3. What pity is it, that you should do that against yourselves which none else in earth or hell can do! If all the world were combined against you, or all the devils in hell were combined against you, they could not destroy you without yourselves, nor make you sin, but by your own consent. And will you do that against yourselves which none else can do. You have hateful thoughts of the devil, because he is your enemy, and endeavoureth your destruction. And will you be worse than devils to yourselves? Why thus it is with you, if you had hearts to understand it; when you run into sin, and run from godliness, and refuse to turn at the call of God, you do more against your own souls than men or devils could do besides. And if you should set yourselves, and bend your wits to do yourselves the greatest mischief, you could not devise to do a greater.

4. You are false to the trust that God hath reposed in you. He hath much intrusted you with your own salvation; and will you betray your trust? He hath set you with all diligence to keep your hearts; and is this the keeping of them *.

5. You do even forbid all others to pity you, when you will have no pity on yourselves. If you cry to God in the day of your calamity, for mercy, mercy; what can you expect, but that he should thrust you away, and say, 'Nay, thou wouldst not have mercy on thyself; who brought this upon thee but thine own wilfulness?' And if your brethren see you everlastingly in misery, how should they pity you, that were your own destroyers, and would not be dissuaded.

6. It will everlastingly make you your own tormentors in hell, to think on it, that you brought yourselves wilfully to that misery. O, what a griping thought it will be for ever, to think with yourselves, that this was your own doing. That you were warned of this day, and warned again, but it would not do; that you wilfully sinned, and turned away from God; that you had time as well as others, but you abused it; you had teachers as well as others, but you refused their instructions: you had holy examples, but you did not imitate them: you were offered Christ, grace, and glory as well as others, but you had more mind to fleshly pleasures: you had a prize in your hands, but had not a heart to lay it out.

Prov. iv. 23.

y Prov. xvii. 16

Can it choose but torment you, to think of this your present folly? O that your eyes were opened to see what you have done in the wilful wronging of your own souls! And that you better understood those words of God, Prov. viii. 33-35. "Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord: but he that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own soul; all they that hate me, love death."

And now I am come to the conclusion of this work, my heart is troubled to think how I shall leave you, lest after this the flesh should deceive you, and the world and the devil should keep you asleep, and I should leave you as I found you, till you awake in hell. Though, in care of your poor souls, I am afraid of this, as knowing the obstinacy of a carnal heart, yet I can say with the prophet Jeremiah, “I have not desired the woeful day, the Lord knoweth "." I have not with James and John, desired that fire might come down from heaven, to consume them that refused Jesus Christ. But it is the preventing of the eternal fire that I have been all this while endeavouring: and O that it had been a needless work! That God and conscience might have been as willing to spare me this labour, as some of you could have been. But dear friends, I am so loath you should lie in everlasting fire, and be shut out of heaven, if it be possible to prevent it, that I shall once more ask you, What do you now resolve? Will Turn or Die? I look upon you you as a physician on his patient, in a dangerous disease, that saith unto him, Though you are so far gone, take but this medicine, and forbear but these few things that are so hurtful to you, and I dare warrant your life; but if you will not do this, you are a dead man.' What would you think of such a man, if the physician and all the friends he hath, cannot persuade him to take one medicine to save his life, or to forbear one or two poisonous things that 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 your poisonous vomit any more, and you

y Jer. xvii. 16.

shall do well. But yet if it were your bodies, that we had to deal with, we might partly know what to do with you. Though you would not consent, you might be held or bound, while the medicine was poured down your throats, and hurtful things might be kept from you. But about your

souls it cannot be so; we cannot convert you against your wills. There is no carrying madmen 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 men's salvation or destruction exceeding much upon the choice of their own wills: that no man shall come to heaven that choose 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 thoroughly, and resolvedly, and habitually willing, the work were more than 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 inhuman and stupid in the greatest matters, that in lesser things are very civil and courteous, and good neighbours. For aught I know, I have the love of all, or almost all my neighbours, so far, that if I should send to every man in the town, or parish, or country, and request a reasonable courtesy of them, they will 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 neighbours, but if I were sitting familiarly with them, and telling them of what I have seen or done, or known in the world, they would believe me, and regard what I say; but when I tell them from the infallible word of God, what they themselves shall see and know in the world to come, they shew by their lives that they do either not believe it, or not much regard it. If I met ever an one of them on the way, and told them, yonder is a coal-pit, or there is a quicksand, or there are thieves lay in wait for you, I could persuade them to turn by. But when I tell them that satan lieth in wait for them, and that sin is

And

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 I cannot promise that you would leave your sins for it). Tell me thou drunkard, art thou so cruel 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, than 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 than 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) hazard your own. yet will not be entreated to part with your sensual pleasures for your own salvation? Wouldst thou forbear a 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 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 pity me then, be entreated now to pity yourselves. 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 carelessness, and presumption, to this day; and 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, 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 with admiring and thankful apprehensions of his love, and that never felt a higher estimation of God and heaven, and a heartier love to them, than to your fleshly prosperity, and the things below: I earnestly beseech you, not only for my sake, but for the Lord's sake,

I do

and for your soul's sake, 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 ways and live: deny me any thing that ever I shall ask you for myself, 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 judgment, or in any of your extremities, deny not his request now in the day of your prosperity. O sirs, believe it, death and judgment, and heaven and hell, are other matters when you come near them, than they seem to carnal eyes afar off. Then you will hear such a message as I bring you, with more awakened, regardful hearts.

Well, though I cannot hope so well of all, I 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, when they were pricked to their hearts, and said, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" How might we come to be truly converted? We are willing, if we did but know our duty. God forbid that we should choose destruction, by refusing conversion, as hitherto we have done.'

If these be the thoughts and purposes of your hearts, I say of you, as God did of a promising people, "They have well said, all that they have spoken: O that there was such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always "." Your purposes are good: O that there were but a heart in you to perform these purposes! And in hope thereof, I shall gladly give you direction what to do, and that but briefly, that you may the more easily remember it for your practice.

Direct. 1. If you would be converted and saved, labour to understand the necessity and true nature of conversion;