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A CALL 



TO 



THE UNCONVERTED 



TO TURN AND LIVE. 



BY REV. RICHARD BAXTER, 

WHO DIED A. D. 1691. 



ftEVtSKD AND SLIGHTLY ABRIDGED. 



PUBLISHED BY 

THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 Nassau-street, New-Y^ork. 

O. Faiiihaw, Prmttr. 



This edition has been compared with the London edition of 
Baxter's works, in twenty-three volumes, 1830. Some obsolete 
tierms and antiquated forms of expression have been changed, 
ana an obscure passage at the beginning of Doctrine 3, 
with a few lines touching points on which Evangelical Chris- 
tians differ, omitted. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

A Preface lo the Unsanctified, exhorting them to turn and 
live, ......... 7 

The Text opened, ....... 25 

Doctrine I. — It is the unchangeable law of God, that 
wicked men must turn or die, . . • • 30 

Objection. — God will not be so unmerciful as to damn 
us — Answered. . . . . . . 31 

Who are wicked men, and what conversion is ; and 
how we may know whether we are wicked or con- 
verted, ....... 42 

DocT. II. — It U the promise of God that the wicked shall 
live, if they will but turn, unfeignedly and thoroughly 
turn, ......... 72 

Door. III. — God taketh pleasure in men's conversion and 
salvation, but not in their death or damnation. He had 
rather they would turn and live, than go on and die, 82 

DocT. IV. — The Lord hath confirmed it to us by his oath, 
That he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but 
rather that he turn and live — that he may leave man no 
pretence to question the truth of it, ... 93 

Who is it then that takes pleasure in men's sin and 
death? — Not God, nor ministers, nor any good men, 94 
DocT. V. — So earnest is God for the conversion of sinners, 
Uiat he doubleth his commands and exhortations with 
vehemency, " Turv' ye, Turn ye," .... 104 

Some motives to abey God's call, and turn, . . 103 



4 CONTENTS. 

PAOR 

DocT. VI. — The Lord condescendotli to reason tho m'ic 
with unconverted sinners, and ask them, \Vhy thov will 

die? 12d 

A strange disputation. — 1. For iha question. 2. The 
disputants, . . . . • • .126 

AVicked men will die, or destroy themselves, . r27 

Sinners are certainly unreasonable, . . • I'H 

Their seeming reasons confuted, . • • 135 

Qf Ksxros. — Why are men so unreasonable, and loath 
to turn, lliat they will thus destroy themselves? — 
Answered, ....... 1^9 

DocT. VH. — If, after oil this, men will not turn, it is not 
God's fault that they are condemned, but their own, even 
their own wilfulness. They die because they will; that 
is, because they will not turn, ..... 165 

1. How unfit the wicked ai-e to charge God with their 
damnation. It is not because God is unmerciful, but 
because they ore cruel and merciless to themselves, 176 

Objection. — We cannot convert ourselves — Answered, 183 

2. The subtlety of Satan, the deceitfulness of sin and 

the folly of sinners manifested, . . . 183 

3. No wonder if the wicked would hinder the conver- 
sion and salvation of others, .... 186 

4. Man is the greatest enemy to himself, • . 187 
Man's destruction is of himself, . . . .187 
The heinous aggravations of self-destruction, . 197 
The concluding exhortation, . . . .201 
Ten Directions for those who had rather turn than die, 209 



THE GREAT SUCCESS WHICH ATTENDED THE CALL 
WHEN FIRST PUBLISHED. 

It may be proper to prefix an account of this book 
given by Mr. Baxter himself, which was found in his 
study after his death in his own words: 

*' I published a short treatise on conversion entitled, 
A Call to the Unconverted. The occasion of this was 
my converse with Bishop Usher while I was at Lon- 
don ; who, approving my method and directions for 
Peace of Conscience, was importunate with me to 
write directions suited to the various states of chris- 
tians, and also against particular sins. I reverenced 
the man, but disregarded these persuasions, supposing 
I could do nothing but what is done better already : 
but when he was dead his words went deeper to 
my mind, and I purposed to obey his counsel ; yet, so 
as that to the first sort of men, the ungodly, I thought 
vehement persuasions meeter tlian directions only; 
and so for such I published this little book, which God 
hath blessed with unexpected success, beyond all the 
rest that I have written, except The Saints' Rest. In 
a little more than a year there were about twenty 
thousand of them printed by my own consent, and 
about ten thousand since, besides man}' thousands 
by stolen impressions, which poor men stole for lucre's 
sake. Through God's mercy I have information of 
almost whole households converted by this small book 
which I set so light by; and, as if all this in England, 
Scotland, and Ireland, were not mercy enough to me, 
God, since I was silenced, hath sent it over in his mes- 
sage to many beyond the seas ; for when Mr. Eliot had 

1* 



o advertisemi:nt. 

printed all the Bible in the Indian language*, he next 
translated this my Call to the Unconverted, as he wrote 
to us here. And yet God would make some farther 
use of it; for Mr. Stoop, the pastor of the French 
Church in London, being driven hence by the displea- 
sure of his superiors, was pleased to translate it into 
French. I hope it will not be unprofitable there ; nor 
in Germany, where also it has been })rinted." 

It may be proper further to mention Dr. Bates' ac- 
count of the author and of this useful treatise. In his 
sermon at Mr. Baxter's funeral, he thus says: " His 
books of practical divinity have been effectual for 
more conversions of sinners to God than any printed 
in our time ; and while the church remains on earth, 
will be of continual efficacy to recover lost souls. 
There is a vigorous pulse in them, that keeps the read- 
er awake and attentive. His Call to the Unconverted, 
how small in bulk, but how powerful ! Truth speaks 
in it with such authority and efficacy, that it makes 
the reader to lay his hand upon his heart, and find 
that he has a soul and a conscience, though he lived 
before as if he had none. He told some friends, 
that six brothers were converted by reading this 
Call; and that every week he received letters of 
some converted by his books. This he spake with 
most humble thankfulness, that God was pleased to- 
use him as an instrument for the salvation of souls." 



FROM THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



To ail unsanctijied Persons that shall read this book ; 
especially of my hearers in Kidderminster. 

Men and Brethren, 

The eternal God, that made you for a life 
everlasting, and hath redeemed you by his only 
Son, when you had lost it and yourselves, being 
mindful of you in your sin and misery, hath in- 
dited the Gospel, and sealed it by his Spirit, and 
commanded his ministers to preach it to the world ; 
that pardon being freely offered you, and Heaven 
being set before you, he might call you off from 
your fleshly pleasures, and from following after 
this deceitful world, and acquaint you with the 
life that you were created and redeemed for, be- 
fore you are dead and past remedy. He sendetli 
you not prophets or apostles, that receive their 
message by immediate revelation ; but yet he 
calleth you by his ordinary ministers, who are 
commissioned by him to preach the same Gospel 
which Christ and his apostles first delivered. The 
Lord seeth how you forget him and your latter 
end, and how light you make of everlasting things, 
as men that understand no*:: what they have to do 
or suffer. He seeth how bold vou are in sin, how 



8 PREFACE. 

fearless of his ihreatenings, and how careless of 
your souls, and how the works of infidels are in 
your lives, while the belief of christians is in 
your mouths. He seeth the dreadful day at hand, 
when your sorrows will begin, and you must 
lament all this with fruitless cries in torment and 
desperation : then the remembrance of your folly 
will tear your hearts, if true conversion now 
prevent it not. 

In compassion to your sinful miserable souls, 
the Lord, that better knows your case than you 
can* know it, hath made it our duty to speak to 
you in his name, (2 Cor. 5 t 19,) and to tell you 
plainly of your sin and misery, and what will be 
your end, and how sad a change you will shortly 
see, if yet you go on a little longer. Having 
bought you at so dear a rate as the blood of his 
Son Jesus Christ, and made you so free and gen- 
eral a promise of pardon, and grace, and ever- 
lasting glory ; he commandeth us to tender all 
this to you as the gift of God, and to entreat you 
to consider the necessity and worth of what he 
offers. He sees and pities you, while you are 
drowned in worldly cares and pleasures, eagerly 
following childish toys, and wasting that short and 
precious time for a thing of nought, in which you 
should make ready for an everlasting life ; and 
therefore he hath commanded us to call after you 
and tell you how you lose your labor and are 
about to lose your souls, and tell you what great- 



PREFACE. W 

«r and better things you might certainly liave if 
you would hearken to his call. Isa. 55 : I, 2, 'J. 
We believe and obey the voice of God ; and conm 
to you on his message, who hath charged us t<» 
preach, and be instant with you in season and out 
of season, to Hft up our voice hke a trumpet, and 
show you your transgressions and your sins. Isa. 
58 : 1 ; 2 Tim. 4:1,2. 

But, alas! to the grief of our souls and y(jnr 
undoing, you stop your ears, you stiffen your necks, 
you harden your hearts ; and send us back to God 
with groans, to tell him that we have done his 
message, but can do no good to you, nor scarcely 
get a sober hearing. Oh ! that our eyes were as 
a fountain of tears, that we might lament our igno- 
rant careless people, that have Christ, and pardon, 
and life, and heaven before them, and have not 
hearts to know or value them ! that might have 
Christ, and grace, and glory, as well as others, if 
it were not for their wilful negligence and con- 
tempt ! O that the Lord would till our hearts with 
more compassion to these miserable souls, that we 
mi^ht cast ourselves even at their feet, and follow 
them to their houses, and speak to them with our 
bitter tears. For, long have we preached to many 
of them in vain. We study plainness, to make them 
understand, and many of them will not understand 
us ; we study serious piercing words, to make 
them Jeelf but they will not feel. If the greatest 
matters would work with them, we should awake 



10 PREFACE. 

them ; if the sweetest things would work, v^ 
should entice them and win their hearts ; if the 
most dreadful things would work, we should at 
least affright them from their wickedness ; \? truth 
and sincerity would take with them, we should 
soon convince them ; if the God that made them, 
and Christ that bought them, might be heard, 
the case would soon be altered with them ; if 
Scripture might be heard, we should soon prevail ; 
if reason, even the best and strongest reason, 
might be heard, we should not doubt but we 
should speedily convince them ; \i experience might 
be heard, even their own experience and the ex- 
perience of all the world, the matter might be 
mended ; yea, if the conscience within them might 
be heard, the case would be better with them than 
it is. But if nothing can be heard, what then shall 
we do for them ] If the dreadful God of heaven 
be slighted, who then shall be regarded % If the 
inestimable love and blood of a Redeemer be 
made light of, what then shall be valued % If hea- 
ven have no desirable glory with them, and ever- 
lasting joys be nothing worth ; if they can jest at 
hell, and dance about the bottomless pit, and play 
with the consuming fire, and that when God and 
man warn them of it, what shall we do for such 
souls as these ? 

Once more, in the name of the God of heaven 
I shall do the message to you which he hath com- 
manded us, and leave it in these standing lines to 



PREFACE. 11 

convert you or condemn you : to change you, or 
rise up in judgment against you, and to be a 
witness to your faces that once you had a serious 
call to turn. Hear, all you that are drudges of 
the world and servants of the flesh and Satan! 
that spend your days in looking after prosperity 
on earth, and drown your conscience in drinking, 
and gluttony, and idleness, and foolish sports ; and 
know your sin, and yet will sin, as if you set God at 
defiance, and bade him do his worst and spare not ! 
Hearken, all you that mind not God, and have no 
heart to holy things, and feel no savor in the word 
or worship of the Lord, or in the thoughts or men- 
tion of eternal life ; that are careless of your im- 
mortal souls, and never bestow one hour in in- 
quiring what case they are in, whether sanctified 
or unsanctified, and whether you are ready to ap- 
pear before the Lord ! Hearken, all you that, by 
sinning in light, have sinned yourselves into infi- 
delity, and do not believe the word of God. He 
that hath an ear to hear, let him hear the gracious 
and yet dreadful call of God ! His eye is all the 
while upon you. Your sins are registered, and 
you shall surely hear of them again. God keep- 
eth the book now ; and he will write it upon your 
consciences with his terrors ; and then you also 
shall keep it yourselves ! O sinners, that you but 
knew what you are doing, and whom you are all 
this while offending ! The sun itself is darkness 
before the glory of that Majesty which you daily 



12 PREFACE. 

abuse and carelessly provoke. The sinning angels 
were not able to stand before him, but were cast 
down to be tormented with devils. And dare 
euch worms as you so carelessly offend, and set 
yourselves against your Maker ! O that you did 
but a little know what a case that viTetched soul 
is in, that hath engaged the living God against 
him ! The word of his mouth that made thee, can 
unmake thee ; the frown of his face will cut thee 
off and cast thee out into outer darkness. How 
eager are the devils to be doing with thee, that 
have tempted thee, and do but wait for the word 
from God to take and use thee as their own ! and 
then in a moment thou wilt be in hell. If God be 
against thee, all things are against thee : this world 
is but thy prison, for all thou so lovest it ; thou art 
but reserved in it to the day of wrath, Job, 21 : 
30 ; the Judge is coming, thy soul is even going. 
Yet a little while, and thy friend shall say of thee, 
** He is dead ;" and thou shalt see the things that 
thou now dost despise, and feel that which now 
thou wilt not believe. Death will bring such an 
argument as thou canst not answer ; an argument 
that shall effectually confute thy cavils against the 
word and ways of God. And then how soon will 
thy mind be changed 1 Then be an unbeliever if 
thou canst ; stand then to all thy former words, 
which thou wast wont to utter against a holy and 
a heavenly life. Make good that cause then before 
the Lord which thou wast wont to plead against 



PREFACE. 13 

lliy teaclierr} ; and against the people tliat feared 
God. Then stand to thy old opinions and con- 
temptuous thoughts of the diligence of the saints : 
make ready now thy strong reasons, and stand 
lip then before the Judge and plead like a man 
for thy fleshly, thy worldly, thy ungodly life. 
But know that thou wilt have One to plead with 
that will not be outfaced by thee ; nor so easily 
put oiV as we thy fellow-creatures. 

