sirs What is your resolution Will you Turn or will you not Halt not any longer between two opinions if the Lord he God follow him if your flesh be God then serve it still If Heaven be better then earth and fleshly pleasures come away then and seek a better Country and lay up your treasure where rust and motheâ— do not corrupt and thieves cannot break through and steal and be awakened at last with all your might to seek the Kingdom that cannot be moved Heb. 12.28 and to employ your lives on an higher design and turn the stream of your cares and labours another way then formerly you have done But if earth be better then heaven or will do more for you or last you longer then keep it and make your best of it and follow it still Sirs are you resolved what to do if you be not I will set a few more moving Considerations before you to see if Reason will make you resolve Consider first What preparations Mercy hath made for your salvation and what pitty it is that any man should be damned after all this The time was when the flaming sword was in the way and the curse of Gods Law would have kept thee back if thou hadst been never so willing to turn to God The time was when thy self and all the friends that thou hast in the world could never have procured thee the pardon of thy sins past though thou hadst never so much lamented and reformed them But Christ hath removed this impediment by the ransom of his blood The time was that God was wholly unreconciled as being not satisfied for the violation of his Law But now he is so far satisfied and reconciled as that he hath made thee a free Act of Oblivion and a free deed of Gift of Christ and Life and offereth it to thee and intreateth thee to accept it and it may be thine if thou wilt For he was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and hath committed to us the word of actual reconciliation 2 Cor. 5.18 19. Sinners we are commanded to do this Message to you all as from the Lord Come for all things are ready Luke 14.17 Are all things ready and are you unready God is Ready to entertain you and pardon all that you have done against him if you will but come As long as you have sinned as wilfully as you have sinned as hainously as you have sinned he is ready to cast all behind his back if you will but come Though you have been Prodigals and run away from God and have staid so long he is ready even to meet you and embrace you in his arms and rejoyce in your Conversion if you will but Turn Even the earthly worldling the swinish drunkard may find God ready to bid them welcome if they will but come Doth not this turn thy heart within thee O sinner if thou have an heart of flesh and not of stone in thee methinks this should melt it Shall the dreadful infinite Majesty of heaven even wait for thy returning and be ready to receive thee who hast abused him and forgotten him so long Shall he delight in thy Conversion that might at any time glorifie his Justice in thy damnation and yet doth it not melt thy heart within thee and art thou not yet ready to come in Hast thou not as much reason to be ready to come as God hath to invite thee and bid thee welcome But that 's not all Christ hath done his part on the Cross and made such way for thee to the Father that on his account thou maist be welcome if thou wilt come And yet art thou not Ready A Pardon is Ready expresly granted and offered thee in the Gospel And yet art thou unready The Ministers of the Gospel are Ready to assist thee to instruct thee and pronounce the absolving words of peace to thy soul they are Ready to pray for thee and to seal up thy pardon by the administration of the holy Sacrament And yet art thou not ready Aâ—l that fear God about thee are Ready to rejoyce in thy Conversion and to receive thee into the Communion of Saints and to give thee the right hand of fellowship yea though thou hadst been one that had been cast out of their society they dare not but forgive where God forgiveth when it is manifest to them by thy confession and amendment they dare not so much as hit thee in the teeth with thy former sins because they know that God will not upbraid thee with them If thou hadst been never so scandalous if thou wouldst but heartily be Converted and come in
sinners if you will make good your way You see now with whom you have to deal What saist thou Unconverted sensual wretch Darest thou venture upon a dispute with God Art thou able to confute him Art thou ready to enter the lists God asketh thee Why wilt thou die Art thou furnished with a sufficient answer Wilt thou undertake to prove that God is mistaken and that thou art in the right O what an undertaking is that Why either he or you is mistaken when he is for your Conversion and you are against it He calls upon you to Turn and you will not He bids you do it presently even to day while it is called to day and you delay and think it time enough hereafter He saith it must be a total change and you must be holy and new creatures and born again and you think that less may serve the turn and that its enough to patch up the old man without becoming New Who is in the right now God or you God calleth on you to Turn and to Live an holy Life and you will not by your disobedient lives it appears you wil not If you will why do you not Why have you not done it all this while and why do you not fall upon it yet Your Wils have the command of your lives We may certainly conclude that you are unwilling to turn when you do not Turn And why will you not Can you give any Reason for it that is worthy to be called a Reason I that am but a worm your fellow creature of a shallow capacity dare challenge the wisest of you all to reason the case with me while I plead my Makers cause And I need not be discouraged when I know I plead but the cause that God pleadeth and contend for him that will have the best at last Had I but these two General Grounds against you I am sure that you have no good Reason on your side 1. I am sure it can be no good Reason