and bent of my heart and life to get well to heaven and see the glorious face of God and live in his everlasting Love and Praise And when I sin is it against the very habitual bent and design of my heart And do I conquer all gross sins and am I weary and willing to be rid of mine infirmities This is the state of a Converted soul. And thus must tâ— be with me or I must perish Is it thus indeed with me or is it not It s time to get this doubt resolved before the dreadful Iudge resolve it I am not such a stranger to my own heart and life but I may somewhat perceive whether I am thus Converted or not if I be not it will do me no good to flatter my soul with false conceits and hopes I am resolved no more to deceive my self but to endeavour to know truly off or on whether I be Converted yea or no that If I be I may rejoyce in it and glorifie my gracious Lord and comfortably go on till I reach the Crown and if I am not I may set my self to beg and seek after the Grace that should convert me and may turn without any more delay For if I find in time that I am out of the way by the help of Christ I may turn and be recovered but if I stay till either my heart be forsaken of God in blindness and hardness or till I be catcht away by death it s then too late There is no place for Repentance and Conversion then I know it must be now or never Sirs this is my request to you that you will but take your hearts to task and thus examine them till you see if it may be whether you are Converted or not and if you cannot find it out by your own endeavours go to your Ministers if they be faithful and experienced men and desire their assistance The matter is great let not bashfulness nor carelesness hinder you They are set over you to advise you for the saving of your souls as Physitians advise you for the curing of your bodies It undoes many thousands that they think they are in the way to salvation when they are not and think that they are Converted when it is no such thing And then when we call to them daily to Turn they go away as they came and think that this concerns not them for they are turned already and hope they shall do well enough in the way that they are in at least if they do pick the fairest path and avoid some of the foulest steps when alas all this while they live but to the world and flesh and are strangers to God and Eternal life and are quite out of the way to Heaven And all this is much because we cannot perswade them to a few serious thoughts of their Condition and to spend a few hours in the examining of their states Is there not many a self-deceiving wretch that heareth me this day that never bestowed one hour or quarter of an hour in all their lives to examine their souls and try whether they are truly Converted or not O merciful God that will care for such wretches that care no more for themselves and that will do so much to save them from Hell and help them to Heaven who will do so little for it themselves If all that are in the way to Hell and in a state of damnation did but know it they durst not continue in it The greatest hope that the Devil hath of bringing you to damnation without a rescue is by keeping you blindfold and ignorant of your state and making you believe that you may do well enough in the way that you are in If you knew that you are out of the way to heaven and were lost for ever if you should die as you are durst you sleep another night in the state that you are in durst you live another day in it Could you heartily laugh or be merry in such a state What! And not know but you may be snatcht away to hell in an hour Sure it would constrain you to forsake your former company and courses and to betake your selves to the waies of Holiness and the Communion of the Saints Sure it would drive you to cry to God for a new heart and to seek help of those that are fit to counsel you There 's none of you sure that cares not for being damned Well then I beseech you presently make enquiry into your hearts and give them no rest till you find out your condition that if it be good you may rejoyce in it and go on and if it be bad you may presently look about you for recovery as men that believe they must Turn or Die What say you Sirs Will you resolve and promise to be at this much labour for your own souls Will you fall upon this self examination when you come home Is my request unreasonable Your consciences know it is not Resolve on it then before you stir Knowing how much it concerneth your souls I beseech you for the sake of that God that doth command you at whose Bar you will shortly all appear that you will not deny me this reasonable request For the sake of those souls that must turn or dye I beseech you deny me not even but to make it your business to understand your own Conditions and build upon sure ground and know off or on whether you are Converted or no and venture not your souls on negligent security But perhaps you 'l say What if we should find our selves yet unconverted what shall we do then This question leadeth me to my second Doctrine which will do much to the answering of it to which I shall now proceed Doct. 2. IT is the Promise of God that the wicked shall Live if they will but Turn Vnfeignedly and throughly Turn The Lord here professeth that this is it that he takes pleasure in that the wicked Turn and Live Heaven