O deceived, wretched soul ! there is nothing but 
a slender veil of flesh between thee and that amazing 
pight, which will quickly silence thee, and turn thy 
tone, and make thee of another mind ! As soon as 
death hath drawn this curtain, thou shalt see that 
which will quickly leave thee speechless. And how 
quickly will that day and hour come ! When thou 
hast had but a few more merry hours, and but a 
few more pleasant draughts and morsels, and a 
little more of the honors and liches of the world, 
thy portion will be spent, and thy pleasures ended, 
and all is then gone that thou settest thy heart 
upon : of all that thou Boldest thy Savior and sal- 
vation for, there is nothing left but the heavy 
reckoning. As a thief, that sits merrily spending 
the money which he hath stolen in an alehouse, 
when men are riding in post-haste to apprehend 
him, so is it with you. While you are drowned 
in cares of fleshly pleasures, and making merry 
with your own bhame, death is coming in post- 
haste to seize upon you, and carry your soul to 

B. CaU. 2 



14 PREFACE. . 

such a place and state as now you little know or 
think of. Suppose, when you are bold and busy 
in your sin, that a messenger were but coming 
post-haste to apprehend you and take away your 
life ; though you saw him not, yet if you knew 
that he was coming, it would mar your mirth, and 
vou would be thinkinGT of the haste he makes, and 
hearkening when he knocked at your door. O 
that you could but see what haste Death makes, 
though he has not yet overtaken you ! No post so 
swift ; no messenger more sure. As sure as the sun 
will be with you in the morning, though it hath 
many thousand and hundred thousand miles to go 
in the night, so sure will Death be quickly with 
you : and then where is your sport and pleasure ? 
Then will you jest and brave it out 1 then will you 
jeer at them that v/arned you 1 Then is it better 
to be a believing saint, or a sensual worldling 1 
And then whc^se shall all these things be that you 
have gathered] Luke, 12 : 19-21. Do you not 
observe that days and weeks are quickly gone, 
and nights and mornings come apace, and speedily 
succeed each other ? You sleep, but your damna- 
tion slumbereth not ; you linger, but your judg- 
ment this long time lingereth not, to which you 
are reser^-ed for punishment. 2 Pet. 2 : 3-9. O 
that you were wise to understand this, and that 
you did consider your latter end ! Deut. 32 : 29. 
He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear the call 
of God in this day of his salvation. 



PREFACE. 15 

O careless sinners ! that you did but know the 
love that you unthankfully neglect, and the pre- 
ciousness of the blood of Christ which you de- 
spise ! O that you did but know the riches of the 
Gospel ! O that you did but know a little the 
certainty, and the glory and blessedness of that 
everlasting life, which now you will not set your 
hearts upon, nor be persuaded first and dili- 
gently to seek. Heb. 11 : G, and 12 : 28; and 
Matt. 6 : 13. Did you but know the endless life 
with God which you now neglect, how quickly 
would you cast away your sin, how quickly would 
you change your mind and life, your course and 
company, and turn the streams of your affections, 
and lay out your care another way 1 How reso- 
lutely would you scorn to yield to such tempta- 
tions as now deceive you and carry you away ? 
How zealously would you bestir yourselves for 
that most blessed life 1 How earnest would you 
be with God in prayer? How diligent in hear- 
ing, learning, and inquiring? How serious in 
meditating on tlie laws of God] Psalm 1 : 2. 
How fearful of sinning in thought, word, or deed 1 
and how careful to please God and grow in holi- 
ness ] O what a changed people you would be! 
And why should not the certain word of God be 
believed by you, and prevail with you, which 
openeth to you these glorious and eternal things ? 

Yea, let me tell you that even here on earth 
you little know the difference between the liie 



16 PREFACE. 

you refuse and the life you choose 1 The sancti- 
fied are conversing with God -when you dare 
scarce think of him, and when you are conversing 
with but earth and flesh. Their conversation is 
in heaven, when you are utter strangers to it and 
your belly is your God and you are minding earth- 
ly things. Phil, o : 18-20. They are seeking after 
the face of God, when you seek for nothing higher 
than this world. They are busily laying up for 
an endless life, where they shall be equal with 
the angels, Luke, 20 : 36, when you are taken up 
with a shadow and a transitory thing of nought. 
How low and base is your earthly, fleshly, sinful 
life, in comparison of the noble spiritual life of 
true believers ] Many a time have I looked on 
fiuch men with grief and pity, to see them trudge 
about the world, and spend their lives, and care 
and labor for notliing but a little food and rai- 
ment, or a little fading pelf, or fleshly pleasures, 
or empty honors, as if they had no higher thinga 
to mind. What difference is there between the 
lives of these men and of the beasts that perish, 
that spend their time in workin^r, and eating, and 
living but that they may live ] They taste not the 
inward heavenly pleasures which believers taste 
and live upon. I had rather have a little of their 
comfort, which the forethoughts of their heavenly 
inheritance afford them, though I had all their 
scorn and suffering with it, than to have all your 
pleasures and treacherous prosperity. I would 



PREFACE. 17 

not have one of your secret pangs of conscience, 
and (lark and dreadful thoughts of death and the 
life to come, for all that ever the world hath done 
for you, or all that you can reasonably hope that 
it should do. If I were in your unconverted car- 
nal state, and knew but what I know, and be- 
lieved but what I now believe, methinks my life 
would be a foretaste of hell. How oft should I 
be thinking of the teiTors of the Lord, and of the 
dismal day that is hastening on ! Sure death and 
hell would be still before me. I should think of 
them by day, and dream of them by niglit : I 
should lie down in fear, and rise in fear, and live 
in fear, lest death should come before I were con- 
verted. I should have small felicity in any thincr 
that I possessed, and little pleasure in any com- 
pany, and little joy in any thing in the world, as 
long as I knew myself to be under the curse and 
wrath of God. I should be still afraid of hearing 
that voice, " Thou fool, this night shall thy soul 
be required of thee." Luke, 12 : 20. And that 
fearful sentence would be written upon my con- 
science, " There is no peace, saith my God, to the 
wicked." Isaiah, 48 : 22 ; 57 : 21. 

O poor sinners! It is a more joyful life than 
this that you might live if you were but willing, 
but truly willing to hearken to Christ, and come 
home to God. You might then draw near to God 
with boldness, and call him your Father, and com- 
fortably trust him with your souls and bodies. If 



18 PREFACE. 

you look upon the promises, you may say, They 
are all mine. If upon the curse, you may say, 
From this I am delivered. When you read the 
law, you may see what you are saved from. When 
you read the Gospel, you may see him that re- 
deemed you, and see the course of his love, and 
holy life, and sufferings, and trace him in his 
temptations, tears, and blood, in the work of your 
salvation. Yf»u may see death conquered and 
heaven opened, and your resurrection and glorifi- 
cation provided for in the resurrection and glorifi- 
cation of your Lord. If you look on the saints, 
you may say. They are my brethren and compa- 
nions. If on the unsanctified, you may rejoice to 
think that you are saved from that state. If you 
look upon the heavens, the sun, and moon, and 
stars innumerable, you may think and say, My 
Father's face is infinitely more glorious ; it is 
hif^her matters that he hath prepared for his 
saints ; yonder is but the outward court of hea- 
ven. The blessedness that he hath promised me 
is so much higher, that flesh and blood cannot be- 
hold it. If you think of the grave, you may re- 
member that the glorified Spirit, a living Head, 
and a loving Father, have all so near a relation to 
your dust, that it cannot be forgotten or neglected, 
but will more certainly revive than the plants and 
flowers in the spring : because the soul is still 
alive, which is the noot of the body ; and Christ is 
alive, which is the root of both. Even death, which 



PREFACE. IJ) 

18 the king of fears, may be remembered and en- 
tertained with joy, as being the day of your de- 
liverance from the remnant of ein and sorrow: 
the day which you believed, and hoped, and wait- 
ed for, when you sliall see the blessed things 
which you had heard of, and shall find by present 
joyful experience what it was to choose the bet- 
ter part, and to be a sincere believing saint. 
What say you, sirs ? Is not this a more delightful 
life, to be assured of salvation and ready to die, 
than to live as the ungodly, that have their hearts 
overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and 
the cares of this life, and so that day comes upon 
them unawares 1 Luke, 21 : 34, 36. Might you not 
live a comfortable life, if once you were made the 
lieirs of heaven, and sure to be saved when you 
leave the world 1 O look about you then, and 
think what you do, and cast not away such hopes 
as these for very nothing. The flesh and the 
world can give you no such hopes or comforts. 

I have but three requests to you, and I have 
done. 

1. That you will seriously i"ead over this small 
treatise ; and if you have such as need it in your 
families, that you will read it over and over to 
them ; and if those that fear God would go now 
arvd then to their ignorant neighbors, and read 
liiis or some other book to them on this subject, 
they might be a means of winning souls. If we 
cannot entreat so small a labor of men for tlieir 



2l> PllEFACK, 

own salvation as to read such short instrnctions 
as these, they set little by themselves, and will 
most justly perish. 

2. When you have read over this book, I would 
entreat you to go alone and ponder a little what 
y(ju have read, and bethink you, as in the sight of 
God, whether it be not true, and do not nearly 
touch your souls, and whether it be not time to 
look about you. And also entreat you, that you 
will upon your knees beseech the Lord that he 
will open your eyes to understand the truth, and 
turn your hearts to the love of God, and beg of 
him all that saving grace which you have so longr 
neglected, and follow it on from day to day, till 
your hearts be changed. And withal, that you 
will go to your pastors, (that are set over you to 
take care of the health and safety of your souls, as 
physicians do for the health of your bodies,) and 
desire them to direct you what course to take, 
and acquaint them with your spiritual state, that 
you may have the benefit of their advice and 
ministerial help. 

If you have not a faithful pastor at home, make 
use of some other in so great a need. 

o. When, by reading, consideration, prayer, 
and ministerial advice, you are once acquainted 
with your sin and misery, with your duty and 
remedy, delay not, but presently forsake your 
sinful company and courses, and turn to God and 
obey his call. As you love your souls, take heed 



PREFACE. 21 

t!iat you go not on against so hmd a call of God, 
and against your own knowledge anJ conscience, 
lest it go worse with yriu in the day of judgment 
than with Sodom and Gomorrah. Inquire of God, 
JLS a man that is willing to know the truth, anil 
not be a wilful cheater of his soul. Search th<j 
holy Scripttires daily, and see whether ihesn 
things be so : try impartially whether it be safer 
to trust heaven or earth, and whether it be bet- 
ter to follow God or man, the Spirit or the flesh, 
better to live in holiness or sin, and whether au 
unsanctified state be safe for you to abide in one 
day longer ; and when you have found out which 
is l>est, resolve accordingly, and make your choico 
without any more ado. If you will be true lo 
your own souls, and do not love everlasting tor- 
ments, 1 beseech you, as from the Lord, that you 
wiW but take this reasonable advice. Th(?n at 
your deathbed how boldly might we comfort and 
encourage 3'our departing souls ! And at your 
burial, how comfortably might we leave you in 
tlie grave, in expectation to meet your souls in 
heaven, and to see your bodies raised to that 
glory ! 

But, if still the most of you will go on in a care- 
less, ignorant, fleshly, worldly, or unholy life, and 
all our desires and labors cannot so far prevail as 
to keep you from the wilful damning of your- 
selves, we must then imitate our Lor<l, who de- 
lighteth himself in those few that are jewels, and 



22 PREFACE 

in a little flock that shall receive the kingdom, 
when the most shall rcap the misery which they 
sowed. In nature, excellent things are few. The 
world hath not many suns or moons ; it is but a 
little of the earth that is gold or silver. Princes 
and nobles are but a small part of the sons of 
men : it is no great number that are learned, 
judicious, or wise, here in this world. And, 
therefore, if the gate being strait and very narrow, 
there be but few that find salvation, yet God will 
have his glory and pleasure in those few. And 
when Christ shall come with his mighty angels in 
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, his coming will be glorified in his 
saints, and admired in all true believers. 2 Thess. 
1 : 7-10. 

And for the rest, as God the Father vouchsafed 
to create them, and God the Son disdained not to 
bear the penalty of their sins upon the cross, and 
did not judge such sufferings vain, though he 
knew that by refusing the sanctification of the 
Holy Ghost they would finally destroy themselves, 
so we, that are his ministers, though these be not 
gathered, judge not our labor wholly lost. See 
Isa. 49 : 5. 

Reader, I have done with thee, when thou hast 
perused this book ; but sin hath not yet done 
with thee, even those that thou thoughtest had 
been forgotten long ago ; and Satan hath not yet 



PREFACE. 23 

done with thee, thougli now lie be out of sight ; 
and God hath not yet done with thee, because 
ihou wih not be persuaded to have done with 
deadly reigning sin. I have written thee this per- 
suasive, as one that is going into another world, 
where the things are seen that I here speak of, 
and as one that knoweth thou must be shortly 
there thyself. As ever thou wilt meet me with 
comfort before the Lord that made us ; as ever 
thou wilt escape the everlasting plagues prepared 
for the final neglecters of salvation, and for all 
that are not sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and 
love not the communion of the saints as members 
of the holy catholic church ; and as ever thou 
hopest to see the face of Christ the Judge, and of 
the majesty of the Father, with peace and com- 
fort, and to be received into glory when thou art 
turned naked out of this world ; I beseech thee, I 
charge thee, to hear and obey the call of God, 
and resolvedly to turn, that thou mayest live. 
But, if thou wilt not, even when thou hast no true 
reason for it but because thou wilt not, I summon 
thee to answer it before the Lord, and require 
thee there to bear me witness that I gave thee 
warning, and that thou wast not condemned for 
want of a call to turn and live, but because thou 
wouldst not believe it, and obey it : which also 
must be the testimony of thy serious monitor, 

RICHARD BAXTER. 

December 11, 1657. 



A CALL 



THE UNCONVERTED. 



Say unto Oienij As Ilive^ saiili the Lord God, I have no 
pleasure in, the death of the vncked; hut that tJie wick- 
ed turn from his way and live : turn ye, turn ye from 
your evil ways ; for why icill ye die, O house of Israel 1 
Ezekiel, 33 :ll. 