which is against the God of Truth and Reason It cannot be Light that is contrary to the Sun There is no knowledge in any Creature but what it had from God and therefore none can be wiser then God It were damnable presumption for the highest Angel to compare with his Creator What is it then for a lump of dirt an ignorant sot that knoweth not himself nor his own soul that knoweth but little of the things which he seeth yea that is more ignorant then many of his neighbours to set himself against the wisdom of the Lord It is one of the fullest discoveries of the horrible wickedness of carnal men and the stark madness of such in sin that so silly a mole dare contradict his Maker and call in question the word of God Yea that those people in our Parishes that are so beastly ignorant that they cannot give us a reasonable answer concerning the very Principles of Relâ—gion are yet so wise in their own conceit that they dare question the plainest truths of God yea contradict them and cavil against them when they can scarce speak sense and will believe them no further then agreeth with their foolish wisdom 2. And aâ— I know that God must needs be in the right so I know the Case is so palpable and gross which he pleadeth against that no man can have reason for iâ— Is it possible that a man can have any Reason to break his Masters Laws and reason to dishonour the Lord of Glory and reason to abuse the Lord that bought him Is it possible that a man can have any good reason to damn his own Immortal soul Mark the Lords question Turn ye Turn ye Why will you die Is eternal death a thing to be de desired Are you in love with Hell What reason have you willfully to perish If you think you have some reason to sin should you not remember that death is the wages of sin Rom. 6.23 and think whether you have any Reason to undo your selves body and soul for ever You should not only ask whether you love the Adder but whether you love the sting It is such a thing for a man to cast away his everlasting happiness and to sin against God that no good reason can be given for it but the more any man pleads for it the madder he sheweth himself to be Had you a Lord-ship or a Kingdom offered you for every sin that you commit it were not reason but madness to accept it Could you by every sin obtain the highest thing on earth that flesh desireth it were of no considerable value to perswade you in reason to commit it If it were to please your greatest or dearest friends or to obey the greatest Prince on earth or to save your lives or to escape the greatest earthly Misery all these are of no consideration to draw a man in reason to the committing of one sin If it were a right hand or a right eye that would hinder your salvation it is the gainfullest way to cast it away rather then to go to Hell to save it For there 's no saving a part when you lose the whole So exceeding great are the matters of Eternity that nothing in this world deserveth once to be named in comparison with them Nor can any earthly thing though it were Life or Crowns or Kingdoms be a reasonable excuse for the neglect of matters of such higher and Everlasting Consequence A man can have no reason to cross his ultimate End Heaven is such a thing that if you lose it nothing can supply the want or make up your loss And Hell is such a thing that if you suffer it nothing can remove your misery or give you ease and comfort And therefore nothing can be a valuable consideration to excuse you for neglecting your own salvation For saith our Saviour What shall it profit a man to win all the world and lose his own soul Mark 8.36 Oh Sirs that you did but know what matters they are that we are now speaking to you of The Saints in Heaven have other kind of thoughts of these things If the Devil could come to them that live in the sight and love of God and should offer them a cup of Ale or a Whore or merry company or sports to tice them away from God and Glory I pray you tell me how do you think they would entertain the motion Nay or if he should offer them to be Kings on the earth Do you think this would tice them down from Heaven O with what hatred and holy scorn would they disdain and reject the motion And why should not you do so that have Heaven opened to your faith if you had but faith to see it There 's never a soul in hell but knows by this time that it was a mad exchange to let go heaven for fleshly pleasure and that it is not a little mirth or Pleasure or worldly riches or Honour or the good Will or Word
to come All this and more then this have you been told and told again even till you were a weary of hearing it and till you could make the lighter of it because you had so often heard it like the Smiths dog that is brought by custom to sleep under the noise of the hammers and when the sparks do fly about his ears and though all this have not converted you yet you are alive and might have mercy to this day if you had but hearts to entertain it And now let Reason it self be Judge whether it be long of God or you if after all this you be unconverted and be damned If you die now it is because you will die What should be said more to you Or what course should be taken that is liker to prevail Are you able to say and make it good We would fain have been converted and become new creatures but we would not we would fain have forsaken our sins but could not we would have changed our company and our thoughts and our discourse but we could not Why could you not if you would What hindered you but the wickedness of your hearts Who forced you to sin or who did hold you back from Duty Had not you the same teaching and time and liberty to be godly as your godly neighbours had Why then could not you have been godly as well as they Were the Church-doors shut against you or did you not keep away your selves or fit and sleep or hear as if you did not hear Did God put in any exceptions against you in his word when he invited sinners to return and when he promised mercy to those that do