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should but come and speak over this text to you, that I am preaching: "Verily, except you be converted, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven," would you yield, or would you not? If you would not, you are hardened with a witness. If you would, let me follow my question a little further with you. Should not the written word of Christ himself, and the voice of his messengers that speak in his name, and all the judgments and mercies that second these; I say, should not all these prevail with you as much, and more than an angel's voice? You have here the protestation, or vehement asseveration of the Lord himself, and should not that be of greatest authority with us? Angels are but servants of Christ and ministering spirits for the good of his elect: would you hear them, and will you not hear their master? Would you hear an unusual messenger, and will you not learn in Christ's appointed way? If it be a doctrine to be received from angels, tell me, if you can, why it should not be received now from the word of God, and from his ministers ?

Quest, 10. The last question that I shall now trouble you with, is this; Do you think that man who after all this shall refuse to turn to God, and after all this shall remain unconverted, will have any just excuse before the Lord? Or will he not be left speechless, and under the condemnation of his own conscience for ever? Is it any pity to cast away that man, that will without all pity cast away himself, and no saying will serve him, and no reason will satisfy him? Or when he is convinced and silenced, yet for all that will not be converted? When it is their own doing, and they were their own undoing; and when God did not spare for cost and persuasion to have done them good; and when he shall say after all, as in Isa. v. 4. "What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?" What should I have said more to this sinner, than I have said? What plea is left for such a sinner? Or what can he say why he should not be sentenced to perdition? Will you say you did it ignorantly, or you had no warning? You cannot it. Indians may say it, and many barbarous nations of the world may say it; but England cannot say it, nor you that hear me cannot say it. You have warning after warning, and all said to you that we knew how to say, that was

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likely to move the heart of a sinner. Will you say that you were not able, because it was a work above your power? Why, you cannot thus excuse your sin for if you had been but truly willing, you might have done it? Your disability lay in your obstinate unwillingness. Are you willing this day, unfeignedly willing, to turn to God, or are you not? If you be, you will return without delay. For if you are willing, who can hinder you? But if you be not truly willing, how can you say, that you would have done it if you could? Or how can you excuse yourselves by your disability? Unwillingness is a disability which excuseth no men, but aggravateth their sin. If you could have said that you would have returned with all your hearts, but were not able for all that you were willing, then you had some excuse; but now you have nothing to say for yourselves.

Object. We know there is no pleading for ourselves, nor any excuse to be made with God, but yet we hope we may be saved for all that?

Ansu. How can you have any hope, if you have no ground of hope to shew? If you have no reason to give against the sentence of your condemnation, how can you think to escape it? God is just, and will judge in righteousness according to his word; and they that have not now a title in the word for their justification at judgment, shall never be there justified, whatsoever they may dream.

Beloved hearers, I have been all this while pleading with you by the reasons of the word of God, to see if it were possible for me to persuade you to yield to the light, and be converted, that you may live. I have meant you no harm, unless salvation be your harm. The threatening of the Scripture, and the miserable state of unconverted souls were all this while before me, which moved me to use so many persuasions with you. Have I prevailed with you, or have I not? Are you resolved for conversion, fully resolved, or are you not? God bath all this while stood by and heard what I have said to you, and seeth now what answer is in your hearts, and what effect these words have had. Shall all this be lost? And when we have said all that we can, must we sit down in sorrow, and say, who hath believed our reports? Is there one man or woman of you that dare go on in an unconverted state, and draw back from God, and loiter out your