It hath been the astonishing wonder of 
many a man as well as mc, to read in the 
Holy Scripture how few will be saved, and 
that the greatest part even of those that are 
called, will be everlastingly shut out of the 
kingdom of heaven, and be tormented with 
the devils in eternal fire. Infidels believe 
not this v/hen they read it, and therefore 
ihey must feel it : those that do believe it 
are forced to cry out with Paul, " O the 
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are 
his judgments, and his ways past finding 
out!" Rom. 11 : 33. But nature itself doth 
teach us all to lay the blame of evil works 
upon the doers ; and therefore when we see 

CaU. 3 



26 A CALL TO 

an}^ heinous thing done, a principle of jus- 
tice doth provoke us to inquire after him 
that did it, that the evil of the work may re- 
turn the evil of shame upon the author. If 
"vve saw a man killed and cut in pieces by 
the way, we should presently ask. Oh! who 
did this cruel deed ? If the town was wil- 
fully set on fire, you would ask, what wick- 
ed wretch did this ? So when we read that 
many souls will be miserable in hell for 
ever, we must needs think with ourselves, 
how comes this to pass ? and whose fault is 
it? Who is it that is so cruel as to be the 
cause of such a thing as this ? and we can 
meet with few that will own the guilt. It is 
indeed confessed by all, that Satan is the 
cause ; but that doth not resolve the doubt, 
because he is not the principal cause. He 
doth not force men to sin, but tempts them 
to it, and leaves it to their own vnlls wheth- 
er they will do it or not. He doth not carry 
men to an alehouse and force open their 
mouths and pour in the drink ; nor doth he 
liold them that they cannot go to God's ser- 
vice ; nor doth he force their hearts from 
holy thoughts. It lieth therefore between 
God kiniself, and the sinner; cue of them 



THE UNCONVERTED. 27 

must needs be the principal cause of all this 
misery, whichever it is, for there is no other 
to hiy it upon ; and God disckiimcth it, ho 
will not take it upon him; and the wicked 
disclaim it usuallv, and thev will not take it 
upon them, and this is the controversy that 
is here managing in my text. 

The Lord complaiiieth of the people; and 
the people think it is the fault ot" God. Tliy 
same controversy is handled, chap. IS : 25 ; 
they plainly say " that the way of the Lord 
is not equal." So here they say, verse 19, 
" If our transgressions and our sins be upon 
us, and we pine away in them, how shall 
we then live?" As if they should say, if 
we must die and be miserable, how can we 
help it? as if it were not their fault, but 
God's. But God, in my text, doth clear 
himself of it, and telleth them how they may 
help it if they will, and persuadeth them to 
use the means, and if they will not be per- 
suaded, he lets them know that it is the 
fault of themselves ; and if this will not 
satisfy them, he will not forbear to punish 
them. It is he that will be the Judge, and 
he will judge them according to their ways ; 
they are no judges of him or of themselves, 



28 A CALL TO 

they Avant authority, and wisdom, and im- 
partiality ; nor is it their cavilling and quarrel- 
ins: with God that shall serve their turn, or 
save them from the execution of that justice 
at which they murmur. 

The words of this verse contain, 1. God's 
clearing himself from the blame of their 
destruction. This he doth not by disown- 
ing his law that the wicked shall die, nor 
by disowning his judgment and execution 
according to that law, or giving them any 
hope that the law^ shall not be executed ; but 
by professing that it is not their death that he 
takes pleasure in, but their returning rathei', 
that thev mav live ; and this he confirmeth to 
them by his oath. 2. An express exhortation 
to the wicked to return ; wherein God doth 
not only command, but persuade nnd con- 
descend also to reason the case with them, 
Why will the}' die ? The direct end of this 
exhortation is, that they may turn and live?. 
The secondary or reserved ends, upon sup- 
position that this is not attained, are these 
two : 1. To convince them by the means 
which he used, that it is not the fault of God 
if they are miserable. 2. To convince them 
from their manifest wilfulness in rejecting 



THE UNCONVERTED. 29 

all his commands and persuasions, that it 
is the fault of themselves, and that they die, 
even because they will die. 

The substance of the text doth lie in 
these observations following : 

Doctrine 1. It is the unchangeable law of 
God, that wicked men must turn or die. 

Doctrine 2. It is the promise of God, that 
the wicked shall live, if they will but turn. 

Doctrine 3. God takes pleasure in men's 
conversion and salvation, but not in their 
death or damnation : he had rather they 
would return and live, than go on and die. 

Doctrine 4. This is a most certain truth, 
which because God would not have men to 
question, he hath confirmed it to them so- 
lemnly by his oath. 

, Doctrine 5. The Lord doth redouble his 
commands and persuasions to the wicked 
to turn. 

Doctrine 6. The Lord condescendeth to 
reason the case with them ; and asketh the 
wicked why they will die ? 

Doctrine 7. If after all this the wicked 
will not turn, it is not the fault of God that 
they perish, but of themselves ; their own 
wilfulness is the cause of their damnation 



30 A C.U.L TO (Dod L 

they therefore die because they ^vill die. 
Having laid open the text in these propo- 
sitions, I shall next speak somewhat of each 
of them in order, though briefly. 

DOCTRINE I. 

It is the unchangeahle law of God^ that 
wicked men must turn or die. 

If you will believe God, believe this : 
there is but one of these tw^o ways for every 
wicked man, cither conversion or damna- 
tion. I know the wicked will hardly be 
persuaded either of the truth or equity of 
this. No wonder if the guilty quarrel with 
the law. Few men are apt to believe that 
w^hich they would not have to be true, and 
few^er would have that to be true which 
they apprehend to be against them. But it 
is not quarrelling with the law, or with the 
judge, that will save the malefactor. Be- 
lieving and regarding the law might have 
prevented his death ; but denying and ac- 
cusing it will but hasten it. If it were not 
so, a hundred would bring their reason 
against the law, for one that would bring 
his reason to the law, and men would rather 
choose to give their reasons why they 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. 31 

should not be punished, than to hear the 
commands and reasons of their governors 
which require them to obey. The law was 
not made for you to judge, but that you 
might be ruled and judged by it. 

But if there be any so blind as to venture 
to question either the truth or the justice of 
this law of God, I shall briefly giv.: you that 
evidence of both which methinks should sat- 
isfy a reasonable man. And, 

L If you doubt whether this be the word 
of God or not, besides a hundred other 
texts, you may be satisfied by these few : 
Matt. 18 : 3. " Verily I say unto you, except 
ye be converted and become as little chil- 
dren, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." John, 3:3.*' Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee, except a man be born again he 
cannot see the kingdom of God." 2 Cor. 5 : 
17. '* If any man be in Christ, he is a new 
creature ; old things are passed away ; be- 
hold, all things are become new." Col. 3 : 9, 
10. "Ye have put off the old man with his 
deeds, and have put on the new man, which 
is renewed in knowledge after the ima^T^e of 
him that created him." Heb. 12 : 14. *' With- 
out holiness no man shall see the Lord." Kom. 



32 A CALL TO (Doct- L 

8 : S, 9. " So then they that are in the flesh 
cannot please God. Now if any man have 
not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.'* 
Gal. 6 : 15. "For in Christ Jesus neither cir- 
cumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircum- 
cision, but a new creature." 1 Pet. 1 : 3. 
" According to his abundant mercy he hath 
begotten us to a lively hope." ver. 23. " Be- 
ing born again, not of corruptible seed, but 
of incorruptible, by the word of God, which 
liveth and abideth for ever." 1 Pet. 2 : 1, 2. 
" Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all 
guile, and hypocrisies and envies, and all 
evil speakings, as new born babes, desire the 
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow 
thereby." Psalm 9 : 17. " The wicked shall 
be turned into hell, and all the nations that 
foriret God." Psalm 11 : 5. "And the Lord 

o 

trieth the riditeous, but the wicked his soul 
hateth." 

As I need not stay to open these texts 
which are so plain, so I think I need not add 
any more of that multitude which speak the 
like. If thou be a man that dost believe the 
word of God, here is already enough to sat- 
isfy thee that the wicked must be converted 
or condemned. You are already brought so 



T>oct.l.i THE U.XCOIVTERTED. 33 

far that you must either confess that this is 
true, or say plainly, you will not believe the 
word of God. And if once you corne to that 
pass there is but small hope of you : look to 
yourself as well as you can, for it is likely 
you will not be long out of hell. You would 
be ready to fly in the face of him that should 
give you the lie ; and yet dare you give tho 
lie to God ? But if 3'ou tell God plainly you 
will not believe him, blame him not if ho 
never warn you more, or if he forsake you, 
and give you up as hopeless; for to what 
purpose should he warn you, if you will not 
believe him ? Should he send an angel from 
heaven to you, it seems you w^ould not be- 
Heve. For an angel can speak but the word 
of God ; and if an angel should bring vou 
any other gospel, you are not to receive it, 
but to hold him accursed. Gal. 1 : 8. And 
surely there is no angel to be believed before 
the Son of God, who came from the Father 
to bring us this doctrine. If he be not to be 
believed, then all the angels in heaven are 
not to be believed. And if you stand on these 
terms with God, I shall leave you till he 
deal with you in a more convincing way. 
God hath a voice that will maJvC you hear. 



34 A CALL TO (Doct. L 

Though lie entreat you to hear the voice of 
his Gospel, he will make you hear the voice 
of his condemnino: sentence, without entreaty. 
We cannot make vou beheve a^rainst yout 
vnWs ; but God will make you feel against 
your wills. 

But let us hear what reason you have why 
you v/ill not believe this word of God, which 
tells us that the wicked must be converted, 
or condemned. I know your reason ; it is 
because vou judfre it unlikely that God should 
be so unmerciful : you think it cruelty to 
damn men everlastingly for so small a thing 
as a sinfid life. And this leads us, 

II. To justify the equity of God in his laws 
and judgments. 

1. I think you will not deny that it is 
most suitable to an immortal soul to be 
ruled by laws that promise an immortal re- 
ward, and threaten an endless punishment. 
Otherwise the law would not be suited to 
the nature of the subject, who will not be 
fully ruled by any lower means than the 
liopes or fears of everlasting things : as it is 
in cases of temporal punishment, if a law 
were now made that the most heinous crimes 



Doctl.) THE UNCONVERTED. 35^ 

should be punished with a hundred years* 
captivity, this might be of some efficacy, as 
being equal to our lives. But, if there had 
been no other penalties before the flood, when 
men lived eight or nine hundred years, it 
would not have been sufficient, because men 
would know that they might hav(i so many 
hundred years impunity afterward. So it is 
in our present case. 

2. I suppose that you will confess that 
the promise of an endless and inconceivable 
glory is not unsuitable to the wisdom of 
God or the case of man : and why then 
should you not think so of the threatening of 
an endless and unspeakable misery ! 

3. When you find it in the word of God 
that so it is, and so it will be, do you think 
yourselves Jit to contradict this word '? Will 
you call your Maker to the bar, and exam- 
ine his word upon the accusation of false- 
hood? Will you sit upon him and judge him 
by the law of your conceits ? Are you wiser, 
and better, and more righteous than he? 3Iust 
the God of heaven come to school to you to 
learn wisdom ? Must Infinite Wisdom learn 
of folly, and Infinite Goodness be corrected 
by a sinner that cannot keep himself an hour 



36 A CALL TO (Doct.1. 

clean? Must the Almighty stand at the baf 
of a "worm ? O horrid arroo^ancy of senseless 
dust ! Shall a mole, or clod, or dunghill, 
accuse the sun of darkness, and undertake 
to illuminate the world ? Where were 3'ou 
when the Almighty made the laws, that he 
did not call you to his counsel ? Surely he 
made them before you were born, without 
desiring your advice ; and j'ou came into the 
world too late to reverse them, if vou could 
have done so great a work. You should have 
stepped out of your nothingness and have 
contradicted Christ when he was on earth, 
or Moses before him, or have saved Adam 
and his sinful progeny from the threatened 
death, that so there might have been no need 
of Christ. And what if God withdraw his 
patience and sustaining power, and let vou 
drop into hell while you are quarrelling with 
his word, will 3'ou then believe that there is 
a hell ? 

■i. If sin be such an evil that it requireth 
the death of Christ for its expiation, no won- 
der if it deserve our everlastinc^ misers'. 

5. And if the sin of devils deserve an 
endless torment, why not also the sin of man? 

6. And methinks you should perceive that 



Doci,i.) THE l\\con\i:rteb. 37 

it is not possible for the best of men, much 
less for tlie wicked, to be competent judges of 
the desert of sin. Alas ! we are both blind 
rind partial. You can never know fully the 
desert of sin, till you fully know the evil of 
sin ; and you can never fully know the evil 
of sin, till you fully know, 1. The excellency 
of the soul wliich it deformeth. 2. The 
excellency of holiness which it obliterates. 
3. The reason and excellency of the law 
which it violates. 4. The excellency of the 
glory which it despises. 5. The excellency 
and office of reason which it treadeth down. 
(>, No, nor till you know the infinite excellent 
ov, almiirhtiness and holiness of that God 
against whom it is committed. When you 
fully know all these, 3^ou shall fully know 
the desert of sin. Besides, you know that the 
offender is too partial to judge the law or 
ihe proceedings of his judge. We judge by 
feeling, which blinds our reason. We see, 
in common worldly things, that most men 
think the cause is right which is their own, 
and tnit all is wrong that is done against 
ihem ; and let the most wise, or just, or im- 
partial friends persuade them to the contra- 
ry, and it is all in vain. There are few chil- 

B. Call. 4 



38 A CALL TO (Doctl. 

dren but think the father is unmerciful, or 
dealeth hardly with them if he whip them. 
There is scarce the vilest wretch but thinketh 
the church doth wrong him if they excom- 
municate him; or scarce a thief or murderer 
that is hanged, but would accuse the law and 
judge of cruelty, if that would serve their turn. 

7. Can you think that unholy souls me Jit 
for heaven? Alas, they cannot love God 
here, nor do him any service which he can 
accept. They are contrar}^ to God, they 
loathe that which he most loveth, and love 
that which he abhorreth. They are inca- 
pable of that imperfect communion with 
him which his saints here partake of. How 
then can they live in that perfect love of him, 
and full delight and communion with him, 
which is the blessedness of heaven? You do 
not accuse j^ourselves of unmercifulness if 
you make not your enemy your bosom coun- 
sellor ; or if you take not your swine to bed 
and board with you, no, nor if you take away 
his life though he never sinned ; and yet you 
will blame the absolute Lord, the most wise 
and gracious Sovereign of the world, if he con- 
demn the unconverted to perpetual misery. 

