knowing how much it concerneth your fouls. I beseech you, for the fake of that God that doth command you, at whose bar you will shortly all appear, that you will not deny me this reafonable requeft; for the fake of those fouls that must turn or die, I beseech you deny me not; even but to make it your business to underftand your own conditions, and build upon fure ground, and know, off or on, whether you are converted or not, and venture not your fouls on negligent fecurity.

SERMON II.

EZEK. Xxxiii. II.

Say unto them, As I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleafure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways, for, why will ye die, O houfe of Ifrael?

TRUE defcription of thofe who are in a converted ftate has already been given you; the change which converfion makes in the foul has alfo been described and the request is moft earnestly repeated to you, impartially and thoroughly to confider your condition: Reft not fatisfied, till you know whether you are indeed converted.

But perhaps you will fay, what if we fhould find ourfelves yet unconverted, what fhall we do then?This question leadeth me to my fecond doctrine, which will do much to the answering of it, to which I fhall now proceed.

Doct. 2. It is the promife of God, that the wicked fhall live, if they will turn; unfeignedly and thoroughly turn.

The Lord here profeffeth that this it is that he takes pleasure in, that the wicked turn and live. Heaven is made as fure to the converted, as hell is to the unconverted. Turn and live is as certain a truth as turn or die. God was not bound to provide us a Saviour, nor open to us a door of hope, nor call us to repent and turn when once we had caft ourselves away by fin, but he hath freely done it to magnify his mercy. Sinners, there are none of you fhall have caufe to go home and fay I preach despair to you. Do we use to fhut up the door of mercy against you? O that you would not fhut it up againft yourfelves! Do we ufe. to tell you, that God will have no mercy on you, though you turn and be fanctified? When did you ever hear a preacher fay fuch a word? You, that bark at preachers of the gofpel, for defiring to keep you out of hell, and fay that they preach defpair, tell me, if you can, when did you ever hear any fober man fay, that there is no hope for you though

you repent and be converted? No, it is the contrary that we proclaim from the Lord; and, whoever is born again, and by faith and repentance doth become a new creature, fhall certainly be faved: And fo far are we from perfuading you to despair of this, that we perfuade you not to make any doubt of it. It is life, and not death, that is the first part of our meffage to you, our commiffion is to offer falvation, certain falvation; a speedy, glorious, everlasting falvation, to every one of you; to the poorest beggar as well as to the greatest Lord; to the worft of you, even drunkards, fwearers, worldlings, thieves, yea to the defpifers and reproachers of the holy way of falvation. We are commanded by the Lord our mafter to offer you a pardon for all that is paft, if you will but now at laft return and live: We are commanded to befeech and intreat you, to accept the offer and return; to tell you what preparations are made by Chrift, what mercy ftays for you, what patience waiteth on you, what thoughts of kindness God hath towards you, and how happy, how certainly and unfpeakably happy, you may be if you will.-We have indeed alfo a meflage of wrath and death, yea, of a two-fold wrath and death; but neither of them is our principal meffage; we muft tell you of the wrath that is on you already, and the death that you are born under, for the breach of the law of works;

but this is but to fhew you the need of mercy, and provoke you to efteem the grace of the Redeemer. And we tell you nothing but the truth, which you must know: For, who will feek out for phyfic, that knows not that he is fick? Our telling you of your mifery is not it that makes you miferable, but driveth you out to feek for mercy. It is you that have brought this death upon yourfelves. We tell you also of another death; even remedilefs and much greater torment, that will fall on thofe that will not be converted. But, as this is true, and muft be told you, fo it is but the laft and faddeft part of our meffage. We are firft to offer you mercy if you will turn; and it is only thofe that will not turn, nor hear the voice of mercy, that we must foretel damnation to.. Will you but caft away your tranfgreffions, delay no longer, but come away at the call of Chrift, and be converted, and become new creatures, and we have not a word of damning wrath or death to fpeak against you. I do here, in the name of the Lord of life, proclaim to you, all that hear me this day, to the greateft, the oldest finner, that you may have mercy and falvation if you will but turn. There is mercy in God, there is fufficiency in the fatisfaction of Chrift, the promife is free, and full, and univerfal; you may have life, if you will but turn. But then, as you love your

fouls, remember what turning it is the fcripture fpeaks of. It is not to mend the old houfe, but to pull down all, and build a new on Chrift, the rock and fure foundation. It is not to mend fomewhat in a carnal course of life, but to mortify the flesh, and live after the spirit. It is not to ferve the flesh and the world in a more reformed way, without any fcandalous difgraceful fins, and with a certain kind of religioufnefs; but it is to change your mafter, and your works, and end, and fet your face the contrary way, and do all for the life that you never faw, and dedicate yourselves and all you have to God. This is the change that must be made, if you will live.

Yourselves are witneffes now, that it is falvation, and not damnation, that is the great doctrine I preach to you, and the first part of my meffage to you. Accept of this, and we hall go no farther with you; for we would not fo much as affright or trouble you with the name of damnation with out neceffity.

But if you will not be faved, there is no remedy, but damnation must take place; for there is no middle place between the two, you must have either life or death.

And we are not only to offer you life, but to fhew you the grounds on which we do it; and call you to believe that God doth mean indeed as he fpeaks that the promife is true, and extendeth condi