return Did he say I will pardon all that repent except thee Did he shut you out from the liberty of his holy worship Did he forbid you to pray to him any more then others You know he did not God did not drive you away from him but you forsook him and run away your selves And when he called you to him you would not come If God had excepted you out of the general promise and offer of mercy or had said to you Stand off I will have nothing to do with such as you Pray not to me for I will not hear you If you repent never so much and cry for mercy never so much I will not regard you If God had left you nothing to trust to but desperation then you had had a fair excuse You migh have said To what end should I repent and turn when it will do no good But this was not your case You might have had Christ to be your Lord and Saviour your Head and Husband as well as others and you would not because you felt not your selves sick enough for the Physitian and because you could not spare your disease In your hearts you said as those rebels Luke 19.14 We will not have this man to reign over us Christ would have gathered you under the wings of his salvation and you would not Mat. 23.37 What desires of your wel-fare did the Lord express in his holy word With what compassion did he stand over you and say O that my people had hearkened unto me and that they had walked in my waies Psal. 81.13 O that there were such a heart in this people that they would fear me and keep all my commandments alwaies that it might be well with them and with their children for ever Deut. 5.20 O that they were wise that they understood this and that they would consider their latter end Deut. 32.29 He would have been your God and done all for you that your souls could well desire but you loved the world and your flesh above him and therefore you would not hearken to him though you complemented with him and gave him high titles yet when it came to the closing you would have none of him Psal. 81.11 12. No marvel then if he gave you up to your own hearts lusts and you walked in your own counsels He condescended to reason and plead the case with you and ask you What is there in me or my service that you should be so much against me What harm have I done thee sinner Have I deserved this unkind dealing at thy hand Many mercies have I shewed thee for which of them dost thou thus despise me Is it I or is it Satan that is thy enemy Is it I or is it thy carnal self that would undo thee Is it an holy life or a life of sin that thou hast cause to fly from If thou be undone thou procurest this to thy self by forsaking me the Lord that would have saved thee Jer. 2.17 Doth not thy own wickedness correct thee and thy sin reprove thee that thou maist see that it is an evil and bitter thing that thou hast forsaken me Jer. 2.19 What iniquity have you found in me that you have followed after vanity and forsaken me Ier. 2.5 6. He calleth out as it were to the bruits to hear the controversie he hath against youâ— Mic. 2.3 4 5 Hear O ye mountains the Lords controversie and ye strong foundations of the earth for the Lord hath a Controversie with his people and he will plead with Israel O my people what have I done unto thee and wherein have I wearied thee testifie against me for I brought thee up out of Egypt and redeemed thee c. Hear O heavens and give ear O earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me The Ox knoweth his owner and the Ass his Masters crâ—b but Israel doth not knâ—w my people doth not consider Ah sinful Nation a people laden with iniquity a Seed of evil doers c. Isaiah 1.2 3 4. Do you thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise Is not he thy Father that bought thee Hath he not made thee and established thee Deut. 32.6 When he saw that you forsook him even for nothing and turned away from your Lord and Life to hunt after the chaffe and feathers of the world he told you of your folly and called you to a more profitable employment Isa. 55.1 2 3. Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which satisfieth not Hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight it self in fatness Enclinâ— your 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 unto me hear and yoâ—◠〈◊〉 shall live and I will make an â—verlasting Covenant with you even the sure mercies of David Seek ye the Lord while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon ver 6 7. And so Isa. 1.16 17 18. And when you would not hear what complaints have you put him to charging it on you as your
would kill him This is your case As far as you are gone in sin do but now Turn and Come to Christ and take his Remedies and your souls shall live Cast up your deadly sins by Repentance and return not to the poysonous vomit any more and you shall do well But yet if it were your bodies that we had to deal with we might partly know what to do for you though you would not consent You might be held or bound while the medicine were poured down your throats and hurtful things might be kept from you But about your souls it cannot so so we cannot Convert you against your wills There is no carrying mad men to Heaven in fetters You may be Condemned against your wills because you sinned with your wills but you cannot be saved against your wills The wisdom of God hath thought meet to lay mens salvation or destruction exceeding much upon the choice of their own wills that no man shall come to heaven that chose not the way to heaven and no man shall come to hell but shall be forced to say I have the thing I chose my own will did bring me hither Now if I could but get you to be willing to be throughly and resolvedly and Habitually willing the work were more then half done And alas must we lose our friends and must they lose their God their happiness their souls for want of this O God forbid It is a strange thing to me that men are so inhumanâ— and stupid in the greatest matters that in lesser things are very civil and courteous and good neighbours For