is made as sure to the Converted as Hell is to the Unconverted Turn and Live is as certain a truth as Turn or Dye God was not bound to provide us a Saviour nor open to us a door of hope nor call us to Repent and Turn when once we had cast our selves away by sin But he hath freely done it to magnifie his Mercy Sinners there 's none of you shall have cause to go home and say I preach desperation to you Do we use to shut up the door of Mercy against you O that you would not shut it up against your selves Do we use to tell you that God will have no mercy on you though you Turn and be Sanctified When did you ever hear a Preacher say such a word You that bark at the Preachers of the Gospel for desiring to keep you out of Hell and say that they Preach Desperation tell me if you can when did you ever hear any sober man say that there is no hope for you
thee to Return 5. It is the voice of the gracious examples of the Godly When thou seest them live a heavenly life and fly from the sin which is thy delight this really Calls on thee to Turn 6. It is the voice of all the Works of God For they also are Gods books that teach thee this lesson by shewing thee his Greatness and Wisdom and Goodness and Calling thee to observe them and admire the Creator Psal. 19.1 2. The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy work Day unto Day uttereth Speech night unto night sheweth Knowledge Every time the Sun riseth upon thee it really calleth thee to Turn as if it should say What do I travel and compass the world for but to declare to men the Glory of their Maker and to light them to do his work And do I still find thee doing the work of sin and sleeping out thy life in negligence Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Ephes. 5.14 The night is spent the day is at hand it is now high time to awake out of sleep Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light Let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkeness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envying but put ye on the Lord Iesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof Rom. 13.11 12 13 14. This Text was the means of Austins Coversion 7. It is the voice of every Mercy thou dost possess If thou couldst but hear and understand them they all cry out unto thee Turn Why doth the earth bear thee but to seek and serve the Lord why doth it afford thee its fruits but to serve him Why doth the air afford thee breath but to serve him Why do all creatures serve thee with their labours and their lives but that thou mightest serve the Lord of them and thee Why doth he give thee time and health and strength but for to serve him Why hast thou meat and drink and cloathes but for his service Hast thou any thing which thou hast not received And if thou didst receive them its reason thou shouldst bethink thee from whom and to what end and use thou didst receive them Didst thou never cry to him for help in thy distress and didst thou not then understand that it was thy part to Turn and serve him if he would deliver thee He hath done his part and spared thee yet longer and tryed thee another and another year and yet dost thou not Turn You know the Parable of the unfruitful fig-tree Luke 13.6 7 8 9. When the Lord had said Cut it down why cumbreth it the ground he was intreated to try it one year longer and then if it proved not fruitful to cut it down Christ himself there makes the application twice over ver 3. 5. Except ye Repent ye shall all likewise perish How many years hath God looked for the fruits of Love and Holiness from thee and hath found none and yet he hath spared thee How many a time by thy wilful ignorance and carelesness and disobedience hast thou provoked Justice to say Cut him down why cumbereth he the ground And yet mercy hath prevailed and Patience hath forborn the killing damning blow to this day If thou hadst the understanding of a man within thee thou wouldst know that all this calleth thee to Turn Dost thou think thou shalt still escaâ—e the Iudgement of God Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to Repentance but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy self wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous Iudgement of God who will render to every man according to his deeds Rom. 2.3 4.5 6. 8. Moreover it is the voice of every affliction to call thee to make haste and Turn Sickness and pain cry Turn and poverty and loss of friends and every twig of the chastising rod cry Turn and yet wilt thou not hearken to the Call These have come near thee and made thee feel they have made thee groan and can they not make thee Turn 9. The very frame of thy Nature and being it self bespeaketh thy Return Why hast thou Reason but to Rule thy flesh and serve thy Lord Why hast thou an understanding soul but to learn and know his will and do it Why hast thou an heart within thee that can love and fear and desire but that thou shouldst fear him and love him and desire after him 10. Yea thine own engagements by promise to the Lord do call upon thee to Turn and serve him Thou hast bound thy self to him by a Baptismal Covenant and renounced the world the flesh and the Devil this thou hast confirmed by the profession of Christianity and renewed it at Sacraments and in times of affliction And wilt thou promise and vow and never