ing it. Either they know it not to be a Duty, or at leaft not to be their Duty. If this be thy Cafe, Reader, I am in Hope thou art now acquainted with thy Duty, and wilt fet upon it.

to

$9. DON'T object to this Duty, that you are unable manage an Exhortation; but either fet thofe on the Work who are more able, or faithfully and humbly ufe the fmall Ability you have, and tell them, as a weak Man may do, what God fays in his Word.Decline not the Duty, because it is your Superior who needs Advice and Exhortation. Order must be difpenfed with in Cafes of Neceffity. Though it be a Hufband, a Parent, a Minifter, you must teach him in fuch a Cafe. If Parents are in Want, Children muft relieve them. If a Hufband be fick, the Wife muft fill up his Place in Family-Affairs. If the Rich are reduced to Beggary, they must receive Charity. If the Phyfician be fick, fome Body must look to him. So the meanest Servant muft admonish his Mafter, and the Child his Parent, and the Wife her Husband, and the People their Minifter; fo that it be done when there is real Need, and with all poffible Humility, Modefty, and Meeknefs.Don't fay, this will make us all Preachers; for every good Chriftian is a Teacher, and hath a Charge of his Neighbour's Soul Every Man is a Phyfician, when a regular Phyfician cannot be had, and when the Hurt is fo fmall that any Man may relieve it; and in the fame Cafes every Man must be a Teacher.— defpair of Success. Cannot God give it? And muft it not be by Means?-Don't plead, it will only be cafting Pearls before Swine. When you are in Danger to be torn in Pieces, Chrift would have you forbear; but what is that to you that are in no fuch Danger? As long as they will hear, you have Encouragement to speak, and may not caft them off as contemptible Swine

15

-Don't

Swine. Say not, it is a Friend on whom I much depend, and by telling him his Sin and Mifery, I may lofe lis Love, and be undone. Is his Love more to be valued than his Safety? or thy own Benefit by him, than the Salvation of his Soul? or wilt thou connive at his Damnation, because he is thy Friend? Is that thy beft Requital of his Friendship? Hadft thou rather he fhould burn in Hell for ever, than thou shouldft lofe his Favour, or the Maintenance thou haft from him?

§ 10. (III) BUT that all who fear God may be excited to do their utmost to help others to this blessed Reft, let me intreat you to confider the following Motives. As for Inftance.- Not only Nature, but

fpecially Grace, difpofes the Soul to be communicative of Good. Therefore to neglect this Work is a Sin both against Nature and Grace. Would you not think him unnatural, that would fuffer his Children or Neighbours to ftarve in the Streets, while he has Provifion at Hand? And is not he more unnatural, that will let them eternally perifh, and not open his Mouth to fave them? An unmerciful, cruel Man, is a Monster to be abhorred of all. If God had bid you give them all your Eftates, or lay down your Lives, to fave them, you would furely have refused, when you will not beftow a little Breath to fave them. Is not the Soul of a Hufband, or Wife, or Child, or Neighbour, worth a few Words? Cruelty to Men's Bodies is a moft damnable Sin; but to their Souls much more, as the Soul is of greater Worth than the Body, and Eternity than Time. Little know you what many a Soul may now be feeling in Hell, who died in their Sins, for Want of your faithful Admonition.- Confuler what Chrift did towards the faving of Souls. He thought them worth his Blood; and hall we not think them worth our Breath? Will you

not

not do a little, where Chrift hath done fo much?Confider what fit Objects of Pity ungodly Souls are. They are dead in Trefpaffes and Sins, have not Hearts to feel their Mife:ies, nor to pity themfelves. If others do not pity them, they will have no Pity; for it is the Nature of their Difeafe to make them pitylefs to themselves, yea their own most cruel Destroyers.

-Confider it was once thy own Cafe. It was God's Argument to the Ifraelites, to be kind to Strangers, because themselves had been Strangers in the Land of Egypt. So fhould you pity them that are Strangers to Chrift, and to the Hopes and Comforts of the Saints, because you were once Strangers to them your felves.