I beseech you now, all that love your 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. 39 

souls, that, instead of quarrelling ^vilh Cod 
and with his word, you will presently re- 
ceive it, and use it for your good. All 3-0 u 
that are yet unconverted, take this as the 
undoubted truth of God : You must, ere long, 
be converted or condemned ; there is no 
other way but to turn, or die. When God, 
that cannot lie, hath told you this ; when 
you hear it from the Maker and Judge of the 
W'orld, it is time for him that hath ears to 
hear. By this time you may see what you 
have to trust to. You are but dead and 
damned men, except you will be converted. 
Should I tell 5^ou otherwise, I should deceive 
you with a lie. Should I hide this from you, 
I should undo you, and be guilty of your 
blood, as the verses before my text assure 
me. — verse 8. " When I say to the wicked 
man, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die ; 
if thou dost not speak to warn the wdcked 
from his way, that wdcked man shall die in 
his iniquity ; but his blood will I require at 
thine hand." You see then, though this be a 
rough and unwelcome doctrine, it is such as 
we must preach, and you must hear. It is 
easier to hear of hell than feel it. If 3'our 
necessities did not require it, we w^ould not 



•iO A CALL TO (Doct. L 

trail your tender ears with truths that seem 
so harsh and grievous. Hell would not be 
so iiill, if people were but willing to know 
their case, and to hear and tliink of it. The 
reason wh}'- so few^ escape it, is because they 
strive not to enter in at the strait gate of con- 
version, and go the narrow way of holiness 
while they have time ; and they strive not, 
because they are not awakened to a lively 
feeling of the danger they are in; and they 
are not awakened because they are loth to 
hear or think of it ; and that is partly througli 
foolish tenderness and carnal self-love, and 
partly because they do not well believe the 
word that threateneth it. If you v/ill not 
thoroughly believe this truth, niethinks the 
weight of it should force yon to remember 
it, and it_ should follow you, and give 3^ou 
no rest till you are converted. If 3'ou had 
but once heard this word by the voice of 
an angel, " Thou must be converted or con- 
demjied : turn, or die :" v/ould it not sink 
into your mind, and haunt 3"ou night and 
day? so that in your sinning you would re- 
member it, as if the voice were still in your 
ears, " Turn, or die !" O happy were your 
soul if it might thus work with you and 



Doct. 10 THE UNCONVERTED. 41 

never be forgotten, or let you alone till it 
have driven home your heart to God. But 
if 3"ou will cast it out by forgetfulness or un- 
belief, how can it work to your conversion 
and salvation? But take this whh. you to 
3'"our sorrow, though you may put this out of 
3''0ur mind you cannot put it out of the Bible, 
but there it will stand as a sealed truth, 
which 3^ou shall experimentally know for ever, 
that there is no other way but " turn, or die." 
O what is the matter then that the hearts 
of sinners are not pierced with such a 
weighty truth? A man would think now, 
that every unconverted soul that hears these 
words should be pricked to the heart and 
think with himself, *' This is my own case," 
and never be quiet till he found himself con- 
verted. Believe it, this drowsy careless 
temper will not last long. Conversion and 
condemnation are both of them awakening 
things, and one of them will make you feel 
ere long. I can foretell it as truly as if I 
saw it with my e^^es, that either grace or 
liell will shortly bring these matters to the 
point, and make you say, "What have I 
done ? what a foolish wicked course have I 
taken ?" The scornful and the stupid state 

4* 



42 A CALL TO (Doctl. 

of sinnei'3 vvdll last but a little while : as soon 
as they either turn or die, the presumptu- 
ous dream wiH be at an end, and then their 
senses and feeling will return. 

But I foresee there are two things that are 
likely to harden the uneonverted and make 
me lose all my labor, unless they can be 
taken out of the way ; namely, the misun- 
derstanding of those tw^o words, the wicked 
and tifrn. Some will think with themselves, 
" It is true, the wicked mast turn or die; but 
what is that to me, I am not wicked, though 
I am a sinner as all men are." Others will 
think, "It is true that we must turn from our 
evil ways, but I am turned long ago ; I hope 
this is not now to do." And thus while wick- 
ed men think thev are not wicked, but are 
already converted, we lose all our labor in 
persuading them to turn. I shall therefore, 
before I go any further, tell you here who 
are meant hy the wicked, or who they are 
that must turn or die ; and also ivhat is 
meant hy turning, or who they are that are 
truly converted. And this I have purposely 
reserved for this place, preferring the meth- 
od that lits my end. And 



Doct, 1.) fllE UNCONVERTED. 43 

I. Here you may observe, that in the 
sense of the text a wicked man and a con- 
verted man are contraries : no man is a 
wicked man that is converted ; and no man 
is a converted man that is wicked ; so that 
to be a wicked man and to be an unconvert- 
ed man is all one ; and therefore in dealing 
with one we shall deal with both. 

Before I can tell you what either wicked- 
ness or conversion is, I must go to the bottom 
and take up the matter from the beginning. 

It pleased the great Creator of the world to 
make three sorts of living creatures. Angels 
he made pure spirits without flesh, and there- 
fore he made them only for heaven, and not 
to dwell on earth. Brutes were made flesh 
without immortal souls, and therefore they 
were made only for earth, and not for hea- 
ven. I\Ian is of a middle nature, between 
both, as partaking of both flesh o.nd spirit, 
and therefore he was made both for heaven 
and earth. But as his flesh is made to be but 
a servant to his spirit, so is he made for earth 
but as his passage or way to heaven, and 
not that this should be his home or happi- 
ness. The blessed state that man was made 
for, was to behold the glorious majesty of 



44 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

the Lord, and to praise him among his holy 
angels, and to love him, and to be filled 
with his love for ever. And as this was the 
end that man was made for, so God gave 
liim means that were fitted to the attaining 
of it. 

These means were principally two : 1. 
The right inclination and disposition of the 
mind of man. 2. The right ordering of 
his life and practice. For the first, God suit- 
ed the disposition of man unto his end, giv- 
ing him such knowledge of God as was fit 
for his present state, and a heart disposed 
and inclined to God in holy love. But yet 
he did not fix or confirm him in this condi- 
tion, bnt, having made him a free agent, he 
left him to the exercise of his own free will. 
For the second, God did that which belonged 
>to him ; that is, he gave him a perfect law^, re- 
quiring himtocontinue in the love of God, and 
perfectly to obey him. 

By the wilful breach of this law, man not 
only forfeited his hopes of everlasting life, 
but also turned his heart from God and fixed 
it on these lower fleshly things, and thereby 
blotted out the spiritual image of God from 
his soul ; so that man both fell short of the 



Doct. 1.) THE UXCOXVERTED. ^ A5 

glory of God, which was his end, and put 
himself out of the way by which he should 
have attained it, and this both as to the 
frame of his heart and of his life. The liolv 
inclination and love of his soul to God lie 
lust, and instead of it he contracted an in- 
clination and love to the pleasing of liis 
ilcsh, or carnal self, bv earthlv things ; orow- 
ing strange to God and acquainted w^ith the 
creature. And the course of liis life w'as 
suited to the bent and inclination of his 
heart ; he lived to his carnal self, and not to 
God ; he sought the creature for the pleasing 
of his flesh, instead of seeking to please thti 
Lord. With this nature or corrupt inclina- 
tion we are all now" born into the world ; 
" forw^ho can bring a clean tiling out of an 
unclean?" Job, 14:4. As a lion hath a 
lierce and cruel nature before he doth de- 
vour ; and an adder hath a venomous na- 
ture before she stings, so in our infanc}^ wo 
have those sinful natures or inclinations be- 
fore we think, or speak, or do amiss. And 
hence springeth all the sin of our lives ; and 
not only so, but when God hath of his mer- 
cy, provided us a remedy, even the Lord 
Jesus Christ, to be the Savior of our souls 



46 A CALL TO (DocLl. 

and bring us back to God again, we natural- 
ly love our present state, and are loth to be 
brought out of it, and therefore are set 
against the means of our recovery : and 
though custom hath taught us to thank 
Christ for his good will, yet carnal self per- 
suades us to refuse his remedies, and to de- 
sire to be excused when we are command- 
ed to take the medicines which he offers, 
and are called to forsake all and follow him 
to God and glory. 

I pray you read over this leaf agam, and 
mark it ; for in these few words you have 
a true description of our natural state, and 
consequently of a w'icked man ; for every 
man that is in the state of corrupt nature is 
a wicked man, and in a state of death. 

II. By this you are prepared to understand 

WHAT IT IS TO BE CONVERTED I tO which 

end you must further know, that the mercy 
of God, not willing that man should perish 
in his sins, provided a remedy, by causing 
his Son to take our nature, and being in one 
person God and man, to become a mediator 
between God and man ; and by dying for 
OUT sins on the cross, to ransom us from the 
curse of God and the power of the devil. 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. Alf 

And having thus redeemed us, the Father 
hath dehvered us into his hands as his own. 
Hereupon the Father and the Mediator do 
make a new law and covenant for man, not 
like the first, which gave hfe to none but 
the perfectly obedient, and condemned man 
for every sin; but Christ hath made a law of 
grace, or a promise of pardon and everlast- 
ing life to all that, by true repentance, and 
by faith in Christ, are converted unto God : 
like an act of oblivion which is made bv a 
prince to a company of rebels, on condition 
that they will lay down their arms and come 
in and be loyal subjects for the time to come. 

But, because the Lord knoweth that the 
heart of man is grown so wicked, that, for 
all this, men will not accept of the remedy 
if they are left to themselves, therefore the 
Holy Ghost hath undertaken it as his office 
to inspire the apostles, and seal the Scrip- 
tures by miracles and wonders, and to il- 
luminate and convert the souls of the elect. 

So by this much you see, that as there 
are three persons in the Trinity, the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, so each of 
tliese persons have their several works, 
which are eminently ascribed to them. 



48 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

The Fathpys works were, to create us, to 
rule us, as his rational creatures, by the law 
of nature, and judge us thereby ; and in 
mercy to provide us a Redeemer when we 
were lost; and to send his Son, and accept 
his ransom. 

The works of the So/i for us were these : 
to ransom and redeem us by his sufferings 
and righteousness ; to give out the promise 
or law of grace, and rule and judge the 
world as the Redeem.er, on terms of grace ; 
to make intercession for us, that the benefits 
of his death may be communicated ; and to 
send the Holv Ghost, which the Father also 
doth by the Son. 

The works of the Hohj Ghost for us are 
these : to indite the Holy Scriptures by in- 
spiring and guiding the Prophets and Apos- 
tles, and sealinc: the Vv'ord bv his miraculous 
gifts and works ; and iUuminating and excit- 
ing the ordinary ministers of the Gospel, and 
so enabling them and helping them to pub- 
lish, that word ; and by the same word il- 
luminating and converting the souls of men. 
So that as you could not have been reason- 
able creatures if the Father had not created 
yoa, nor have had any access to God if the 



DocM.) THE UNCONVERTED, 49 

Son lind not redeemed you, so neither can 
you have a part in Christ or be saved ex- 
cept the Holy Ghost do sanctify you. 

So that by this time you may see the 
several causes of this work. The Fatlier 
sendeth the Son ; the Son redeemeth us and 
maketh the promise of grace ; the Holy 
Ghost inditeth and sealeth this Gospel ; the 
Apostles are the secretaries of the Spirit to 
write it ; the preachers of the Gospel to pro- 
claim it, and persuade men to obey it; and 
the Holy Ghost doth make their preacliing 
effectual, by opening the hearts of men to 
entertain it. And all tliis to re])air the im- 
age of God upon the soul, and to set the 
heart upon God again, and take it off' from 
the creature and carnal self to which it is 
revolted, and so to turn the current of the 
life into a heavenly course, which before 
was earthly ; and this throufrli embraciu"- 
Christ by faith, who is the Physician of the 
soul. 

By what I have said you may see what 
it is to be wicked, and what it is to be con- 
verted; which, I think, will be yet plainer 
to you, if I describe them as consisting of 

E. CiUl. 5 



50 A CALL TO (Doct L 

their several parts. A wicked man may 
bo known by these three things : 

1. He is one who placeth his chief af- 
fections on earth, and loveth the creature 
more than God, and his fleshly prosperity 
above the heavenly felicity. He savoreth 
the thinu:s of the flesh, but neither discerneth 
nor savoreth the things of the Spirit ; though 
he will say that heaven is better than earth, 
vet he doth not reallv so esteem it to himself. 
If he might be sure of earth, he would let 
go heaven, and had rather stay here than be 
removed thither. A life of perfect holiness 
in the sisfht of God, dwellinc: in his love and 
praising him for ever in heaven, is not so 
pleasing to his heart as a life of health, and 
wealth, and honor here upon earth. And 
though he falsely profess that he loves God 
above all, yet indeed he never felt the pow- 
er of divine love within him, but his mind is 
more set on the world or fleshly pleasures 
than on God. In a word, whoever loves earth 
above heaven, and fleshly prosperity more 
than God, is a wicked unconverted man. 

On the other hand, a converted man is 
illuminated to discern the loveliness of God, 
and so far believeth the glory that is to be 



Doct. 1.) THE UXGONVERTED. 51 

had with God, that his heart is taken up 
with it and set more upon it than on any 
thing: in this world. He had rather see the 
face of God, and live in his everlasting love 
and praises, than have all the wealtli or 
pleasures of the world. He seeth that all 
things else are vanity, and nothing but God 
can fill the soul ; and therefore let the world 
go which way it will, he layeth up his trea- 
sures and hopes in heaven, and for that he 
is resolved to let go all. As the lire doth 
mount upward, and the needle that is touch- 
ed with the loadstone still turns to the north, 
so the converted soul is inclined unto God. 
Nothing else can satisfy him ; nor can he 
find anv content and rest but in his love. In 
a word, all that are converted do esteem 
and love God better than all the world, and 
the heavenly felicity is dearer to thorn than 
their lleshly prosperity. The proof of what 
] have said you may find in these places of 
Scripture : Thil. 3 : S-IU ; Matt. G : 19-21 ; 
Col. 3 : 1-4; Rom. 8 : 5-9, 18, 23 ; Psahn 
73 : 25, 20. 

2. A wicked man is one that makes it 
the principal business of his life to prosper 
in the world and attain his lleshly ends. 



52 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

And though he may read, and hear, and do 
much in the outward duties of rehgion, and 
Ibrbear disgraceful sins, yet this is all but 
by-the-by, and lie never makes it the princi- 
pal business of his life to please God and 
attain everlasting glory, but puts off' God 
with the leavings of the world, and gives 
him no more service than the flesh can 
spare, for he will not part with all for 
heaven. 

On the contrary, a converted man is one 
that makes it the principal care and busi- 
ness of his life to please God and to be 
saved, and takes all the blessings of this life 
but as accommodations in his journey to- 
ward another life, and useth the creature in 
subordination to God : he loves a holy life, 
and longs to be more holy ; he hath no sin 
but what he liateth, and longeth, and pray- 
eth, and striveth to be rid of. The drift and 
bent of his life is for God, and if he sin, it is 

contrary to the very bent of his heart and 

■J 

life ; and therefore he riseth again and la- 
menteth it, and dares not wilfully live in any 
known sin. There is nothing in this world 
so dear to him but he can give it up to God, 
and forsake it for him and the hopes of glory. 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. 53 

All this you may see in Col. 3 : 1-5; Malt. 
6 : 20, 33 ; Luke, 18 : 22, 23, 29 ; and 14 : 
18, 24, 2G, 27 ; Rom. 8 : 13 ; Gal. 5 : 24 ; 
Luke, 12 : 21, &c. 