ought I know I havâ— the Love of all or almost all my neighbours so far that if I should send to ever a man in the Town or Parish or Country and request a reasonable courtesie of them they would grant it me And yet when I come to request of them the greatest matter in the world for themselves and not for me I can have nothing of many of them but a patient hearing I know not whether people think a man in the pulpit is in good sadness or not and means as he speaks For I think I have few neighbour but if I were sitting familiarly with them and telling them of what I have seen or done or known in â—he world they would believe me and regard what I say But when I tell thee from the infallible word of God what they themâ—elves shall see and know in the world to come they shew by their â—â—â—ves that they do either not beleve it or not much regard it If I met ever an one of them on the way and told them Yonder is 〈◊〉 Cole pit or there 's a quick-sand or there are thieves lie in wait for you I could perswade them to turn by But when I tell them that Satan lyeth in wait for them and that sin is poison to them and that Hell is not a matter to be jested with they go on as if they did not hear me Truly neighbours I am in as good earnest with you in the Pulpit as I am in any familiar discourse and if ever you will regard me I beseech you let it be here I think there is never a man of you all but if my own soul lay at your wills you would be willing to save it though â— cannot promise that you would leave your sin for it Tell me thou Drunkard that art so crueâ— to me that speaks to thee that thou wouldst not forbear a few cups of drink if thou knewest it would save my soul from Hell Hadst thou rather I did burn there for ever then thou shouldst live soberly as other men do If so may I not say thou art an unmerciful monster and not a man If I came hungry or naked to one of your doors would you not part with more then a cup of drink to relieve me I am confident you would If it were to save my life I know you would some of you hazzard your own And yet will you not be entreated to part with your sensual pleasures for your own salvation Wouldst thou forbear an hundred cups of drink man to save my life if it were in thy power and wilt thou not do it to save thy own soul I profess to you Sirs I am as hearty a beggar with you this day for the saving of your own souls as I would be for my own supply if I were forced to come a begging to your doors And therefore if you would hear me then hear me now If you would pitty me then be intreated now to pitty your selves I do again beseech you as if it were on my bended knees that you would hearken to your Redeemer and turn that you may live All you that have lived in ignorance and carelesness and presumption to this day All you that have been drowned in the cares of the world and have no mind of God and eternal Glory all you that are enslaved to your fleshly desires of meats and drinks and sports and lusts and all you that know not the necessity of holiness and never were acquainted with the Sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost upon your souls that never embraced your blessed Redeemer by a lively faith and admiring and thankfuâ— apprehensions of his love and that never felt an higher estimation of God and Heaven and an hearâ—ier Love to them then to your fleshly prosperity and the things below I earnestly beseech you not only for my sake but for the Lords sake and for your souls sakes that you go not on one day longer in your former condition but look about you and cry to God for converting grace that you may be made new creatures and may escape the plagues that are a little before you And if ever you will do any thing for me grant me this request to Turn from your evil waies and live Deny me any thing that ever I shall ask you for my self if you will but grant me this And if you deny me this I care not for any thing else that you would grant me Nay as ever you will do any thing at the request of the Lord that made you and redeemed you deny him not this For if you deny him this he cares for nothing that you shall grant him As ever you would have him hear your prayers and grant your requests and do for you at the hour of death and day of judgement or in any of your extremities deny not his request now in the day of your prosperity Oh Sirs believe it Death and Judgement and Heaven and Hell are other matters when you come near them then they seem to carnal eyes afar off Then you would hear such a message as I bring you with more awakened regardful hearts WELL though I cannot hope so well of all will hope that some of you are by this time purposing to Turn and Live and that you are ready to ask me as the Jews did Peter Acts 2.37 when they were pricked
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
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
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
when the civiler sort do delude themselves by thinking that they are Converted already when they be not O Sirs Conversion is another kind of work then most are ware of It s not a small matter to bring an Earthly mind to Heaven and to shew man the amiable excellencies of God till he be taken up in such Love to him that never can be quenched to break the heart for sin and make him flie forrefuge unto Christ and thankfully embrace him as the lâ—fe of his soul to have the very drift and bent of the heart and life to be changed so that a man renounceth that which he took for his felicity and placeth his felicity where he never did before and liveth not to the same end and driveth not on the same design in the world as formerly he did in a word he that is in Christ is a new creature old things are past away behold all things are become new 2 Cor. 5.17 He hath a new understanding a new will and resolution new sorrows and desires and love and delight new thoughts new speeches new company if possible and a new conversation Sin that before was a