perform and Turn to God Lay all these together now and see what should be the issue The holy Scripture calls upon thee to Turn the Ministers of Christ do call upon thee to Turn The Spirit cries Turn thy Conscience cries Turn the godly by perswasions and examples cry Turn the whole world and all the creatures therein that are presented to thy consideration cry Turn The patient forbearance of God cries Turn All the Mercies which thou receivest cry Turn The rod of Gods chastisements cries Turn Thy reason and the frame of thy nature bespeaks thy Turning and so do all thy Promises to God And yet art thou not resolved to Turn 3. Moreover poor hard hearted sinner Didst thou ever consider upon what terms thou standest all this while with him that calleth on thee for to Turn Thou art his own and owest him thy self and all thou hast and may he not Command his own Thou art his absolute servant and shouldst serve no other Master Thou standest at his Mercy and thy life is in his hand and he is resolved to save thee upon no other terms thou hadst many malicious spiritual enemies that would be glad if God would but forsake thee and let them alone with thee and leave thee to their will how quickly would they deal with thee in another manner And thou canst not be delivered from them but by Turning unto God Thou art fallen under his wrath by thy sin already and thou knowest not how long his patience will yet wait Perhaps this is the last year perhaps the last day his sword is even at thy heart while the word is in thine ear and if thou Turn not thou art a dead and undone man Were thy eyes but open to see where thou standest even upon the brink of hell and to see how many thousands are there already that did not turn thou wouldst see that its time to look about thee
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
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
A CALL TO THE Unconverted TO Turn and Live AND Accept of Mercy while Mercy may be had as ever they would find Mercy in the day of their extremity From the Living God By his unworthy Servant RICHARD BAXTER To be Read in Families where any are Unconverted London Printed by R. W. for Nevil Simmons Book-seller in Kederminster and are to be sold by him there and by Nathaniel Ekins at the Gun in Pauls Church-Yard 1658. The Reason of this Work IN that short acquaintance I had with that Reverend Learned servant of Christ Bishop Vsher he was oft from first to last importuning me to write a directory for the several ranks of Professed Christians which might distinctly give each one their portion beginning with the Unconverted and then proceeding to the babes in Christ and then to the strong and mixing some special helps against the several sins that they are addicted to By the suddenness of his motion at our first congress I perceived it was in his mind before And I told him both that it is abundantly done by many already and that his unacquaintedness with my weakness might make him think me fitter for it then I was But this did not satisfie him but still he made it his request I confess I was not moved by his Reasons nor did I apprehend any great need of doing more then is done in that way nor that I was likely to do more And therefore I parted from him without the least purpose to answer his desire But since his death his words oft came into my mind and the great Reverence I bore to him did the more incline me to think with some complacency of his motion And having of late intended to write a Family Directory I began to apprehend how congruously the forementioned work should lead the way and the several conditions of mens souls be spoken of before we come to the several Relations Hereupon I resolved by Gods assistance to proceed in the order following First to speak to the impenitent Unconverted sinners who are not yet so much as purposing to Turn or at least are not setting about the work And with these I thought a wakening Perswasive was a more necessary means then meer Directions For Directions suppose men willing to obey them but the persons that we have first to deal with are wilful and asleep in sin and as men that are past feeling having given themselves over to sin with greediness Ephes. 4.19 My next work must be for those that have some purposes to Turn and are about the work to Direct them for a through and true Conversion that they miscarry not in the birth The third part must be Directions for the younger and weaker sort of Christians that they may be stablished built up and persevere The fourth part Directions for lapsed and back-sliding Christians for their safe recovery Besides these there is intended some short Perswasives and Directions against some specâ—al errours of the times and against some common killing sins As for Directions to Doubting troubled Consciences that is done already And the strong I shall not write Directions for because they are so much taught of God already And then the last part is intended more specially for Families as such Directing the several Relations in their Duties Some of these are already written whether I shall have life and leisure for the rest God only knoweth And therefore I shall publish the several parts by themselves as I write them and the rather because they are intended for men of different states and because I would not deter them by the bulk or price from reading what is written for their benefit The use that this part is published for is 1. For Masters and Parents to read often in their Families if they have servants or children that are yet unconverted 2. For all such Unconverted persons to read and consider of themselves 3. For the richer sort that have any pitty on such miserable souls to give to the unsanctified that need them if they have not fitter at hand to use and give The Lord awake us to work while it is day for the saving of our own and others souls in subserviency to the Blessed God the Maker the Redeemer and the Sanctifier of souls Rich. Baxter Decemb. 