3. The soul of a wicked man did never 
truly discern and relish the mystery of 
redemption, nor tliankfully entertain an of- 
fered Savior, nor is he taken up Avith the 
love of the Redeemer, nor willing to be ruled 
by him as the Physician of his soul, that he 
may be saved from the guilt and power of 
his sins, and recovered to God ; but his 
lieart is insensible of this unspeakable bene- 
fit, and is quite against the healing means 
by which lie should l)e recovered. Though 
he may be willing to be outwardly religious, 
yet he never resigned up his soul to Christ 
and to the motions and conduct of his word 
and Spirit. 

On the contrary, the converted soul havinir 
felt himself undone by sin, and perceiving 
that he hath lost his peace with God and 
hopes of heaven, and is in danger of ever- 
lasting misery, doth thankfully entertain the 
tidings of redemption, and believing in the 
Lord Jesus as his onlv Savior, resif!:ns him- 
self up to him for wisdom, righteousness, 



54 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

sanctification, and redemption. He takes 
Christ as the life of his soul, and lives by 
him, and uses him as a salve for eveiy sore, 
admiring the wisdom and love of God in his 
wonderful work of man's redemption. In a 
word, Christ doth even dwell in his heart by 
laith, and the life that he now liveth, is by 
the faith of the Son of God, that loved him, 
and gave himself for him ; 3^ea, it is not so 
much he that liveth, as Christ in him. For 
these, see John, 1 : 11, 12; and 3 : 19, 20 ; 
Rom. 8:9; Phil. 3 : 7-10 ; Gal. 2 : 20 ; 
John, 15 : 2-4 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 20 ; 2 : 2. 

You see now, in plain terms from the Word 
of God, who are the wicked and who are 
the converted. Ignorant people think that 
if a man be no swearer, nor curser, nor rail- 
er, nor drunkard, nor fornicator, nor extor- 
tioner, nor wrong any body in his dealings, 
and if he come to church and say his pray- 
ers, he cannot be a wicked man. Or if a 
man that hath been guilty of drunkenness, 
swearing, or gaming, or the like vices, do 
but forbear them for the time to come, they 
think that this is a converted man. Others 
think if a man that hath been an enemy, and 
scorner at godliness, do but approve it, and 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. 55 

join himself lo those that arc godly, and be 
hated for it by the wieked, as the godly are, 
that this must needs be a converted man. 
And some are so foolish as to think that they 
are converted by taking up some new uud 
false opinion, and falling into some dividing 
party. And some think, if they have but 
been affrighted by the fears of hell, and had 
convictions of conscience, and thereupon 
have purposed and promised amendment, 
and taken up a life of civil behavior and 
outward religion, that this must needs be 
true conversion. And these are the poor de- 
luded souls that are like to lose the benefit 
of all our persuasions ; and when they hear 
that the wicked must turn or die, they think 
that this is not spoken to them, for they are not 
wicked, but are turned already. And there- 
fore it is that Christ told some of the rulers 
of the Jews who were more grave and civil 
than the common people, that " publicans 
and harlots go into the kingdom of God be- 
fore them." Matt. 21 : 31. Not that a har- 
lot or gross sinner can be saved without con- 
version ; but because it was easier to make 
these gross sinners perceive their sin and 
misery, and the necessity of a change, than 



56 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

the more civil sort, who delude tnemselves 
by thinking that they are converted already, 
when they are not. 

O sirs, conversion is another kind of work 
than most are aware of. It is not a small 
matter to bring an earthly mind to heaven, 
and to show man the amiable excellence of 
God, till he be taken up in such love to 
him as can never be quenched ; to break the 
heart for sin, and make him flv for refugee 
to Christ, and thankfully embrace him as 
the life of his soul ; to have the very drift 
and bent of the heart and life changed ; so 
that a man renounceth that which he took 
for his felicity, and placeth his felicity where 
he never did before, and lives not to the 
same end, and drives not on the same de- 
sijrn in the world, as he formerlv did. In a 
word he that is in Christ is a " hew crea- 
ture : old things are passed away: behold, 
all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5 : 17. 
He hath a new understanding, a new will 
and resolution, new sorrows, and desires, 
and love, and delight ; new thoughts, new 
speeches, new company (if possible,) and a 
new conversation. Sin, that before was a 
jesting matter with him, is now so odious and 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. 57 

terrible to liim tliat lie flics from it as from 
death. The world, that was so lovelv in his 
eyes, doth now appear but as vanity and 
vexation: God, that was before neglected, is 
now the only happiness of his soul, before, 
he was forgotten, and every lust preferred 
before him ; but now he is set next the heart, 
and all things must give place to him ; the 
heart is taken up in the attendance and ob- 
servance of him, is grieved when he hides 
his face, and never thinks itself well without 
him. Christ himself, that was wont to bo 
shghtly thought of, is now his only hope and 
refuge, and he lives upon him as on his daily 
bread ; he cannot pray without him, nor re- 
joice without him, nor think, nor speak, nor 
live without him. Heaven itself, that before 
was looked upon but as a tolerable reserve, 
which he hoped might serve his turn better 
than hell when he could not stay any loncrer 
in the world, is now taken for his home, the 
place of his only hope and rest, where lio 
shall see, and love, and praise that God who 
hath his heart already. Hell, that did seem 
before but as a bugbear to frighten men from 
sin, doth now appear to be a real misery that 
is not to be ventured on nor jested wiih. 



r)S A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

The works of holiness, of which before he 
was wear}^, and which he thought unneces- 
sary, are now both his recreationand his bu- 
siness. The Bible, which was before to him 
but almost as a common book, is now as the 
law of God ; as a letter written to him from 
heaven and subscribed with the name of the 
Eternal Majesty; it is the rule of his thoughts, 
nnd words, and deeds; the commands are 
binding, the threats are dreadful, and the 
promises of it speak life to his soul. The 
godly, that seemed to him but like other 
men, are now the most excellent and happy 
on earth. And the wicked that were his play- 
fellows are now his o-rief; and he that could 
laugh at their sins is more ready now to weep 
for their sin and miser}^, and to say with those 
of old, (Psalm 16 : 3 ; 15 : 4; Phil. 3 : IS,) 
*' But to the saints that are in the earth, and 
to the excellent, in whom is all my dehght." 
" In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; 
but he honoreth them that fear the Lord : he 
that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth 
not." " For many walk of whom I have 
told you often, and now tell you, even weep- 
ing, that they are the enemies of the cross of 
Christ." 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. 59 

In short, he hath a new end in his thoughts, 
and a new way in his endeavors, and there- 
fore his heart and liih are new. Before, his 
carnal self was his end, and his pleasure 
and worldly profit and credit were his way ; 
and now God and everlasting glory are his 
end, and Christ, and the Spirit, and word, 
and ordinances ; holiness to God, and righ- 
teousness and mercy to men, these are his 
way. Before, self was the chief ruler, to 
which the matters of God and conscience 
must stoop and give place; and now God, in 
Christ, by the Spirit, word and ministry, is 
the chief ruler, to whom both self and all 
the matters of self must give place. So that 
this is not a change in one, or two, or twen- 
ty points, but in the whole soul, and in the 
very end and bent of the conversation. A 
man may step out of one path into another, 
and yet have his face the same wa}'-, and be 
still going towards the same place ; but it 
is another matter to turn quite back, and 
take his journey quite the contrary way, to 
a contrary place. So it is here : a man may 
turn from drunkenness, and forsake other 
gross disgraceful sins, and set upon some du- 
ties of religion, and yet be still going to the 



60 A CALL TO Doct. 1 

same end as before, loving his carnal self 
above all, and giving it still the government 
of his soul ; but when he is converted, this 
self is denied and taken down, and God is 
set up, and his face is turned the contrary 
way; and he that before was addicted to 
himself, and lived to himself, is now, by 
sanctification, devoted to God, and livelh 
unto God. Before, he asked himself what 
he should do with his time, his talents, and 
his estate, and for himself he used them; 
but now he asketh God what he shall do 
with them, and useth them for him. Before, 
he would please God so far as might accord 
with the pleasure of his flesh and carnal 
self, but not to any great displeasure of 
them; but now he will please God, let flesh 
and self be never so much displeased. This 
is the great change that God will make upon 
all that shall be saved. 

You can say that the Holy Ghost is our 
sanctifier; but do 3'ou know what sanctifi- 
cation is ? Why, tliis is what I have now 
opened to you ; and every man and woman 
in the world must have this, or be condemn- 
ed to everlasting misery. The}' must turn 
or die. 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCOiWF.IlTED. CI 

Do you believe all lljis, sirs, or do you 
not? Surely you dare not say you do not; 
lor it is past all doubt or denial. These are 
not controversies, wliere one learned pious 
man is of one mind and another of another ; 
Avhere one party saith this, and the other 
saith that. Every sect among us that de- 
serve to be called christians are all agreed 
in this that I have said ; and if you will not 
believe the God of truth, and that in a case 
Avhere every sect and party do believe him, 
3'ou are utterly inexcusable. 

But if you do believe this, how comes it 
to pass that you live so quietly in an uncon- 
verted state ? Do you think that you are 
converted ? and can you find this wonderful 
change upon your souls ? Have you been 
thus born again, and made new? Are not 
these strange matters to many of you, and 
such as you never felt within yoursehcs? 
you cannot tell the day or week of your 
change, or the very sermon that converted 
you, yet do you find that the work is done, 
that such a change indeed there is, and that 
you have such hearts as are before describ- 
ed ? Alas ! the most follow their worldly 
business, and little trouble their minds with 

B. GaU. ^ 



02 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

such thoughts. And if they be but restrained 
from scandalous sins, and can say, "I am 
no whore-monger, nor thief, nor curser, nor 
swearer, nor tippler, nor extortioner; I go 
to church, and say m3^ prayers;" they think 
that this is true conversion, and that they 
shall be saved as well as an3^ Alas ! this is 
foolish cheating of yourselves. This is too 
much contempt of an endless glory, and too 
gross neglect of j^our immortal souls. Can 
you make so light of heaven and hell ? 

Your bod3^ will shordy lie in the dust, and 
angels or devils will presently seize upon 
your souls ; and every man or woman of 
3'ou all will shortly be among other com- 
pany, and in another case than now you are. 
You Vvdll dwell in these houses but a little 
longer; 3'ou will work in ^^our shops and 
fields but a little longer; 3'ou will sit in 
these seats and dwell on this earth but a lit- 
tle longer ; you will see with these e3^es, and 
hear with these ears, and speak with these 
tongues but a little longer, till the resurrec- 
tion-day ; and can you make shift to forget 
this ? O what a place will }^ou shortly be in 
of joy or torment ! O what a sight will you 
shortly see in heaven or hell ! O what 



Doct. I.) THE UNCONVERTED. C3 

thoughts will shortly fill your hearts with un- 
speakable dehght or liorror ! What work will 
you be employetl in ! to praise the Lord with 
saints and angels, or to cry out in fire un- 
quenchable with devils ; and should all this 
be foi'gotten ? And all this will be endless, 
and sealed up by an unchangeable decree. 
Eternity,, eternity will be the measure ot" 
your joys or sorrows : and can this be forgot- 
ten "? And all this is true, sirs, most certain- 
ly true. When you have gone up and down 
a little longer, and slept and awaked a few 
times more, you will be dead and gone, and 
find all true that now I tell you : and yet can 
you now so much forget it? You shall then 
remember that you had this call, and that,, 
this day, in this place, you were reminded of 
these things, and you will perceive them to bo 
matters a thousand times more important than 
either you or I could here conceive ; and vet 
shall they be now so much ibrgottcn ? 

Beloved friends, if the Lord had not 
awakened me to believe and lay to heart 
these things myself, I should have remained 
in a dark and selfish state, and have perished 
I'or ever ; but if he have truly made me sen- 
sible of them, it will constrain me tocompas- 



64 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

sionate you as well as myself. If your eyes 
were so far opened as to see hell, and you saw 
your neighbors that were unconverted drag- 
ged thither with hideous cries : though they 
were such as you accounted honest people 
on earth, and as feared no such danger them- 
selves ; such a sight would make you go 
home and think of it, and think again, and 
make you warn all about you, as that lost 
worldhng, Luke, 16 : 28, would have had his 
brethren warned, lest they come to that 
place of torment. 

Faith is a kind of sio;ht ; it is the eve of 
the soul, the evidence of things not seen. 
If I believe God, it is next to seeing; and 
therefore, I beseech you, excuse me if I be 
half as earnest with you about these mat- 
ters as if I had seen them. If I must die 
to-morrow, and it were in my power to 
come again from another world and tell 
you what I had seen, would you not be 
willing to hear me ? and would you not be- 
lieve and regard what I should tell you ? If 
I might preach one sermon to you after I am 
dead, and have seen what is done in the 
world to come, would you not have me 
plainly speak the truth, and would you not 



Doct. 1.) THE UNCONVERTED. 65 

crowd to hear me, and would you not lay it 
lo heart? But this must not he; God hath 
his appointed \Vc\y of teaching you by Scrip- 
ture and ministers, and he will not humor 
unbelievers so far as to send men irom the 
dead to them and alter his established way : 
if any man quarrel with the sun, God will not 
liumor him so far as to set up a clearer light. 
Friends, I beseech you, regard me now as you 
would do if 1 should come from the dend to 
you ; for I can give you as full assurance of 
the truth of what 1 say to you as if I had 
])een there and seen it with my eyes : it is 
possible for one from the dead to deceive 
you; l)ut Jesus Christ can never deceive 
you ; the Word of God delivered in Scrip- 
ture, and sealed by miracles and holy work- 
ings of the Spirit, can never deceive you. 
Believe this, or believe nothing. Believe and 
obey this, or you are undone. 

Now, as ever vou believe the word of God, 
and as ever you care for the salvation of your 
souls, let me beg of you this reasonable re- 
quest, and I beseech you deny me not: That 
you would now remember what has been 
said, and enter into an earnest search of your 
hearts, and say to yourselves — Is it so in- 



66 A CALL TO (Doct.1. 

deed ; must I turn or die ? Must I be con- 
verted or condemned ? It is time for me then 
to look about me before it be too late. O 
why did I not look after this before now? 
Why did I venturously put off or slumber 
over so great a business ? Was I awake, or 
in my senses ? O blessed God, what a mer- 
cy is it that thou didst not cut off my life all 
this while, before I had any certain hope of 
eternal life ! 