jesting matter with him is now so odious and terrible to him that he flies from it as from death The world that was so lovely in his eyes doth now appear but as vanity and vexation God that was before neglected is now the only Happiness of his soul before he was forgotten and every lust preferred before him but now he is set next the heart and all things must give place to him and the heart is taken up in the attendance and observance of him and is grieved when he hides his face and never thinks it self well without him Christ himself that was wont to be slightly thought of is now his only hope and refuge and he liveth upon him as on his daily bread he cannot pray without him nor rejoyce without him nor think nor speak nor live without him Heaven it self that before was lookt upon but as a tolerable reserve which he hoped might serve turn as better then hell when he could not stay any longer in the world is now taken for his home the place of his only Hope and Rest where he shall See and Love and Praise that God that hath his heart already Hell that before did seem but as a bugbear to frighten men from sin doth now appear to be a real misery that is not to be ventured on nor jested with The works of holiness which before he was weary of and seemed to be more ado then needs are now both his recreation and his business and the trade that he lives upon The Bible which was before to him but almost as a common book is now as the Law of God as a Letter written to him from heaven and subscribed with the name of the Eternal Majesty it is the Rule of his thoughts and words and deeds the commands are binding the threats are dreadful and the promises of it speak life to his soul. The godly that seemed to him but like other men are now the excellentest and happyest on earth And the wicked that were his play-fellows are now his grief and he that could laugh at their sin is readyer now to weep for their sin and misery Psalm 16.3 15.4 Phil. 3.18 In short he hath a New End in his thoughts and a New Way in his endeavours and therefore his Heart and life is New Before his Carnal Self was his End and his pleasure and worldly Profits and Credit were his Way and now God and everlasting Glory is his End and Christ and the Spirit and Word and Ordinances Holiness to God and Righteousness and Mercy to men these are his Way Before Self was the chief Ruler to which the matters of God and Conscience must stoop and give place and now God in Christ by the Spirit Word and Ministry is the chief Ruler to whom both Self and all the matters of Self must give place So that this is not a change in one or two or twenty points but in the whole soul and the very end and Bent of the Conversation A man may step out of one path into another and yet have his face the same way and be still going towards the same place but t is another matter to turn quite back again and take his journey the clean contrary way to a contrary place So it is here A man may turn from drunkenness to thriftiness and forsake his good fellowship and other gross disgraceful sins and set upon some duties of Religion and yet be going still to the same End as before intending his carnal Self above all and giving it still the Government of his soul. But when he is Converted this Self is denyed and taken down and God is set up and his face is turned the contrary way and he that before was addicted to himself and lived to himself is now by Sanctification devoted to God and liveth unto God before he asketh himself what he should do with his time his parts and his estate and for himself he used them but now he asketh God what he shall do with them and he useth them for him Before he would Please God so far as might stand with the Pleasure of his flesh and Carnal Self but not to any great displeasure of them But now he will please God let Flesh and Self be never so much displeasd This is the great change that God will make upon all that shall be saved You can say that the Holy-Ghost is your Sanctifier but do you know what Sanctification is Why this is it that I have now opened to you and every man and woman in the world must have this or be condemned to everlasting misery They must Turn or Dye Do you believe all this Sirs or do you not Surely you dare not say you do not For t is past doubt or denyal These are not Controversies where one learned pious man is of one mind and another of another where one party saith this and the other saith that Papists and Aanbaptists and every Sect among us that deserve to be called Christians are all agreed in this that I have said and if you will not believe the God of Truth and that in a case where every sect and party do believe him you are utterly unexcusable But if you do believe this how comes it to pass that you live so quietly in an unconverted state Do you know that you are Converted and can you find this wonderful change upon your souls Have you been thus born again and made anew Be not these strange matters to many of you and such as you never felt upon your selves If you cannot tell the day or the week of your change or the very Sermon that Converted you yet do you find that the work is done and such a change indeed there is and that you have such hearts as are before described Alas the most do follow
