against his will, (and then where were his omnipotency?) Or he must change his will, (and then where were his immutability?)

Sinner, wilt thou not give up thy vain hope of being saved in this condition? Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? Or the rocks moved out of their place? Job xviii. 4. May I not much more reason so with thee? Shall the laws of heaven be reversed for thee? Shall the everlasting foundations be overturned? Shall Christ put out the eye of his Father's omnisciency, or shorten the arm of his eternal power, for thee? Shall divine Justice be violated for thee? or the glory of his holiness be blemished?-O_the impossibility, absurdity, blasphemy, that is in such a confidence! To think Christ will ever save thee in this condition, is to make thy Saviour to become a sinner, and to do more wrong to the infinite Majesty than all the devils in hell ever did or could do; and yet wilt thou not give up such a blasphemous hope?

II. Against his word. We need not say, Who shall ascend into heaven, to bring down Christ from above? Or who shall descend into the deep, to bring up Christ from beneath? The word is nigh us. Are you agreed that Christ shall end the controversy? Hear then his own words; Except you be converted, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven, Matt. xviii. 3. You must be born again, John iii. 7. If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me, John viii. 8. Repent or perish, Luke xiii. 3. One word, one would think, were enough from Christ; but how often and earnestly doth he reiterate it! Verily, verily, except a man be born again, he shall not see the kingdom of God, John iii. 3, 5. And wilt thou yet believe thy own presumptuous confidence, directly against Christ's words? He must go quite against the law of his kingdom, to save thee in this state.

. III. Against his oath. He hath lifted up his hand to heaven, he hath sworn, that those that remain in unbelief, and know not his ways, (that is, are ignorant

of them, or disobedient to them,) shall not enter into his rest, Psal. xcv. 11. Heb. iii. 18. And wilt thou not yet believe, O sinner, that he is in earnest? Canst thou hope he will be forsworn for thee? The covenant of grace is confirmed by an oath, and sealed by blood, Heb. vi. 17. Matt. xxvi. 28. But all must be made void, if thou be saved living or dying unsanctified.

IV. Against his honour. God will so show his love to the sinner, as withal to show his hatred to sin; therefore he that names the name of Jesus must depart from iniquity. And he that hath hope of life by Christ, must purify himself as he is pure. The Lord Jesus would have all the world to know, that though he pardons sin, he will not protect it.

V. Against his offices. God hath exalted him to be a Prince and a Saviour. He would act against both, should he save men in their sins: it is the office of a king, to be a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well. He is a Minister of God, an avenger, to execute wrath on him that doeth evil. Now should Christ favour the ungodly, (so continuing,) and take those to reign with him that would not that he should reign over them, Luke xix. 27. this would be quite against his office. What king would take rebels in open hostility into his court? What were this but to betray life, kingdom, government, and all together?

Again; as Christ would not be a Prince, so neither would he be a Saviour, if he should do this; for his salvation is spiritual: he is called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins; so that should he save them in their sins, he would be neither Lord nor Jesus.

Application. Arise then; what meanest thou, O sleeper? Awake, O secure sinner! Lest thou be consumed in thine iniquities: say as the lepers, If we sit here we shall die. Verily, it is not more certain that thou art now out of hell, than that thou shalt speedily be in it, except thou repent and be converted. There is this one door for thee to escape by. Arise

How

then, O sluggard, and shake off thine excuses. long wilt thou slumber, and fold thy hands to sleep? Wilt thou lie down in the midst of the sea, or sleep on the top of the mast? There is no remedy, but thou must either turn or burn. There is an unchangeable necessity of the change of thy condition, except thou art resolved to abide the worst of it, and to try it out with the Almighty. If thou lovest thy life, O man, arise and come away!