God forbid that I should neglect this work 
any longer. What state is my soul in ? Am 
I converted, or am I not ? Was ever such a 
change or work done upon my soul ? Have 
I been illuminated by the word and Spirit 
of the Lord to see the odiousness of sin, the 
need of a Savior, the love of Christ, and the 
excellences of God and glory ? Is my heart 
broken or humbled within me for my former 
life ? Have I thankfully entertained my Sa- 
vior and Lord that offered himself with par- 
don and life for my soul? Do I hate my 
former sinful life and the remnant of every 
sin that is in me ? Do I fly from them as my 
deadly enemies ? Do I give up myself to a 
life of holiness and obedience to God ? Do 
I love it and delight in it? Can I truly say 



Doct. 1,) THE UNCONVERTED. 67 

that I am dead to the world and carnal self, 
and that I live for God and the glory which 
he hath promised ? Hath heaven more of 
my esteem and affection than earth ? And is 
God the dearest and highest in my soul ? 
Once, I am sure, I lived principally to the 
world and flesh, and God had nothing but 
seme heartless services, which the world 
could spare, and which were the leavings of 
the flesh. Is my heart now turned another 
way? Have I a new design and a new end, 
and a new train of holy aflections ? Have I 
set my hope and heart in heaven ? And is it 
the scope, and design, and bent of my heart 
to get well to heaven, and see the glorious 
face of God, and live in his everlasting love 
and praise ? And when I sin, is it against 
the habitual bent and design of my heart? 
And do I conquer all gross sins, and am I 
weary and willing to be rid of my inflrmi- 
ties ? This is the state of converted souls. 
And thus it must be with me, or I must per- 
ish. Is it thus with me indeed, or is it not? 
It is time to get this doubt resolved, before 
the dreadful Judge resolve it. I am not such 
a stranger to my own heart and life, but I 
may somewhat perceive whether I am thus 



68 A GALL TO (Doctl, 

converted or not ; if I be not, it \YiIl do nie 
no ^GTOod to Hatter my soul with false conceits' 
and hopes. I ain resolved no more to de- 
ceive myself, but endeavor to know truly 
whether I be converted or not : that if I be, 
I may rejoice in it, and glorify my gracious 
Lord, and comfortably go on till I reach the 
crov/n : and if I am not, that I may set my- 
self to beg and seek after the grace that 
should convert me, and may turn without 
an}' more delay. For, if I find in time that 
I am out of the way, by the help of Christ 
I may turn and be recovered ; but if I stay 
till either my heart be forsaken of God in 
blindness and hardness, or till I be snatched 
away by death, it is then too late. There is 
no place for repentance and conversion then : 
I know it must be now or never. 

Sirs, this is my request to you, that you 
will but take vour hearts to task, and thus 
examine them till you see, if it may be, 
whether you are converted or not ? And if 
you cannot find it out by your own endea- 
vors, go to your ministers, if they be faithful 
and experienced men, and desire their as- 
sistance. The matter is great ; let not bash- 
fulness nor carelessness hinder you. They 



Doct. L) THE UNCONVERTED. 69 

are set over you to advise 3'OU for the sav- 
ing of your souls, as physicians advise you 
for the curing of your bodies. It undoes 
many tliousands that they think they are in 
the way to salvation when they are not ; and 
think that thev are converted when it is no 
such thing. And then when we call to them 
daily to turn, they go away as they came, 
and think that this concerns not them ; for 
they are turned already, and hope they shall 
<lo well enough in the way that they are in, 
at least if they pick the fairest path, and 
avoid some of the foulest steps, when, alas ! 
all this while they live but to the world and 
flesh, and are strangers to God and eternal 
life; and are quite out of the way to heaven. 
And all this because we cannot persuade 
them to a few serious thoughts of their con- 
dition, and to spend a few hours in llie ex- 
amining of their states. 

Are there not many self-deceivers who 
hear me this dav, that never bestowed one 
hour, or quarter of an hour, in all their lives, 
to examine their souls, and try whcdier they 
are truly converted or not V O merciful God, 
that will care for such wretches that care no 
iuore for themselves, and that will do so much 



70 A CALL TO (Doct. 1. 

to save them from hell and help them to hea- 
ven, who will do so little for it themselves ! 
If all that are in the wav to he.l and in the 
state of damnation did but know it, they 
durst not continue in it. The greatest hope 
that the devil hath of brinoino: vou to dam- 
nation without a rescue, is by keeping you 
blindfold and ignorant of your state, and 
making 3^ou believe that you may do well 
enou2:h in the way that vou are in. If vou 
knew that 3'ou were out of the w^ay to hea- 
ven, and were lost for ever if 3^au should die 
as you are, durst you sleep another night in 
the state that 3'ou are in? Durst you live an- 
other day in it ? Could you heartily laus^h or 
be merry in such a state ? What ! and not 
know but 3-0U may be snatched away to hell 
in an hour? Sure it would constrain 3'ou to 
forsake your former company and courses, 
and to betake yourselves to the ways of ho- 
liness and the communion of the saints. Sure 
it would drive you to cry to God for a new 
heart, and to seek help of those that are fit 
to counsel you. There are none of yoxx sure- 
ly that care not for Ix^ing damned. Well, 
then, I beseech 3^ou, presently make inquiry 
into 3'our hearts, and give them no rest till 



Doct 1.) THE UNCOxWERTED, 7f 

you find out your condition, that if it be good, 
you may rejoice in it, and go on ; and if it 
be bad, you may presently look about you 
for recovery, as men that believe they must 
turn or die. What say you, sirs, will you re- 
solve and promise to be at thus much labor 
for your own souls ? Will you now enter 
upon this self-examination? Is my request 
unreasonable ? Your consciences know it is 
not. Resolve on it, then, before you stir; 
knowing how much it concerneth your souls. 
I beseech you, for the sake of that God that 
doth command you, at whose bar you will 
all shortly appear, that you do not deny me 
this reasonable request. For the sake of 
those souls that must turn or die, I beseech 
you deny me not; but make it your business 
to understand your own condition and build 
upon sure ground, and know whether you 
are converted or not ; and venture not your 
souls on negligent security. 

But perhaps you will say, "What if we 
should find ourselves yet unconverted, what 
shall we do then?" This question leads 
me to my second Doctrine, which will do 
much to the answering of it, to which I 
now proceed* 



72 A CALL TO (Docta. 

DOCTRINE IL 

It is the promise of God, that the nncked shall live^ 
ifthei/ zcitl but turn — unfeignedly and thormigh- 

ly tUTTli 

The Lord here professeth that this is what 
he takes pleasure in, that the wicked turn 
and hve. Heaven is made as sure to the 
<'onverted, as hell is to the UTK'onveited. 
Turn and live, is as certain a truth as turn 
or die. God was not bound to provide us a 
Savior, nor open to us a door ot" liope, nor 
call us to repent and turn, when once we 
had cast ourselves away by sin. But he hath 
freely done it to magnify his mercy. Sinners, 
there are none of you that sliall have cause to 
go home and say I preach desperation to \^ou. 
Do we use to shut the door of mercy aojainst 
you ? O tliat you would not shut it against 
yourselves ! Do we use to tell you that God 
will have no mercy on you, though you turn 
and be sanctified? When did you ever hear 
a preacher say such a word ? You that cavil 
at the preachers of the Gospel for desiring 
to keep you out of hell, and say that they 



Doct. 2.) THE UNCONVERTED. 73 

preach desperation ; tell me, if you can» 
when did 3'ou ever hear any sober man say 
that there is no hope lor you, though you re- 
pent and be converted ? No, it is the direct 
contrary that we daily proclaim from the 
Lord : that whoever is born again, and by 
faith and repentance doth become a new 
creature, shall certainly be saved ; and so 
far are we from persuading you to despair 
of this, that w^e persuade you not to make 
any doubt of it. It is life, not death, that is 
the first part of our message to you ; our com- 
mission io to offer salvation, certain salva- 
tion ; a speedy, glorious, everlasting salva- 
tion to every one of you ; to the poorest beg- 
gar as well as the greatest lord ; to the worst 
of you, even to drunkards, swearers, world- 
lings, thieves, yea, to the despisers and re- 
proachers of the holy way of salvation. 

We are commanded by our Lord and 
.blaster to offer you a pardon for all that is 
yxTSt, if you will but now at last return and 
live ; vve are commanded to beseech and en- 
treat you to accept the offer, and return ; to 
tell you what preparation is made by Christ , 
what mercy stays for you ; what patience 
waiteth on you ; what thoughts of kindness 

B. Call. 7 



71 A CALL TO (Doct.2. 

God hath toward you ; and how happy, how 
certainly and unspeakably happ}^ you may 
be if you will. We have indeed also a mes- 
sage of wrath and death, yea, of a twofold 
wrath and death ; but neither of them, is our 
principal message. We must 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 only to show 
you the need of mercy, and to provoke you 
to esteem the grace of the Redeemer. And 
we tell 3'ou nothing but the truth, which you 
must know; for who w^ill seek for physic 
that knows not that he is sick ? Our telling 
3''ou of 3^our miser}^ is not that which makes 
3^ou miserable, but would drive you to seek 
for mercy. It is you that have brought this 
death upon yourselves. We tell you also ot 
another death, even remediless, and much 
greater torment, that will fall on those who 
will not be converted. 

But as this is true, and must be told you, 
so it is but the last and saddest part of our 
message. We are first to offer 3^ou mercy, 
if you will turn ; and it is only those that 
will not turn, nor hear the voice of mercy, 
to whom we must foretell damnation. If you 



Docl.2.) THE UNCONVERTED. 75 

will but cast away your transgressions, if 
you will delay no longer, but come away at 
the call of Christ, and be converted, and be- 
come new creatures, we have not a word ot* 
damning wrath or death to speak against 
vou. I do here, in the name of the Lord of 
Life, proclaim to you all that hear me this 
day, to the worst of you, to the greatest, to 
the oldest sinner, that you may have mercy 
and salvation, if you will but turn. There is 
mercy in God, there is sufficiency in the sat- 
isfaction of Christ, the promise is free, and 
full, and universal; you may have life, if 
you will but turn. But then, as you love 
your souls, remember what turning it is that 
the Scripture speaks of. It is not to mend 
the old house, but to pull down all, and 
build anew on Christ, the Rock and sure 
foundation. It is not to mend somewhat in 
a carnal course of life, but to mortify the 
flesh and live after the Spirit. It is not to 
serve the flesh and the world in a more re- 
formed way, without any scandalous dis- 
graceful sins, and with a certain kind of 
religiousness ; but it is to change your mas- 
ter, and your works, and end ; and to set 
3^our face the contrary way, and do all for 



7() A CALL TO (D;5rt. 2. 

the life tnat you never saw, and dedicate 
yourselves and all j^ou have to God. This 
is the change that must be made, if you 
w'lU live. 

Yourselves are witnesses now, that it is 
salvation, and not damnation, that is the 
great doctrine I preach to you, and the first 
part of my message to you. Accept of this, 
and we shall 2:0 no farther with you ; for we 
would not so much as affright or trouble 
you with the name of damnation without 
necessity. 

But if you will not be saved, 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 show you the grounds on which we do it, 
and call you to believe that God doth mean, 
indeed, as he speaks ; that the promise is 
true, and extendeth conditionally to you, as 
well as others ; and that heaven is no fancy, 
but a true felicity. 

If you ask. Where is our commission for 
this offer? Among a hundred texts of Scrip- 
ture, I will shov/ it to you in these few* : 

You see it here in my text and the follow^ 



Doct.2.) THE UNCONVERTED. 77 

ing verses, and in the ISth of Ezekiel, as 
plain as can be spoken ; and in 2 Cor. 5 : 
17-21, you have the very sum of our commis- 
sion : "If anv man be in Christ, he is a new 
creature : old things are passed away ; be- 
hold, all things are become new. And all 
things are of God, who hath reconciled us to 
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to 
us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit, that 
God was in Christ reconciling the, world un- 
to himself, not imputing their trespasses to 
them, and hath committed unto us the word 
of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambas^ 
sadors for Christ, as though God did beseech 
you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, 
be ye reconciled unto God. For he hath 
made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; 
that we might be made the righteousness of 
God in him." So Mark, 16 : 15, 16. " Go 
ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel 
to every creature. He that believeth," (that 
is with such a converting faith as is express- 
ed,) " and is baptized, shall be saved ; and 
he that believeth not shall be damned." 
And Luke, 24 : 46, 47: "Thus it behoved 
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead 
the third day ; and that repentance " (which 



78 A CALL TO (Doct 2- 

is conv^ersion) '* and remission of sins should 
be preached in his name among all nations." 
And Acts, 5 : 30, 31, "The God of our la- 
thers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, and 
hanged on a tree : him hath God exalted 
with his right hand, to be a Prince and a 
Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and for- 
giveness of sins." And Acts, 13 : 38, 39, 
"Be it known unto you therefore, men and 
brethren, that through this man is preached 
unto you the forgiveness of sins ; and b}^ him 
all that believe are justified from all things, 
from which ye could not be justified by the 
law of Moses." And lest you think this of- 
fer is restrained to the Jews, see Gal. 6 : 15, 
"For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision 
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but 
a new creature." And Luke, 14 : 17, " Come, 
for all things are now ready." 

You see by this time that we are com- 
manded to offer life to you all, and to tell 
you from God, that if you will turn, you 
may live. 