their worldly business and little trouble their minds with such thoughts And if they be but restrained from scandalous sins and can say I am no whore-monger nor thief nor curser nor swearer nor tipler nor exâ—ortioner I go to Church and say my prayers they think that this is true Conversion and they shall be saved as well as any Alas this is foolish cheating of your selves This is too much contempt of an endless glory and too gross neglect of your immortal souls Can you make so light of Heaven and Hell Your corpses will shortly all lye in the dust and Angels or Devils will presently seize upon your souls and every man and woman of you all will shortly be among other company and in another case then now you are you will dwell in those houses but a little longer you will work in your shops and fields but a little longer you will sit in those seats and dwell on this earth but a little longer you will see with those eyes and hear with those ears and speak with those tongues but a little longer till the Resurrection day and can you make shift to forget this O what a place will you be shortly in of Joy or Torment O what a sight will you shortly see in Heaven or Hell O what thoughts will shortly fill your hearts with unspeakable Delight or Horrour What work will you be employed in to Praise the Lord with Saints and Angels or to cry out in fire unquenchable with Devils And should all this be forgotten And all this will be endless and sealed up by an unchangeable decree Eternity Eternity will be the measure of your Joyes or sorrows and can this be forgotten And all this is true Sirs most certain true when you have gone up and down a little longer and slept and awak't a few tunes more you 'l be dead and gone and find all true that now I tell you and yet can you now so much forget it You shall then remember that you heard this Sermon and that this day from this place you were remembered of these things and perceive them matters a thousand times greater then either you or I could here conceive and yet shall they be now so much forgotten Beloved friends if the Lord had not awakened me to believe and lay to heart these things my self I should have remained in the dark and selfish state and have perished for ever but if he have truly made me sensible of them it will constrain me to compassionate you as well as my self If your eyes were so far opened as to see Hell and you saw your neighbours that were Unconverted dragg'd thither with hideous cries though they were such as you accounted honest people on earth and feared no such matter by themselves such a sight would make you go home and think of it and think again and make you warn all about you as the damned worldling in Luke 16.28 would have had his Brethen warned lest they come to that place of torment Why faith is a kind of sight it is the eye of the soul the Evidence of things aot seen If I believe God it is next to seeing And therefore I beseech you excuse me if I be half as earnest with you about these matters as if I had seen them If I must die to morrow and it were in my power to come again from another world and tell you what I had seen would you not be willing to hear me and would you not believe and regard what I should tell you If I might preach one Sermon to you after I am dead and have seen what is done in the world to come would you not have me plainly speak the truth and would you not crowd to hear me and would you not lay it to heart but this must not be God hath his appointed way of teaching you by Scripture and Ministers and he will not humour Unbelievers so far as to send men from the dead to them and to alter his establisht way if any man quarrel with the Sun God will not humour him so far as to set him up a clearer light Friends I beseech you regard me now as you would do if I should come from the dead to you for I can give you as full assurance of the truth of what I say to you as if I had been there and seen it with my eyes For its possible for one from the dead to deceive you but Jesus Christ can never deceive you the Word of God delivered in Scripture and sealed up by the Miracles and holy workings of the Spirit can never deceive you Believe this or believe nothing Believe and obey this or you are undone Now as ever you believe the Word of God and as ever you care for the salvation of your souls let me beg of you this reasonable request and I beseech you deny me not that you would without any more delay when you are gone from hence remember what you heard and enter into an earnest search of your hearts and say to your selves Is it so indeed must I Turn or Die Must I be Converted or Condemned It s time for me then to look about me before it be too lâ—te Oh why did I not look after this till now Why did I venturously poste off or flubber over so great a business Was I awake or in my wits Oh blessed God what a mercy is it that thou didst not cut off my life all this while before I had any certain hope of eternal life Well God forbid that I should neglect this work any longer What state is my soul in Am I Câ—nverted or am I not Was ever such a change or work done upon my soul Have I been illuminated by the Word and Spirit of the Lord to see the odiousness of sin the need of a Saviour the Love of Christ and the Excellencies of God and Glory Is my heart broken or humbled within me for my former life Have I thankfully entertained my Saviour and Lord that offered himself with pardon and life to my soul Do I hate my former sinful life and the remnant of every sin that is in me Do I flie from them as my deadly enemies Do I give up my self to a life of Holiness and Obedience to God Do I love it and delight in it Can I truly say that I am dead to the world and carnal self and that I live for God and the Glory which he hath promised Haâ—h Heaven more of my Estimation and Resolution then Earth And is God the dearest and the Highest in my soul Once I am sure I lived principally to the world and flâ—sh and God had nothing but some heartless services which the world could spare and which were the leavings of the flesh Is my heart now turned another way Have I a new design and a new end and a new train of holy affectâ—ons Have I set my hopes and heart in heaven And is it now the scope and design