Oh, how wilful will thy destruction be, if thou shouldst yet harden thyself in thy sinful state? But none of you can say but you have had fair warning. Yet methinks I cannot tell how to leave you so. It is not enough for me to have delivered my own soul. What! shall I go away without my errand? Will none of you arise and follow me? Have I been all this while speaking to the wind? Have I been charming the deaf adder? If you be men, and not senseless stocks, stand still and consider whither you are going: if you have the reason and understanding of men, dare not to run into the flames, and fall into hell with your eyes open, but bethink yourselves, and set to the work of repentance. What! men, and yet run into the pit, when the very beasts will not be forced in! What! endowed with reason, and yet dally with death and hell, and the vengeance of the Almighty! Will you not hasten your escape from eternal torments? O show yourselves men, and let reason prevail with you: is it a reasonable thing for you to contend against the Lord your Maker? Or, to harden yourselves against his word, as though the strength of Israel would lie? Is it reasonable that an understanding creature should lose, yea, live quite against the very end of his being, and be as a broken pitcher, only fit for the dunghill? Hear, O heavens, and give ear, Ò earth, and let the creatures without sense be judges if this be reason, that man, whom God hath nourished and brought up, should rebel against him! Judge in your own selves; is it a reasonable understanding for briars and thorns to set themselves in battle against

the devouring fire? Isa. xxvii. 4.; or for the potsherd of the earth to strive with its Maker?

What shall I say? I could spend myself in this argument. O that you would but hearken to me! And that you would presently set upon a new course! Will you not be made clean? When shall it once be? Reader, shall I prevail with thee for one? Wilt thou sit down and consider, whether it be not best to turn. Come and let us reason together: is it good for thee to be here? Wilt thou sit still till the time come upon thee? Is it good for thee to try whether God will be so good as his word, and to harden thyself in a conceit that all is well with thee, while thou remainest unsanctified?

O distracted sinners! What will their end be? What will they do in the day of visitation? Whither will they flee for help? Where will they leave their glory? Isa. x. 3. How powerfully hath sin bewitched them! How effectually hath the god of this world blinded them! How strong is the delusion! how uncircumcised their ears! how obdurate their hearts! Satan hath them at his beck. But how long may I call, and get no answer? Though I tell them there is death in the cup, yet they will take it up; though I tell them 'tis the broad way, and endeth in destruction, yet they will go on in it; I warn them, yet cannot win them. Sometimes I think the mercies of God will melt them, and his winning invitations will overcome them; but I find them as they were: sometimes that the terror of the Lord will persuade them; yet neither will this do it. I am to them as the lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, yet I cannot get them to come under Christ's yoke. What shall I do for the daughter of my people? O Lord God, help! Alas, shall I leave them thus! If they will not hear me, yet do thou hear me. O that they may yet live in thy sight! Lord save them, or else they perish. My heart would melt to see their houses on fire about their ears, when they were fast asleep in their beds; and shall not my soul be moved within me, to see

them falling into endless perdition! Lord, have compassion, and save them out of the burning; put forth thy divine power, and the work will be done: but as for me, I cannot prevail.

CHAP. IV.

Showing the MARKS of the Unconverted.

HELP, O all-searching Light, and let thy discerning eye discover the rotten foundation of the selfdeceiver: and lead me, O Lord God, as thou didst the prophet, into the chambers of Imagery, and dig through the wall of sinners' hearts, and discover the hidden abominations that are lurking out of sight. O send thy angel before me, as thou didst before Peter, and make even the iron gates to fly open of their own accord. And as Jonathan no sooner tasted the honey but his eyes were enlightened; so grant, O Lord, that when the poor deceived souls shall cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated, and their consciences awakened, that they may see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and be converted, and thou mayest heal them!

This must be premised, that 'tis certain men may have a confident persuasion that their hearts and states are good, and yet be unsound. Yea, they may be confident they are rich, and increased in grace. There is a generation that are poor in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness, Prov. xxx. 12. So that they are miserably deceived that take a strong confidence for a sufficient evidence. They that have no better proof than a strong persuasion that they are converted, are certainly strangers to conversion.

But some of the unconverted carry their marks in their forehead more openly; and some in their hands more covertly. The apostle reckons up some upon whom he writes the sentence of death; as in these dreadful catalogues, which I beseech you to attend to with all diligence, Eph. v. 5, 6. For this you know