patched it? How have I spent my time, my thoughts, my words; and how shall I answer for them? Am I ready to die, it were this hour? Am I sure of my salvation? Is my soul converted, and truly sanctified by the Holy Ghost? If not, what reason have I to delay? Why do I not set about it, and speedily resolve? Shall I linger till death come and find me unconverted? O then what a sad appearance shall I make before the Lord! And thus follow on the discourse with your hearts. What say you, sirs? Will you here promise me to bestow but some few hours, if it be but on the Lord's day, or when you are private on the way, or in your beds, or in your shops, in these considerations? I beseech you, as ever you will do any thing at my request, deny me not this request. It is nothing that is unreasonable. If I desired one of you to spend an hour in talking with me, you would grant it; yea, or if it were to ride or go for me: and will you not be entreated to spend now and then a little time in thinking of the matters of your own salvation? Deny not this much to yourselves; deny it not to God, if you will deny it me. Should you not bethink you a few hours, of the place and state that you must live in for ever? Men will build strong, where they think to live long; but a tent or a hut will serve a soldier for a few nights.O sirs, everlasting is a long day. In the name of God, let not conscience have such a charge as this against you hereafter: Thou art come to thy long home, to thy endless state, before ever thou spentest the space of an hour, in deep, and sad, and serious considerations of it, or in trying thy title to it. O what a confounding charge would this be! I am confident I have the witness of your consciences going along with me, and telling you, it is but reasonable, yea, and needful, which I say. If yet you will not do it, and I cannot beg one hour's sober discourse in secret, between you and your hearts, about these things, then what remedy, but even to leave you to your misery? But I shall tell you in the conclusion, that I have no hope of that soul that will not be persuaded to this duty of con

sideration; but if I could persuade you to this reasonable, this cheap, this necessary work, and to follow it close, I should have exceeding great hopes of the salvation of you all. I have told the truth: consider what I say, and the Lord give you understanding!— Or if you put me to conclude in harsher terms, they shall still be the oracles of God. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you.-Psalm 1. 22.

The next direction which I shall give you, that the work of your conversion may not miscarry, is this: See that the work of humiliation be thoroughly done, and break not away from the Spirit of contrition, before he have done with you: and yet see that you mistake not the nature and the ends of the work, and that you drive it not on further than God requireth you.

And

Here I shall, 1. Show you the true nature of humiliation. And, 2. The use and ends of it. And, 3. The mistakes about it that you must avoid. *lastly, I shall press on the substance of the direction, and show you the necessity of it.

1. There is a preparatory humiliation that goes before a saving change, which yet is not to be despised, because there is a drawing somewhat nearer unto God, though it be not a faithful closure with him. This preparatory humiliation, which many have that perish, doth chiefly consist in these things following: 1. It lieth most in the fear of being damned; as it is most in the passions, so most in this of fear. 2. It consisteth also in some apprehension of the greatness of our sins, and the wrath of God that hangs over our heads, and the danger that we are in of being damned for ever. 3. It consisteth also in some apprehensions of the folly that we are guilty of in sinning, and of some repentings that ever we did it, and some remorse of conscience for it. 4. Hereto may be joined some passions of sorrow, and this expressed by groans and tears. 5. And all this may be accompanied with confessions of sin to God and man, and lamentations for our misery, and in some measure it proceedeth to desperation itself.

6. And lastly, It may proceed to an indignation against ourselves, and to the taking a severe revenge of ourselves; yea, more than God would have men take; as Judas did by self-destroying. This desperation of self-execution, are no parts of the preparatory humiliation; but the excess and error of it, and the entrance upon hell.

See that you close with the Lord Jesus Christ understandingly, heartily, and entirely, as he is revealed and offered to you in the gospel. In this your Christianity doth consist; upon this your justification and salvation lie. This is the sum of your conversion, and the very heart of your new creature. The rest is all but the preparatives to this, or the fruits of this. Christ is the end and the fulfilling of the law; the substance of the gospel; the way to the Father; the life, the help, the hope, of the believer. If you know not him, you know nothing; if you possess not him, you have nothing; and if you are out of him, you can do nothing that hath a promise of salvation.