not that they are dead If once thou wert made alive thou wouldst see more amiss in thy self and marvell at thy self for making so light of it Object 7. I think you would make men mad under pretence of Converting them It is enough to rack the brains of simple people to muse so much on matters too high for them Answ. 1. Can you be madder then you are already or at least can there be a more dangerous madness then to neglect your everlasting welfare and wilfully undo your selves 2. A man is never well in his wits till he be converted He never knows God nor knows sin nor knows Christ nor knows the world nor himself nor what his business is on earth so as to set himself about it till he be converted The Scripture saith that the wicked are unreasonable men 2 Thes. 3.2 and that the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God 1 Cor. 1.20 and Luke 15.17 it s said of the Prodigal that when he came to himself he resolved to Return It s a wise world when men will disobey God and run to Hell for fear of being out of their wits 2. What is there in the work that Christ calls you to that should drive a man out of his wits Is it the Loving of God and calling upon him and comfortable thinking of the glory to come and the forsaking of our sins and loving one another and delighting our selves in the service of God are these such things as should make men mad 3. And whereas you say that these matters are too high for us you accuse God himself for making this our work and giving us his word and commanding all that will be blessed to meditate in it day and night Are the matters which we were made for and which we live for too high for us to meddle with This is plainly to unman us and to make beasts of us as if we were like them that must meddle with no higher matters then what belongs to flesh and earth If heaven be too high for you to think on and provide for it will be too high for you ever to possess 4. If God should sometimes suffer any weak-headed person to be distracted by thinking of eternal things this is because they misunderstand them and run without a guide and of the two I had rather be in the case of such a one then of the mad unconverted world that take their distraction to be their wisdom Object 8. I do not thâ—nk that God cares so much what men think or speak or do as to make so great a matter of it Answ. It seems then you take the word of God to be false and then what will you believe But your own reason might teach you better if you believe not the Scriptures For you see God set not so light by us but that he vouchsafed to make us and still preserveth us and daily upholdeth us and provideth for us And will any wise man make a curious frame for nothing will you make or buy a Clock or Watch and daily look to it and not care whether it go true or false Surely if you believe not a particular eye of providence observing your hearts and lives you cannot believe or expect any paricular providence to observe your wants and trouble to relieve You. And if God had so little cared for you as you imagine you would never have lived till now An hundred diseases would have striven which should first destroy you Yea the Devils would have haunted you and fetcht you away alive as the great fishes devour the less and as Ravenous birds and beasts devour others You cannot think that God made man for no end or use And if he made him for any it was sure for himself And can you think he cares not whether his ends be accomplished and whether we do the work that we are made for Yea by this Atheistical objection you make God to have made and upheld all the world in vain For what are all other lower Creatures for but for man What doth the earth but bear us and nourish us and the beasts do serve us with their labours and lives and so of the rest And hath God made so glorious a habitation and set man to dwell in it and made all his servants and now doth he look for nothing at his hands nor care how he thinks or speaks or lives This is most unreasonable Object 9. It was a better world when men did not make so much ado in Religion Answ. It hath ever been the custom to praise the times past That world that you speak of was wont to say it was a better world in their fore-fathers dayes and so did they of their fore-fathers This is but an old custom because we all feel the evil of our own times but we see not that which was before us 3. Perhaps you speak as you think Worldlings think the world is at the best when it is agreeable to their minds and when they have most mirth and worldly pleasure And I doubt not but the Devil as well as you would say that then it was a better world for then he had more service and less disturbance But the world is at the best when God is most loved regarded and obeyed And how else will you know when the world is good or bad but by this Object 10. There are so many waies and Religions that we know not which to be of and therefore we will be even as we are Answ. Because there are many will you be of that way that you may be sure is wrong None are further out of the way then worldly fleshly Unconverted sinners For they do not only err in this or that opinion as many sects do but in the very scope and drift of their lives If you were going a journey that your life lay on would you stop or turn again because you met with some cross waies or because you saw some travellers go the horse way and some the foot way and some perhaps break over the hedge yea and some miss the way or would you not rather be the more careful to enquire the way If you have some servants that know not how to do your work right and some that are unfaithful would you take it well at any of the rest that would therefore be idle and do you no service because they see the rest so bad Object 11. I do not see that it goes any better with those that are so godly then with other men They are as poor and in as much trouble as others Answ. And perhaps in much more when God sees it meet They take not earthly prosperity for their wages They have laid up their treasure and hopes in another world or else they are not Christians indeed The less they have the more is behind and they are content to wait till then Object 12. When you have said all that you can I am resolved tohope well and trust in
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