10. 1657. To all unsanctified persons that shall read this Book Especially of my Hearers in the Burrough and Parish of Kederminster Men and Brethren THE Eternal God that made you for a life Everlasting and hath Redeemed you by his only Son when you had lost it and your-selves being mindful of you in your sin and misery hath indited the Gospel and sealed it by his Spirit and commanded his Ministers to preach it to the world that pardon being 〈◊〉 offered you and Heaven bâ—ing â—ot before you he might call you off from your fleshly pleasures and from following after this deceitfull world and acquaint you with the life that you were Created and Redeemed for before you are dead and past remedy He sendeth not you Prophets or Apostles tâ—at receive their message by immediate Revelation but yet he calleth you by his ordinary Ministers who are Commissioned by him to preach the same Gospel which Christ and his Apostles first delivered The Lord standeth over you and seeth how you forget him and your latter end and how light you make of Everlasting things as men that understand not what they have to do or suffer He seeth how bold you are in sin and how fearless of his threatnings and how careless of your souls and how the works of Infidels are in your lives while the belief of Christians is in your mouths He seeth the dreadful day at hand when your sorrows will begin and you must lament all this with fruitless cries in torment and desperation and when the remembrance of your folly will tear your hearts if true Conversion now prevent it not in comparison of your sinful miserable souls the Lord that better knows your case then you can know it hath made it our duty to speak to you in his name 2 Corinth 5.19 and to tell yâ—u plainly of your sin and misery and what will be your end and how sad a change you 'l shortly see if yet you go on a little longer Having bought you at so dear a rate as the blood of his Son Iesus Christ and made you so free and general a promise of pardon and grace and everlasting glory he commandeth as to tender all this to you as the gift of God and to intreate you to consider of the necessity and worth of what he offereth He seeth and pittieth you while you are drowned in worldly cares and pleasures and eagerly following childish toyes and wasting that short and precious time for a thing of nought in which you should make ready for an everlasting life and therefore he hath commanded us to Call after you and tell you how you lose your labour and are about to lose your souls
see the right ordering of the Church and of the Ordinances of God but the power of sin in our people doth frustrate almost all Nowhere almost can a faithfull Minister set up the unquestionable Discipline of Christ or put back the most scandalous impenitent sinners from the Communion of the Church and participation of the Sacraments but the most of the people rail at them and revise them as if these ignorant careless souls were wiser then their teachers or then God himself and fitter to rule the Church then they And thus in the day of our visitation when God calls upon us to Reform his Church though Magistrates seem willing and faithful Ministers are willing yet are the multitude of the people still unwilling and sin hath so blinded them and hardned their hearts that even in these days of Light and Grace they are the obstinate enemies of Light and Grace and will not be brought by the Calls of God to see their folly and know what is for their good O that the people of England knew at least in this their day the things that belong unto their peace before they are hid from their eyes Luke 19.42 O fâ—olâ—sh miserable souls Gal. 3.1 who hath bewitched your minds into such madness and your hearts into such a deadness that you should be such mortal enemies to your selves and go on so obstinately towards damnation that neither the word of God nor the perswasions of men can change your minds or hold your hands or stop you till you are past remedy Well sinnerâ— this life will not last alwayes this patience will not wait upâ—n you still Do not think that you shall abuse your Maker and Redeemer and serve his enemies aâ—d debase your souls and trouble the world and wrong the Church and reproach the godly and grieve your Teachers and hinder reformation and all this upon free cost You know not yet what this must cost you but you must shortly know when the righteous God shall take you in hand who will handle you in another manner then the sharpest Magistrates or the plainest dealing Pastors did unless you prevent the everlasting torments by a sound conversion and iâ— speedy obeying of the Call of God He that hath an ear to hear let him hear