I beseech you therefore remember what it is to be truly converted: It is to be called from things common and unclean, and separated to God; it is to be brought nigh to him, as the children of his household, that are themselves, and all that they have, in his hands; it is to be taken off yourselves, and your own, and to lose yourselves, and all you have, in God, by the most gainful loss; lest indeed you lose yourselves, and all the while you persuade yourselves you save or gain. It is a taking God in Christ for your all, and so being content to have nothing but him, and for him. It is a changing of your old master, self, for God, a better master; and your old work, which was self-seeking and self-pleasing, to self-denial, and to the seeking and pleasing of God. See now that this be done, and that your treacherous hearts hide nothing for themselves, as Rachel, under pretence of necessity, hid her idols; but say, Here I am, to be thine, O Lord, and to do thy will.

My next advice, that the work of conversion may

not miscarry, is this: Take heed, lest you mistake a mere change of your opinions, and outward profession and behaviour, for a true saving change.

Wicked opinions must be changed, and so must evil professions and outward practices: but if no more be changed, you are wicked still. I have great cause to fear that this is the most common damning deceit that befalleth professors of godliness, and that it is the case of most hypocrites in the church. A man may be brought to hold any truth in scripture as an opinion, and so far be sound and orthodox; and yet never be indeed a sound believer, nor have his heart possessed with the life and power of those sacred truths. It is one thing to have a man's opinion changed, and another thing to have his heart renewed by the change of his practical estimation, resolutions, and dispositions. It is one thing to turn from loose profane opinions, to strict opinions; and think the godly are indeed in the right, and that their case and way is safest and best; and it is another thing to be made one of them in newness and spirituality of heart and life. A lively faith differs much from opinion; and that which is in unholy men, which we call faith, and is a kind of faith indeed, is but a mere opinionative faith. I call it an opinionative faith, because it differs from saving faith, much like as opinion doth from knowledge. Merely speculative it is not; for some intention of practice there is: But the practical intention of such persons differs from the predominant intention of the sanctified, even as their opinionative faith differs from the saving faith.

O what abundance of poor neighbours would go to heaven, that are now in the way to hell, if an opinion that godliness is the wisest course would serve the turn! If instead of conversion, God would take up with an opinion that they ought to turn; and if instead of a holy heavenly life, God would accept of an opinion, that such are the happiest men that live such a life; and if instead of temperance, and meekness, and selfdenial, and forgiving wrongs, God would accept of an

opinion and confesson, that they should be temperate and meek, and self-denying, and should forbear others, and forgive them; then O what abundance would be saved, that are now in little hope of salvation! If instead of a diligent life of holiness, and good works, it would serve the turn to lie still, and be of a good opinion, that men should strive and labour for salvation, and lay out all they have for God; how happy then were our towns and countries, in comparison of what they are!

I am afraid this deceit will be the undoing of many, that they take a change of their opinions for a true conversion. Have not some of you been formerly of the mind, that the best way is to eat and drink, and be merry, and venture your souls, and follow your worldly business, and never trouble yourselves with any deep and searching thoughts about your spiritual state, or your salvation? Have you not thought that this diligent godliness is but a needless strictness and preciseness? And have you not since been convinced of your error, and perceived that this is the wisest course, which you before thought to be needless, and thereupon have betaken you to the company of the godly, and set upon a course of outward duties? And now you think that you are made new creatures, and that this is regeneration, and the work is done. I fear lest this be all the conversion that many forward professors are acquainted with: but woe to them that have no more!

And because the face of our present times doth plainly show the commonness and the prevalency of this disease, and because it is a matter of so great concernment to you, I shall here give you (but as briefly as I well can) some signs by which a true conversion may be known, from this mere opinionative change

1. The true convert is brought to an unfeigned hatred of the whole body of sin; and especially of those secret or beloved sins, that did most powerfully captivate him before. But the opinionative convert