Here you may safely trust your souls ; 
for the love of God is the foundation of this 
ofier, John, 3 : 16, and the blood of the 
Son of God hath purchased it; the faithful- 



Doct. 2.) THE U.VCONVERTED. 79 

ness and truth of God is engaged to make 
the promise good ; miracles oft sealed the 
truth of it ; preachers are sent through the 
world to proclaim it ; and the Spirit doth 
open the heart to entertain it, and is itself 
the earnest of the full possession : so that the 
truth of it is past controversy, that the 
worst of you all, and every one of you, if 
you will but be converted, may be saved. 
Indeed, if 5'ou will believe that you shall 
be saved without conversion, then you be- 
lieve a falsehood: and if I should preach 
that to 3^011, I should preach a lie. This were 
not to believe God, but the devil and your 
own deceitful hearts. God hath his promise 
of life, and the devil hath his promise of life. 
God's promise is, Turn and live. The devil's 
promise is. You shall live whether you turn 
or not. The words of God are, as I have 
showed you, " Except ye be converted and 
become as little children, ye cannot enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18 : 3. 
"Except a man be born again, he cannot 
enter into the kingdom of God." John, 3 : 3, 
5. "Without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord.'.' Heb. 12 : 14. The devil's word is, 
"You may be saved without being born 



so A CALL TO (Doeti 

again and converted ; you may get to heaven 
well enough without being holy, God doth 
but frighten you; he is more merciful than 
to do as he saith, he will be better to you 
than his word." And, alas, tlie greatest part 
of the world believe this word of the devil 
])efore the word of God ; just as our sin and 
misery first came into the world. God said 
to our first parents, "If ye eat ye shall die;" 
and the devil contradicted him, and said, 
*' Ye shall not die :" and the woman believed 
the devil before God. So now the Lord saith, 
Turn or die : and the devil saith. You shall 
not die, if you do but cry for God's mercy at 
last, and give over the acts of sin when you 
can practise it no longer. And this is the 
word that the world believes. O heinous 
wickedness, to believe the devil before God. 
And yet that is not the worst ; but blas- 
phemously they call this believing and trust- 
ing in God, when they put him in the shape 
of Satan, who was a liar from the beginning; 
and when they believe that the word of God 
is a lie, they call this trusting God, and say 
they believe in him, and trust in him for sal- 
vation. Where did ever God say that the un- 
regenerate, unconverted, unsanctified, shall 



Doct 2.) THE U.VCONVERTED. 81 

be saved ? Show me such a word in Scrip- 
ture. I challenge 3'ou to do it. Vv^hy this is 
the devil's word, and to believe it is to be- 
lieve the devil, and is the sin that is common- 
Iv called presumption ; and do you call this 
believinc: and trusting: in God? There is 
enoucrh in the word ot" God to comfort and 
strengthen the hearts of the sanctified, bat 
not a word to strengthen the hands of wick- 
edness, nor to give men the least hope of 
being saved though they be never sanctified. 
But if vou will turn, and come into the 
way of mercy, the mercy of the Lord is ready 
to entertain you. Then trust God for salva- 
tion, boldly and confidently ; for he is en- 
gaged by his word to save you. He will be 
a father to none but his children ; and he 
will save none but those that forsake the 
world, the devil, and the flesh, and come 
into his family to be members of his Son, and 
have communion with his saints. But if 
thev will not come in, it is the fault of them- 
selves : his doors are open ; he keeps none 
back ; he never sent such a message as this 
to any of you, "It is now too late ; I will not 
receive thee, though thou be converted." He 
might have done so and done vou no wrong ; 



82 A CALL TO (Docti 

but he did not ; he doth not to this day. He 
is still ready to receive you, if you were but 
ready unfeigned h^ and with all your hearts, 
to turn. And the fulness of this truth will vet 
more appear in the two following doctrines, 
to which I shall therefore next proceed be- 
fore I make any further application of this. 

__J___ 

DOCTRINE III. 

God taketh pleasure in men^s conversion and salvation^ 
hut not in ilieir death or damnation. He had rather 
they would turn and live, than go on and die. 

*' The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward," 
says the apostle, "not willing that any should 
perish, but that all should come to repent- 
ance." 2 Pet. 3:9. He unfeignedly willeth 
the conversion of all men, even of those that 
never will be converted, but not as absolute 
Lord with the fullest efficacious resolution, 
nor as a thing which he resolveth shall un- 
doubtedly come to pass, or would engage all 
his power to accomplish. It is in the power 
of a prince to set a guard upon a murderer, 
to see that he shall not murder, and be hang- 



Doct. 3.) THE UNCONVERTED. 83 

ed; bat if, upon good reason, he forbear this, 
and do but send to his subjects to warn and 
entreat them not to be murderers, he may 
well say that he would not have them mur- 
der and be hanged ; he takes no pleasure in 
it, but rather that tJiey forbear and live, and 
if he do more for some upon some special 
reason, 1# i3 not bound to do so by all. The 
king may well say to all murderers and 
felons in the land, "I have no pleasure in 
3'our death, but rather that you would obey 
my laws and live ; but if you will not; I am 
resolved, for all this, that 3-ou shall die." 
The judge may truly say to the murderer, 
*' Alas, I have nodehght in thy death ; I had 
rather thou hadst kept the law and saved 
thy life ; but seeing thou hast not, I must 
condemn thee, or else I should be unjust." 
So, though God have no pleasure in your 
damnation, and therefore calls upon you to 
return and live, yet he hath pleasure in the 
demonstration of his own justice and the 
execution of his laws ; and therefore he is, 
for all this, fully resolved, that if you will 
not be converted, you shall be condemned. 
If God was so much against the death of the 
wicked as that he were resolved to do all 



84 A CALL TO (Doct. 3. 

that he can to hinder it, then no man should 
be condemned ; whereas Christ telleth you, 
that " narrow is the way that ieadeth unto 
life, and few there be that find it." But so 
far God is opposed to your damnation as 
that he will teach 3^ou, and warn you, and 
set before you life and death, and offer you 
your choice, and command his ministers to 
entreat you not to destroy 3^ourselves, but 
accept his mercy, and so to leave you with- 
out excuse. But if this will not do, and if 
still you be unconverted, he professeth to 
vou that he is resolved on vour damnation, 
and hath commanded us to say to you in his 
name, verse S, " O wicked man, tliou shalt 
surely die!" And Christ hath little less than 
sworn it, over and over, with a '* verily, 
verily," that except 3'ou be converted and 
born again, ye cannot enter into the kingdom 
of hi^aven. Matt. IS : 3 ; John, 3 : 3. Mark 
that he saith, "you cannot." It is in vain to 
hope for it, and in vain to dream that God is 
willing for it ; for it is a thing that cannot be. 
In a word, vou see the meaniuG: of the 
text, that God, the great Lawgiver of the 
world, doth take no pleasure in the death of 
the wicked, but rather that tb.cv turn and 



Doct 3.) THE UNCONVERTED. 85 

live; though yet he be resolved that none 
shall live but those that turn ; and as a 
judge, ever delighteth in justice, and in 
manifestinor his hatred of sin, thougjh not in 
the misery which sinners have brought upon 
themselves, in itself considered. 

And for the proofs of this point, I shall be 
very brief in them, because I suppose you 
easily believe it already. 

1. The very gracious nature of God pro- 
claimed, Exod. 34:6, 7, "And the Lord 
passed by before him, and proclaimed. The 
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 

.long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and 
truth, keeping mercy for thousands, for- 
giving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, 
and that will by no means clear the guilty," 
and many other passages may assure you of 
this, that he hath no pleasure in your death. 

2. If God had more pleasure in thy death 
than in thy conversion and life, he would 
not have so frequently commanded thee 
in liis word to turn ; he would' not have 
made thee such promises of life if thou wilt 
but turn : he would not have persuaded thee 
to it by so many reasons. The tenor of his 
Gospel proveth the point. 

h. CuU* 8 



86 A CALL TO (Doct. 3. 

3. And his commission that he hath given 
to the ministers of the Gospel doth fully 
prove it. If God had taken more pleasure 
in thy damnation than in thy conversion and 
salvation, lie would never have charged us 
to offer you mercy, and to teach you the 
way of life, both publicly and privately; and 
to entreat and beseech 3"ou to turn and live ; 
to acquaint you with your sins and foretell 
3^ou of 3-our danger; and to do ail that pos- 
sibly we can for your conversion, and to con- 
tinue patiently so doing, though you should 
hate or abuse us for our pains. Would God 
have done this, and appointed his ordinan- 
ces for your good, if he had taken pleasure 
in 3^our death V 

4. It is proved also by the course of his 
providence. If God had rather you Avere 
damned than converted and saved, he would 
not second his word with his works, and en- 
tice you bv his daily kindness to himself, and 
arrive you all the mercies of this life, which 
are means "to lead you to repentance," 
Rom. 2 : 4, and bring you so often under his 
rod, to bring 3^ou to 3'our senses ; he would not 
set so man3' examples before 3^our e3^es, no, 
nor wait on 3'ou so patientl3^ as he does from 



Do€t. 3.) THE UNCONVERTED. 87 

day to day and year to year. These are not 
signs of one that taketh pleasure in your 
death. If this had been his dehght, how 
easily could he have had thee lon^j ago in 
hell ? How oft, before this, could he have cut 
thee down in the midst of thy sins with a 
curse, or oath, or lie in thy mouth, in thy 
ignorance, and pride, and sensuality ! When 
thou wert last in thy drunkenness, or last de- 
riding the ways of God, how easily could he 
have stopped thy breath, and tamed thee with 
his plagues, and made thee sober in another 
world ! Alas ! how small a matter is it for 
the Almiorhtv to silence the tonsfue of the 
profanest railer, and tie the hands of the 
most malicious persecutor, or calm the fury 
of the bitterest of his enemies, and make 
them know that they arc but worms? 

If he should but frown upon thee thou 
wouldst drop into thy grave. If he gave com- 
mission to one of his angels to go and destroy 
ten thousand sinners, how quickly would it 
be done ! How easily can he lay thee upon 
the bed of languishing, and make thee lie 
groaning there in pain, and make thee eat the 
words of reproach which thou hast spoken 
against his servants, his word, his worship, 



88 A CALL TO (bott. i' 

and his holy ways, and make thee send to 
beg their prayers whom thou didst despise 
in th}' presumption ? How easily can he lay 
that flesh under pains and groans, and make 
it too weak to hold thv soul, and make it 
more loathsome than the dung of the eaith? 
That flesh which now must have what it 
loves, and must not be displeased thougli 
God be displeased ; and must be humored 
in meat, and drink, and clothes, whatever 
God say to the contrary, how quickly would 
the frowns of God consume it? When thou 
wast passionately defending thy sin, and 
quarrelling with them that would have 
drawn thee from it, and showing thy spleen 
against the reprover, and pleading for the 
works of darkness ; how easily could God 
liave snatched thee away in a moment, and 
set thee before his dreadful 3Iajesty, where 
thou shouldst see ten thousand times ten 
thousand glorious angels waiting on his 
throne, and have called thee there to plead 
thy cause, and asked thee " What hast thou 
now to say against thy Creator, his truth, 
his servants, or his holy ways ? Now plead 
thy cause, and make the best of it thou 
canst. Now what canst thou say in excuse 



I>oct3.) THE UNCONVERTED. 89 

of thy sins ? Now give account of thy world- 
liness and fleshly life, of thy time, of all the 
mercies thou hast had." O how thy stub- 
born heart would have melted, and thy proud 
looks be taken down, and thv countenance 
be appalled, and thy stout words turned into 
speechless silence, or dreadful cries, if God 
had but set thee thus at his bar, and pleaded 
his own cause with thee, which thou hast 
here so maliciously pleaded against ! How 
easily can he at any time say to thy guilty 
soul. Come away, and live in that flesh no 
more till the resurrection, and it cannot re- 
sist ! A word of his mouth would take ofl* 
the poise of thy present life, and then all thy 
parts and powers would stand still ; and if 
he say unto thee. Live no longer, or, live in 
hell, thou couldst not disobey. 

But God hath yet ddne none of this, but 
liath patiently forborne thee, and mercifully 
upheld thee, and given thee that breath 
which thou didst breathe out against him, 
and given those mercies which thou didst 
sacrifice to thy flesh, and afforded thee that 
provision which thou didst use to satisfy thy 
greedy throat : he gave thee every minute 
of that time which thou didst waste in idle- 

8* 



90 A CALL TO (DoctS. 

ness, or drunkenness, or worldlinefss ; and 
doth not all his patience and. mercy show 
that he desired not thv damnation? Can 
the candle burn without the oil? Can your 
houses stand without the eaith to bear them? 
No more can vou live an hour without the 
support of God. And why did he so long 
support th}' life, but to see when thou wouldst 
bethink thee of the folly of thy Vv'ays, and 
return and live ? Vv'ill any man purposely 
put arms into his enemy's hands to resist 
him, or hold a candle to a murderer that is 
killing his children, or to an idle servant 
that plays or sleeps the while ? Surely it is 
to see whether thou wilt at last return and 
live, that God hath so long waited on thee. 
5. It is further proved by the sufferings of 
his Son, that God taketh no pleasure in the 
death of the wicked. Would he have ran- 
somed them from death at so dear a rate ? 
Would he have astonished angels and men 
by his condescension? Would God have 
dwelt in flesh, and have come in the form 
of a servant, and have assumed humanity 
into one person with the Godhead ; and 
would Christ have lived a life of suffering, 
and died a cursed death for sinners, if he 



rfocf. 3.) THE UXCO.WnRTED. 91 

had rather taken pleasure in their death? 
Suppose 3"0U saw him but so busy in preach- 
ing and healing of tliem, as you find him in 
Mark, 3 : 21 ; or so long in fasting, as in ]Matt. 
4; or all night in prayer, as in Luke, G : 12; 
or praying with drops of blood trickling from 
him instead of sweat, as Luke, 22:44; or 
suffering a cursed death upon the cross, and 
pouring out his soul as a sacrifice for our 
sins — would you have thought these the 
siofns of one that delighted in the death of 
the wicked ? 

And think not to extenuate it by saying 
that it was only for his elect : for it was thy 
sin, and the sin of all the world, that la}^ up- 
on our Redeemer ; and his sacrifice and 
satisfaction is sufficient for all, and the fruits 
of it are offered to one as well as another. 
But it is true, that it was never the intent of 
his mind to pardon and save any that would 
not, b}^ faith and repentance, be converted. 
If you had seen and heard him weeping and 
bemoaning the state of disobedience in im- 
penitent people, Luke, 19:41, 42, "And 
when he was come near, he beheld the citv, 
and wept over it, saying, if thou hadst known, 
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things 



92 A CALL TO (Docfd 

which belong unto thy peace ! but now they 
are hid from thine eyes" — or complaining 
of their stubbornness, as Matt. 23:37, "O 
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would 1 
have gathered thy children together, even 
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her 
win2:s, and ve would not!" or if vou had 
seen and heard him on the cross, praying 
for his persecutors, " Father, forgive them, 
for they know not what they do," would you 
have suspected that he had delighted in the 
death of the wicked, even of those that per- 
ish by their wilful unbelief? When God hath 
so loved the world, (not only loved, but so 
loved,) as to give his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever belie veth in him, by an effectual 
faith, should not perish, but have everlasting 
life, I think he hath hereby proved, against 
the malice of men and devils, that he takes 
no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but 
had rather that they would *' turn and live." 
6. If all this will not yet satisfy you, take 
His own word that he knoweth best his own 
mind, or at least believe his oath : but this 
leads me to the fourth doctrine. 



u 



DdcI 4.) THE UXCONVERTED. 9.' 



DOCTRINE IV. 

The Lord hath confirmed it to us hy his Oath, that he hath 
no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that 
he turn and live ; that he may leave man no pretence 
to question the truth of it. 