wilfulness and stubbornness Ier. 2.12 13. Be astonished O heavens at this and be horribly afraid For my people have committed two evils they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and hewed them out cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water Many a time hath Christ proclaimed that free invitation to you Revel 22.17 Let him that is a thirst come and whoever will let him take the water of life freely But you put him to complain after all his offers They will not come to me that they may have life Iohn 5.40 He hath invited you to feast with him in the Kingdom of his grace and you have had excuses from your grounds and your cattel and your worldly business and when you would not come you have said you could not and provoked him to resolve that you should never taste of his Supper Luke 14.15 to 25. And who is it long of now but your selves and what can you say is the chief cause of your damnation but your own Wills You would be damned The whole case is laid open by Christ himself Prov. 1. from the 20. to the end Wisdom cryeth without she uttereth her voice in the streets she crieth in the chief place of Concourse How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge Turn ye at my reproofs behold I will pour out my spirit unto you I will make known my words unto you Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my hands and no man regarded but ye have set at naught all my counsel and would none of my reproofs I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind when distress and anguish cometh upon you then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but they shall not find me For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsels they despised all my reproof Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices For the turning away of the simple shall stay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them But who so hearkeneth to me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from the fear of evil I thought best to recite the whole text at large to you because it doth so fully shew the cause of the destruction of the wicked It is not because God would not teach them but because they would not learn It is not because God would not Call them but because they would not Turn at his reproof Their wilfulness is their undoing Vse FRom what hath been said you may further learn these following things 1. From hence you may see not only what blasphemy and impiety it is to lay the blame of mens destruction upon God but also how unfit these wicked wretches are to bring in such a charge against their Maker They cry out upon God and say He gives them not grace and his threatnings are severe and God forbid that all should be damned that be not Converted and Sanctified and they think it hard measure that a short sin should have an endless suffering and if they be damned they say they cannot help it When in the mean time they are busie about their own destruction even cutting the throat of their own souls and will not be perswaded to hold their hands They think God were cruel if he should damn them and yet they are so cruel to themselves that they will run into the fire of Hell when God hath told them it is a little before them and neither intreaties nor threatnings nor any thing that can be said will stop them We see them almost undone Their careless worldly fleshly lives do tell us that they are in the power of the Devil we know if they die before they are Converted all the world cannot save them and knowing the uncertainty of their lives we are afraid every day lest they drop into the fire And therefore we intreat them to pitty their own souls and not to undo themselves when mercy is at hand and they will not hear us We intreat them to cast away their sin and come to Christ without delay and to have some mercy on themselves but they will have none And yet they think that God must be cruel if he condemn them O wilful wretched sinners It is not God that is cruel to you it is you that are cruel to your selves You are told you must Turn or burn and yet you Turn not You are told that if you will needs keep your sins you shall keep the Curse of God with them and yet you will keep them You are told that there is no way to Happiness but by Holiness and yet you will not be Holy What would you have God say more to you What would you have him do with his Mercy He offereth it you and you will not have it You are in the ditch of sin and misery and he would give you his hand to help you out and you refuse his help he would cleanse you of your sins and you had rather keep them You love your lust and love your gluttony and sports and drunkenness and will not let them go Would you have him bring you to Heaven whether you will or no Or would you have him bring you and your sins to heaven together Why that 's an impossibility you may as well expect he should turn the Sun into Darkness What! an unsanctified fleshly heart be in Heaven it cannot be There entreth nothing that is unclean Revel 21.27 For what Communion hath light with darkness or Christ with Belial 2 Corinth 6.14 15. All the day long hath he stretched out his hand to a disobedient and gain saying people Romans 10.25 What will you do now Will you cry to God for mercy why God calleth upon you to have mercy upon your selves and you will not Ministers see the poysoned cup in the drunkards hand and tell him There is poyson in it and desire him to have Mercy on his soul and forbear and he will not hear us drink it he must and will he loves it and therefore though Hell come next he saith he cannot help it What should one say to such men as these We tell the ungodly careless worldling It is not such a life that will serve the turn or ever bring you to Heaven If a Bear were at your back you would mend your pace and when the curse of God is at your back and Satan and Hell are at your back will you not stir but ask what needs all this ado Is an immortal soul of no more worth O have mercy upon your selves But they will have no mercy on themselves nor once regard us We tell them the end will be bitter Who can dwell with the