time, and still return to your former sins after all that I have said? If you do so, do it at your peril; and when you find yourselves in hell, remember the sermons that have been preached to you on this text, and blame not me, but your wilful negligence. Think not much that I bid you remember these sermons when you find yourselves in hell, for you shall do it then, whether you will or not. There is not a soul of you that shall live or die in an unconverted state, but shall remember the warnings that I have now and formerly given you. Sermons will be remembered in hell, that are forgotten on earth; and they that were weary to hear them here, and would not be at the small labour to repeat them, or hear them repeated, or else ponder in secret of what they heard, shall there think of it, and think again to their sorrow. As Abraham said to the condemned worldling, "Remember that thou in thy life receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus his evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented "." So shall you remember the time, and means, and warnings that you once had. If you ask me how I know that? Why because the word of God doth tell me, that the consciences of wicked men will be their accusers P. And that they shall mourn at the last, and say, "How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof, and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me?" And many other Scriptures assure me of the same. O how much better were it now to believe the Lord, and foresee this evil, and think of your way while you have opportunity to escape? How much safer were this for you! And how much more pleasing would it be to God and us? O do not cast away your souls, and displease God, and all the true friends you have, only to please the devil and your flesh! Let me urge you a little further in the words of your Maker, and I charge you to regard them, as you will answer the contempt of them at your peril. Did you never observe how God doth pity the stir that poor sinners make in the world for nothing, and the unprofitable trade of sinning that they drive on, and how he inviteth them to himself, as the true gain and felicity? Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto

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q Prov. v. 11—13.

me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear and your soul shall live "." "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes: cease to do evil; learn to do well. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow"." "How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity? And ye scorners delight in scorning? And fools hate knowledge? Turn ye at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you." "Turn ye even to me with all your hearts; with fasting, and weeping, and mourning : rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful to them that turn, but not to them that go on in their iniquity".' When a wicked man turneth away from his wickedness, which he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth; wherefore turn yourselves and live ye *." The like I recited to you from Ezek. xxxiii. 11.

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These are the calls of the God of mercy, inviting you into the way wherein his saving mercy is only to be found. O how glad would many thousands be that are now past hope, if they had but the call of God to repent, as you have this day! How glad should you be that you have such an offer, and that it is not yet too late? And therefore how cheerfully should you yield to be converted? I shall in conclusion say but this; If ever a man or woman of you all shall appear before the Lord in judgment, in a carnal, unconverted state, after all the warnings you have received, I hope God will not charge it upon me, who faithfully, though weakly, endeavoured to prevent it.

r Isa. lv. 1-3. u Josh. ii. 12.

s Isa. i. 16.

x Ezek. xviii. 23. 30-32.

Prov. i. 22, 23.

CHAPTER VII,

By this time I hope many of you are willing to be converted, and are ready to inquire what you should do to that end? and whether there be any thing on your parts to be done that may further it? And in hope that you are willing, I shall next proceed to give you my best advice herein. And if it were so that you could do nothing to further it, because I am sure you may do much to hinder it, and have done all this while, or else it had been better with you than it is; therefore I shall shew you what are the common hindrances of conversion, which you must carefully endeavour to remove or conquer; and with them I shall adjoin the contrary directions, which concern your necessary duty to this end. And though some of their contraries are real parts of conversion, yet the reason that I mention them here is, because the not yielding to the initial acts in the understanding, is the hindrance of the completive acts on the heart and life.

Hindrance 1. The first hindrance of conversion that I shall warn you of, is, The wilful neglect of those ordinary means which God hath appointed for the work of conversion. When God will give any man saving grace, ordinarily he will do it by the means of grace. He that hath appointed his ordinances to that end, will so far stand to his own appointment, and honour his own ordinances, as to work by them, and not ordinarily without them. If men therefore will not use God's means, no wonder if they go without his grace. For, 1. Such are out of the way of grace, and when they avoid the causes, they cannot in reason look for the effects. 2. And moreover, they do provoke God to withhold and deny his grace when they set so light by it, as that they will not so much as use the means to get it. A man by the help of common grace may see the absence and the necessity of special grace, and may do something in the use of means to obtain it if he will; and when men will not so far use their common grace, it is just with God to deny them special grace. For example:

(1.) One particular means of conversion, is, The hearing of the word preached by the ministers of Christ in the pub

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