-Confider your Relation to them. It is thy Neighbour, thy Brother, whom thou art bound to love as thyfelf. He that loveth not his Brother whom he feeth daily, doth not love God whom he never faw. And doth he love his Brother, that will fee him go to Hell, and never hinder him?

$11. Confider what a Load of Guilt this Neglect lays upon thy own Soul. Thou art guilty of the Murder and Damnation of all thofe Souls whom thou doft thus neglect; and of every Sin they now commit; and of all the Dishonour done to God thereby; and of all thofe Judgments which their Sins bring upon the Town or Country where they live.

Confider what it will be, to look upon your poor Friends in eternal Flames, and to think that your Neglect was a great Caufe of it. If you fhould there perifh with them, it would be no fmall Aggravation of your Torment. If you be in Heaven, it would fure be a fad Thought, were it poffible that any Sorrow could dwell there, to hear a Multitude of poor Souls cry out for ever, "O, if you would but have told me "plainly of my Sin and Danger, and fet it home, I 86 might have efcaped all this Torment, and been 1 6

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66 now in Reft!" What a fad Voice will this be! -Confider what a Joy it will be in Heaven, to meet thofe there, whom you have been the Means to bring thither. To fee their Faces, and join with them for ever in the Praifes of God, whom you were the happy Inftruments of bringing to the Knowledge and Obedience of Jefus Chrift!--Confider how many Souls you may have drawn into the Way of Damnatim, or hardened in it. We have had, in the Days of our Ignorance, our Companions in Sin, whom we enticed, or encouraged. And doth it not become us, to do as much to fave Men, as we have done to deftroy them? Confider how diligent are all the Enemies of thefe poor Souls to draw them to Hell. The Devil is tempting them Day and Night: Their inward Lufts are fill working for their Ruin: The Flesh is ftill pleading for its Delights: Their old Companions are increafing their Diflike of Holinefs. And if no Body be diligent in helping them to Heaven, what is like to become of them?

$12. -Confider how deep the Neglect of this Duty will wound, when Confcience is awakened. When a Man comes to die, Confcience will afk him, "What "Good haft thou done in thy Life-Time? The

faving of Souls is the greateft good Work; what "haft thou done towards it? How many haft thou "dealt faithfully with?" I have oft obferved, that the Confciences of dying Men very much wound them for this Omiffion. For my own Part, when I have been near Death, my Confcience hath accused me more for this than for any Sin: It would bring every ignorant profane Neighbour to my Remem brance, to whom I never made known their Danger: It would tell me, thou fhouldt have gone to them

in private, and told them plainly of their defperate Danger, though it had been when thou shouldt

have

you may.

"have eaten or flept, if thou hadft no other Time." Confcience would remind me, how at fuch, or fuch a Time, I was in Company with the Ignorant, or was riding by the Way with a wilful Sinner, and had a fit Opportunity to have dealt with him, but did not; or at least did it to little Purpose. The Lord grant I may better obey Confcience while I have Time, that it may have lefs to accufe me of at Death!Confider what a feasonable Time you now have for this Work. There are Times in which it is not fafe to fpeak; it may coft you your Liberties, or your Lives. Besides, your Neighbours will shortly die, and fo will you. Speak to them therefore while -Confider, tho' this is a Work of greatest Charity, yet every one of you may perform it. The pooreft, as well as the Rich. Every one hath a Tongue to speak to a Sinner.Once more, confider the happy Confequences of this Work where it is faithfully done. You may be inftrumental of faving Souls, for which Chrift came down and died, and in which the Angels of God rejoice. Such Souls will blefs you here and hereafter. God will have much Glory by it. The Church will be multiplied and edified by it. Your own Souls will enjoy more Improvement and Vigour in a divine Life, more Peace of Confcience, 'more rejoicing in Spirit. Of all the perfonal Mercies that I ever received, next to the Love of God in Chrift to my own Soul, I must moft joyfully blefs him for the plentiful Succefs of my Endeavours upon others. O what Fruits then might I have feen, if I had been more faithful! I know we need to be very jealous of our deceitful Hearts in this Point, left our rejoicing fhould come from our Pride. Naturally we would have the Praise of every good Work afcribed to ourfelves: Yet to imitate our Father in Goodness and Mercy, and to rejoice in the Degree of them we