while mercy hath a voice to Call One desperate Objection which I have after touched but with too much brevity I find sticks close to the hearts of many ungodly men They think that God doth not so much care what men think or say or do as we perswade them and therefore they care so little themselves For the convincing of such Atheistical men as these I shall propound these following Question 1. Dost thou think God careth whether thou be a man or not If not Who made thee and preserveth thee If he do then sure he careth whether thou behave thy self as a man No man is so foolish as to make any instrument or build an house or a ship and not to care when he hath done whether it be good for the use he made it for Do not for shame then impute such folly to the God of Wisdom as if he made so noble a creature as man and endowed him with such noble faculties and all for nothing and careth not what becometh of him when he hath done Why should God give thee a mind that can know him and a heart that can love him if he cared not whether thou know him and love him or not Do you not see that in the course of â—ature every thing is fitted to its use The beasts know not God nor are capable of loving him becaâ—se they were made for no such use but thy capacity shews that thou wast made for God and for a life to come 2. Dost thou think that God is everywhere present and infinite and Al-sufficient If not thou dost not believe that he is God And it is uâ—reâ—sonable to imagine that God hath made a world that is greater and more extensive or comprehensive then himself for none can communicate more then he hath But if thou aâ—t forced to confess that God is everywhere and as sufficient for every single mâ—n as if he had never another creature to regard you must needâ— confess then that he is not careless of the hearts and wayes of the Sons of men For they are things that are still before his eyes It is base and blasphemous thoughts of God as if he were limited absent or insufficient that makes men think him so regardless of their hearts and ways 3. Dost thou think that God careth what becomes of thy body Whether thou be sick or well whether thou live or die If not then how comest thou by thy life and health and mercies If they come from any other fountain-tell us from whence Is it not to God that thou prayest for life and health Darest thou say to him I will not depend upon thee I will not be beholden to thee for the life and mercies of another day If so then thou art a blinded Atheist But if thou think God cares for thy body canst thou think he cares not more for thy soul If he must regard to furnish thee with mercies he will sure have a regard whether thou Love and Live to him that gave them 4. Dost thou believe that God is the Governour of the world or not If not then there can be no rightfull Government For as no Iustice of Peace can have Power but from the Soveraign so no Soveraign can have power but from God nor be a lawful Governour but under him And then all the world would be turned into confusion But if thou must needs confess that God is the Governour of the world what an unwise unrighteous Governour wouldst thou make him if thou think that he regardeth not the hearts and ways of those whom he doth govern This still is but to deny him to be God 5. If God do not care so much what is in our hearts or what we do Why then would he make a Law for our hearts and words and ways Would he command us that which he doth not care for Would be so strictly forbâ—d us sin if he were indifferent whether we sin or no Would he promise eternal life to the holy and obedient if he care not whether we be holy and obedient or no would he threaten Hell to all that are ungodly if he care not whether we were godly or not Darest thou say that the Almighty Holy God is fain to rule the world by a Lie and to deceive men into obedience Yea the very Law of nature it self doth contain not only precepts of our duty but the Hopes and fears of a Life to come wâ—thout which the world could not be governed And certainly they are no deceits by which are infinite Wisdom and Power and Goodness doth govern the world 6. If God did not much regard our hearts and lives why doth he make all the world to be our Servants
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
much daunt them because they see not whither they are gone poor wretches they hold on in their ungodliness for all this for they little know that their companions are now lamenting it in torments In Luke 16. the rich man in hell would fain have had one to warn his five Brethren left they should come to that place of torment It s like he knew their minds and lives and knew that they were hasting thither and little dreamt that he was there yea and would little have believed one that would have told them so I remember a passage that a Gentleman yet living told me he saw upon a bridge over Severn A man was driving a flock of fat lambs and something meeting them and hindring their passage one of the Lambs leapt upon the wall of the bridge and his legs slipping from under him he fell into the stream the rest seeing him did one after one leap over the bridge into the stream and were all or almost all drowned Those that were behind did little know what was become of them that were gone before but thought they might venture to follow