prove ineffectual; not because grace was wanting to us, but because we were wanting to grace: as the sun in its meridian brightness cannot make a man see, if he will shut his eyes and obstinately wink hard against it. I now proceed,

Thirdly, To lay before you the justice of God in withdrawing the slightest offers of his grace.

Simon, Simon, (saith our blessed Lord) behold Satan hath desired to have thee, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. The devil is not more vigilant to work our destruction, than the Spirit of God is to defeat his attempts. But when men are obstinately attached to the enemy, and betray the succours of grace; when neither the judgments of God can learn them righteousness, nor his goodness lead them to repentance, then the controversy is decided. Just is it with God to give them up as unworthy of his future care.

The doctrine of God's consigning men over to a reprobate mind, in pursuance of an absolute irrespective decree, draws consequences after it too horrid to be mentioned, and turns his gracious dealings with men into downright mockery. Contrary to this pernicious doctrine, how does the good God wait that he may be gracious? Pay attendance upon us through the tedious stages of our folly and vanity; knocking at the door of our hearts, and importuning for admittance? How does he become a supplicant to his creatures, and court the work of his own hand? He that shed tears

at the grave of Lazarus; wept over the city of Jerusalem, saying, O Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean, when shall it once be? In what affectionate and endearing terms does he expostulate with them: Why will ye die? As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth; turn yourselves and live! How often would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would keep my commandments always, that it might be well with them and their seed for ever.

Now, if all the methods of his goodness cannot reform them; if all his loving kindness be repaid with ingratitude and contempt; and the offers of his grace produce no other effect than abuse and scorn; no wonder if God withdraw his mercy from us, and shut up his loving kindness in displeasure.

We may expect, that like an abused friend, he will ply us no more with unwelcome importunities, but suffer the unkind design against ourselves to prosper. And what injustice can we charge this proceeding with, which amounts to no more than, after many unsuccessful and neglected offices of kindness, to cease contending with wretches who will not be persuaded to their own advantage? Which leads me to the

Fourth and last proposal, which is to consider the dreadful condition of those from whom the grace of God is withdrawn.

A condition, such as might justify the liberty of the speaker, should he use those peremptory words of Elisha, concerning Benhadad, king of

Syria, The Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die. For how can their case be other than desperate, whom the unerring physician of our souls hath given over unto death, as men who have no appetite to do good; have lost all sense of their duty, and in whom the spiritual pulse is gone? They would not accept of God's grace to prevent their sins, and now they are denied that grace to repent of them. They have extinguished the light of reason, blotted out the law of their nature, and effaced the notions of good and evil. And what principle, I pray, remains to curb and restrain the violence of their lusts? What should hinder, but that they go on with an uninterrupted sanguine security, to work all manner of iniquity and uncleanliness with greediness; treasuring up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath; which, when the measure of their iniquity is filled up, shall come upon them to the

uttermost.

Sleep on now and take your rest, are the words of the Son of Man to his disciples, when the hour was come that he should be taken away from them. And if we are deaf to the repeated calls of the holy Spirit; if they cannot rouse us to watchfulness and prayer; the time will come when he shall be taken away from us, and then we shall be suffered to sleep on, and take our rest, 'till we awake either in this or another world (not to escape) but to see our eternal destruction. Then, perhaps, we shall call upon God, but he will not hear, or if he vouchsafe us any answer, we must expect that sarcastical

L

killing reproach: Ye have forsaken me, and served other Gods; go, cry unto the Gods whom ye have served.

Thus I have gone through all the particulars at first proposed. Let me now intreat a little. more of your patience, whilst I make a short application of what has been said.

Now the foregoing discourse should persuade us (from a sense of our own weakness and insufficiency) to watch and pray incessantly for the divine assistance; plying earnestly at the throne of Grace, that it would please the Almighty, who knoweth whereof we are made, to grant us the help of his grace, to enlighten our understandings that we may know, and incline our wills that we may pursue the things that belong to our peace. Of the success of these addresses we cannot doubt, being warranted by our Lord himself thus to argue: If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy spirit to them that ask him? But then, we must meet all his assistances with a ready compliance, welcome every suggestion of this blessed Monitor, lest he withdraw the slighted offers of his mercy, and make no further attempts upon men, too hard to be softened, too desperate to be reclaimed.

Justice, we know, is as much a perfection of the divine Nature as Mercy, because both are infinite. 'Tis our privilege, and cost him dear who purchased it for us, that from offended Justice we may appeal to Mercy; but Mercy despised and outraged, whither shall we turn, or

where shall we seek for refuge. If grace and salvation itself be abused and turned into wantonnness, who or what shall save us from the wrath to come?

Who knows how far the measure of his iniquity is from being filled up? Who can ascertain the time when the diffinitive irreversible doom shall pass upon him? Who knows, but being advanced thus towards the regions of death, the next step may sink us to such a depth from whence there is no return.

To conclude; since there is no judgment, short of hell, like that of being given up to our own hearts lusts, and suffered to walk after our own counsels, let us pray, in the words of our Liturgy, that God would "deliver us from hardness of heart, and contempt of his word and commandments; that he would be pleased to work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure, that so we may work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and receive the reward of that grace which was not bestowed upon us in vain in the realms of everlasting glory.