their companions but as soon as ever they were over the wall and falling headlong the case was altered Even so it is with Unconverted Carnal men One dyeth by them and drops into hell and another follows the same way and yet they will go after them because they think not whether they are gone Oh but when death hath once opened their eyes and they see what 's on the other side of the wall even in another world then what would they give to be where they were 6. Moreover they have a subtile malicious enemy that is unseen of them and playes his game in the dark and it is his principal business to hinder their Conversion and therefore to keep them where they are by perswading them not to believe the Scriptures or not to trouble their minds with these matters or by perswading them to think ill of a godly life or to think that it s more ado then needs and that they may be saved without Conversion and without all this stir and that God is so merciful that he will not damn any such as they or at least that they may stay a little longer and take their pleasure and follow the world a little longer yet and then let it go and repent hereafter And by such jugling deluding cheats as these the Devil keeps the most in his captivity and leadeth them to his misery These and such like impediments as these do keep so many thousands Unconverted when God hath done so much and Christ hath suffered so much and Ministers have said so much for their Conversion when their Reasons are silenced and they are not able to answer the Lord that calls after them Turn ye Turn ye Why will you die yet all comes to nothing with the greatest part of them and they leave us no more to do after all but to sit down and lament their wilful misery I Have now shewed you the Reasonableness of Gods commands and the unreasonableness of wicked mens disobedience If nothing will serve turn but men will yet refuse to Turn we are next to consider who it is long of if they be damned And this brings me up to the last Doctrine which is Doct. 7. THAT if after all this men will not Turn it is not long of God that they are condemned but of themselves even their own wilfulness They die because they will die that is because they will not Turn If you will go to hell what remedy God here acquits himself of your blood it shall not lie on him if you be lost A negligent Minister may draw it upon him and those that encourage you or hinder you not in sin may draw it upon them but be sure of it it shall not lie upon God Saith the Lord concerning his unprofitable Vineyard Isaiah 5.1 2 3 4. Iudge I pray you betwixt me and my Vineyard What could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it When he had planted it in a fruitful soil and fenced it and gathered out the stones and planted it with the choicest Vine What should he have done more to it He hath made you men and endued you with Reason he hath furnished you with all external necessaries all creatures are at your service He hath given you a righteous perfect Law When you had broke it and undone your selves he had pitty on you and sent his Son by a miracle of condescending mercy to die for you and be a sacrifice for your sins and he was in Christ reconciling the world to himself The Lord Jesus hath made you a deed of gift of himself and eternal life with him on the condition you will but accept it and return He hath on this reasonable condition offered you the free pardon of all your sins he hath written this in his Word and sealed it by his Spirit and sent it you by his Ministers they have made the offer to you an hundred and an hundred times and called you to accept it and to turn to God They have in his name entreated you and reasoned the case with you and answered all your frivolous objections He hath long waited on you and slaid your leisure and suffered you to abuse him to his face He hath mercifully sustained you in the midst of your sin he hath compassed you about with all sorts of mercies He hath also intermixt afflictions to mind you of you folly and call you to your wits And his spirit hath been often striving with your hearts and saying there Turn sinner Turn to him that calleth thee Whither art thou going What art thou doing Dost thou know what will be the end How long wilt thou hate thy friends and love thine enemies when wilt thou let go all and Turn and deliver up thy self to God and give thy Redeemer the possession of thy soul When shall it once be These pleadings have been used with thee And when thou hast delayed thou hast been urged to make hast and God hath called to thee To day while it is called to day harden not thy heart Why not now without any more delay Life hath been set before you The Joyes of Heaven have been opened to you in the Gospel The Certainty of them hath been manifested The certainty of the everlasting Torments of the damned hath been declared to you Unless you would have had a sight of Heaven and Hell what could you desiâ—â— more Christ hath been as it were set forth crucified before your eyes Gal. 3.1 You have been an hundred times told that you are but lost men till you come unto him As oft have you been told of the evil of sin of the vanity of sin the world and all the pleasures and wealth it can afford of the shortness and uncertainty of your lives and the endless duration of the Joy or Torment of the life