If you dare question his word, I hope you 
dare not question his oath. As Christ hath 
solemnly protested that the unregenerate and 
unconverted cannot enter into the kingdom 
of heaven; Matt. IS : S; John, 8:3; so 
God hath sworn that his pleasure is not in 
their death, but in their conversion and life. 
And as the apostle saith, Heb. G : IG-IS, be- 
cause he can swear by no greater, he sware 
by himself. " For men verily swear by the 
greater : and an oath for confirmation is to 
them an end of strife. Wherein God, willing 
more abundantly to show unto the heirs of 
promise the immutability of his counsel, 
confirmed it by an oath ; that by two immu- 
table things, in which it was impossible for 
God to lie, we might have strong consolation 
who have fled for refuge to lav hold on the 
hope set before us ; which hope we have as an 
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast." 
If there be any man that cannot reconcile 



94 A CALL TO (Doct4. 

this truth with the doctrine of predestina- 
tion, or the actual damnation of the wicker], 
that is his own ignorance ; he hath no pre- 
tence left to question or deny therefore the 
truth of the point in hand ; for this is con- 
firmed by the oath of God, and therefore 
must not be distorted, to reduce it to other 
points : but doubtful points must rather be 
reduced to it, and certain truths must be 
believed to agreee with it, though our shal- 
low minds hardly discern the agreement. 

I do now entreat thee, if thou be an uncon- 
verted sinner that hearest these words, that 
thou w^ouldst ponder a little upon the fore- 
mentioned doctrines, and bethink thyself 
awhile who it is that takes pleasure in thy 
sin and damnation. Certainly it is not God ; 
he hath sworn for his part that he takes no 
pleasure in it. And I know it is not the 
pleasing of him that you intend. You dare 
not say that you drink, and swear, and ne- 
glect holy duties, and quench the motions 
of the Spirit to please God. That were as 
if 3'ou should reproach the prince, and break 
his laws, and seek his death, and say you 
did all this to please him. 



Doct. 4.) THE UNCONVERTED. 95 

Who is It then that takes pleasure in your 
sin and death ? Not any that bear the 
image of God, for they must be like-minded 
to him. God knows, it is small pleasure to 
to your faithful teachers to see you servo 
3'our deadly enemy, and madly venture 
your eternal state and wilfully run into the 
flames of hell. It is small pleasure to them 
to see upon your souls (in the sad effects) 
such blindness, and hard-heartedness, and 
carelessness, and presumption ; such wilful- 
ness in evil, and such unteachableness and 
obstinacy against the wa3's of life and peace. 
They know these are marks of death, and 
of the wrath of God, and they know, from the 
word of God, what is like to be the end of 
them, and therefore it is no more pleasure 
to them than to a tender physician to see 
tlie plague-marks broke out upon his patient. 
Alas, to foresee your everlasting torments, 
and know not how to prevent them! To see 
how near you are to hell, and we cannot 
make you believe it and consider it. To see 
how easily, how certainly you might escape, 
if we knew but how to make you willino:. 
How fair you are for everlasting salvation, 
if you would but turn and do your best, and 



96 A CALL TO (Doct.4. 

make it the care and business of your lives ! 
But 3^ou will not do it : if our lives lay on it, 
we cannot persuade vou to it. We studv 
day and night what to say to you that may 
convince and persuade you, and yet it is 
undone : we lav before vou the word of God, 
and show you the very chapter and verse 
where it is written, that you cannot be saved 
except you be converted ; and yet we leave 
the most of you as we find you. We hope 
3*ou will believe the word of God though 
you believe not us, and regard it when we 
show you the plain Scripture for it ; but we 
hope in vain, and labor in vain, as to any 
saving change upon your hearts ! And do 
you think that this is a pleasant thing to us? 
Many a time, in secret prayer, we complain 
to God with sad hearts, 

"Alas, Lord, we have spoken to them in 
thv name, but thev little rec^ard us ; we 
have told them what thou bidst us tell them 
concerning: the dano^er oi an unconverted 
state, but they do not beheve us : we have 
told them that thou hast protested that there 
is no peace to the wicked, Isa. 57 : 21 ; but 
the worst of them all will scarcely believe 
that thev are wicked. We have showed 



Doct.4.) THE UNCOXVERTED. 97 

them thy word, where thou hast said, that 
if they Hve after the flesh they shall die, 
Rom. S : 13 ; but they say, they v/ill beheve 
in thee, when they will not believe thee ; and 
that they will trust in thee, when they give 
no credit to thy word ; and when they hope 
that the threaten! ngs of thy word are false, 
they will yet call this a hoping in God ; and 
thou2:h we show them where thou hast said, 
that when a wicked man dieth, all his hopes 
perish, 3^et we cannot persuade them from 
their deceitful hopes. Prov. 11:7. We tell 
them what a base unprofitable thing sin is ; 
but they love it, and therefore will not leave 
it. We tell them how dear they buy this 
pleasure, and what they must pay for it in 
everlasting torment; and they bless them- 
selves, and will not believe it, but will do as 
the most do ; and because God is merciful 
they will not believe him, but will venture 
their souls, come what will. We tell them 
how ready the Lord is to receive them, and 
this doth but make them delay their repent- 
ance and be bolder in their sin. Some of 
them say they purpose to repent, but they 
arc still the same ; and some sav thev do 
repent already, while yet they are not con- 

B. Call 



S3 A CALL TO (Ooct. 4. 

verted from their sins. We exhort them, we 
entreat them, \\c offer them our help, but 
we cannot prevail with them ; but they that 
were drunkards, are drunkards still; and 
the}' that were voluptuous flesh-pleasing 
wretches, are such still ; and they that were 
worldlino's, are worldlino:s still ; and thev 
that were ignorant and proud and self-con- 
ceited, are so still. Few of them will see 
and confess their sin, and fewer will forsake 
it, but comfort themselves that all men are 
sinners, as if there were no difference be- 
tween a converted sinner and an unconvert- 
ed. Some of them will not come near us 
when we are willing to instruct them, but 
think they know enough already, and need 
not our instruction ; and some of them will 
give us the hearing, and do what they list ; 
and most of them are like dead men that 
•cannot feel ; so that when we tell them of 
matters of everlasting consequence, we can- 
not get a word of it to their hearts. If we 
do not obev them, and humor them in doing 
all that they would have us, though never 
so much against the word of God, they will 
hate us, and rail at us ; but if we beseech 
them to confess, and forsake their sins, and 



Dbct. 4.) THE UNCONVEirrrD. tl9» 

save their souls, they will not do it. They 
would heave us disobey God and damn our 
own souls to please them ; and yet they will 
not turn and save t/heir own souls to please 
God. They are wiser in their own e3'es thnn 
all their teachers ; the}^ rage and are confi- 
dent in their own way, and if we are ever 
so anxious we cannot change them. Lord, 
this is the case of our miserable neighbors, 
and we cannot help it ; we see them ready 
to drop into hell, and we cannot help it ; we 
know if they would unfeignedly turn, they 
might be saved, but vre cannot persuade- 
them ; if we would beg it of them on our 
knees, we cannot persuade them to it ; if we 
would beg it of them with tears, we cannot 
persuade them ; and what more can we do?" 
These are the secret complaints and moans 
that many a poor minister is compelled to 
make. And do you think that he hath anv 
pleasure in this ? Is it a pleasure to him to 
see you go on in sin, and cannot stop you V 
to see you so miserable, and cannot so much 
as make you sensible of it? to see you mer- 
ry when you are not sure to be an hour out 
of hell ? to think what you must for ever 
sufler, because you will not turn ? and ta 



100 A CALL TO (Doct. 4. 

think what an everlasting life of glory you 
wilfully despise and cast away? What 
sadder thing can \'ou bring to their hearts, 
and how can you devise to grieve them more ? 

Who is it then that you please by your sin 
and death ? It is none of your godly friends. 
Alas, it is the grief of their souls to see your 
misery, and they lament you many a time 
when you give them little thanks for it, and 
when 3'ou have not hearts to lament your- 
selves. 

Who is it then that takes pleasure in your 
sin ? 

1. The devil indeed takes pleasure in your 
sin and death ; for this is the very end of all 
his temptations ; for this he watches night 
and day ; you cannot devise to please him 
better than to go on in sin. How glad is he 
when he sees thee going into the alehouse, 
or other sin, and wdien he heareth thee curse, 
or swear, or rail? How glad is he when he 
heareth thee revile the minister that would 
draw thee from thy sin and help to save 
thee? these are his delight. 

2. The wicked are also delighted in it ; 
for it is aofreable to their nature. 

3. But I know, for all this, that it is not 



I>ocL 4.) THE U.NCONVERTKD. 101 

the pleasing of the devil that you intend, 
even when you please liim ; but it is your 
own flesh, the greatest and most dangerous 
enemy, that you intend to please. It is the 
flesh that would be pampered, that would be 
pleased in meat, and drink, and clothing ; 
that would be pleased with company, and 
pleased in applause and credit with the 
world, and pleased in sports, and lusts, and 
idleness ; this is the guli" that devoureth all. 
This is the very god that you serve, for the 
Scripture saith of such, that their bellies are 
their god. Phil. 3: 19. But I beseech you, 
stay a little and consider the business. 

Qiicstlon 1. Should your flesh be pleased 
before your Maker? Will you displease the 
Lord, and displease 3^our teacher, and your 
godly friends, to please your brutish appe- 
tites or sensual desires? Is not God worthy 
to be the ruler of your flesh ? If he shall not 
rule it, he will not save it ; you cannot in 
reason expect that he should. 

Question 2. Your flesh is pleased with 
your sin, but is your conscience pleased ? 
Doth not it grudge within you, and tell you 
sometimes that all is not well, and that your 
case is not so safe as you make it to be ; 

9^ 



102 A CALL TO (Doct. 4. 

und should not 3'our souls and consciences be 
pleased before your corruptible flesh ? 

Questio7i 3. But is not your flesh preparing 
for its own displeasure also ? It loves the 
bait, but doth it love the hook ? It loves the 
strong drink and sweet morsels ; it loves its 
ease, and sports and merriment ; it loves to 
be rich and well spoken of by men, and to 
be somebody in the world ; but doth it love 
the curse of God ? Doth it love to stand 
trembling before his bar, and to be judged 
to everlasting fire ? Doth it love to be tor- 
mented with the devils for ever? Take all 
together ; for there is no separating sin and 
hell but only by faith and true conversion ; 
if you W'ill keep one, you must have the 
other. If death and hell be pleasant to thee, 
no wonder then if 3'OU go on in sin ; but if 
they be not, (as I am sure they are not,) then 
what if sin were ever so pleasant, is it worth 
the loss of life eternal ? Is a little drink, 
or meat, or ease ; is the good word of sin- 
ners, is the riches of this world to be valued 
above the joys of heaven ? Or are they 
worth the sufferings of eternal fire ? Sirs, 
these questions should be considered before 
vou go any further, by every man that hath 



Doct.4.) THE UNCONVERTED. 103 

reason to consider, and that believes he hath 
a soul to sa^'e or lose. 

Well, the Lord here sweareth that he hath 
no pleasure in your death, but rather that 
you would turn and live ; if yet you will go 
on and die rather than turn, remember it was 
not to please Ggd that you did it : it was to 
please the world, and to please yourselves. 
And if men will damn themselves to please 
themselves, and run into endless torments 
for delight, and have not the sense, the heart, 
the grace, to hearken to God or man that 
would reclaim them, what remedy is there, 
but they must take what they get by it, and 
repent of it in another manner, when it is too 
late ? Before I proceed any further in the 
application I shall consider the next doc- 
trine, which gives me a fuller ground for it. 



104 A CALL Ta (DoctS. 



DOCTRINE V. 

So earnest is God for the conversion of sinners tliat he 
douhlcth his commands and exhortations^ with veJie- 
mcncij — Turn yc, turn ye, why will ye die ? 

This doctrine is the application of the for- 
mer, by way of exhortation, and as §uch 1 
shall handle it. Is there an unconverted sin- 
ner that heareth these vehement words of 
God? Ic there a man or woman, in this as- 
sembly that is yet a stranger to the renew- 
ing sanctifying worii of the Holy Ghost? It 
is a happy assembly if it be not so with the 
most. Hearken then to the voice of 3^our 
Maker, and turn to him by Christ without 
delav. Would vou know the will of God? 
Why this is his will, that you presently turn. 
Shall the living God send so earnest a mes- 
sao:e to his creatures, and should thev not 
obey? 

Hearken then, all you that live after the 
flesh : the Lord that gave thee thy breath 
and being hath sent a message to thee from 
heaven ; and this is his message. Turn ye. 
turn ye, why will ye die? He that hath ears 
10 hear^ let him hear. Shall the voice of the 



Doct-5.) THE UNCONVERTED- 105 

(Eternal Majesty be neglected? If he do hut 
terrihh" thunder, thou art afraid. O but this 
voice doth more nearly concern thee. If ho 
did but toll thee thou shalt die to-morrow, 
thou wouldst not make light of it. O but 
this word concerneth thy life or death ever- 
lasting. It is both a command and an ex- 
l)ortation. As if he had said to thee, " I 
charge thee, upon the allegiance that thou 
owest to me, thy Creator and Redeemer, 
that thou renounce the flesh, the world, and 
the devil, and turn to me, that thou mayest 
live. I condescend to entreat thee, as thou 
either lovest or fearest him that made thee ; 
as thou lovest thine own life, even thine 
everlasting life, turn and live : as ever thou 
wouldst escape eternal miser}', turn, turn, for 
why wilt thou die?" And is there a heart 
in man, in a reasonable creature, that can 
once refuse such a message, such a com- 
mand, such an exhortation as this? O what 
a thing, then, is the heart of man ! 

Hearken, then, all ye that love yourselves, 
and all that regard your own salvation ; 
here is the most joyful message that was 
ever sent to the ears of man, " Turn yc, turn 
f'.c, why will ye die ?" You are not yet shut 



106 A CALL TO (I>ocL 3. 

up under desperation. Here is m?rcy offered 
you ; turn, and you shall have it. O sirs ! 
with what glad and joyful hear: s should you 
receive these tidings! I know this is not tlic 
first time that you have heard it ; but how 
have 3'ou regarded it, or how do you regard 
it now ? Hear, all yon ignorant, careless 
sinners, the word of the Lord. Hear, all you 
worldlings, you sensual flesh-pleasers ; you 
gluttons, and drunkards, and whoremongers, 
and swearers ; you railers and backbiters,, 
slanderers and liars — Turn ye, turii ye, ichy 
will ye die^ 

Hear, all you cold and outside professors, 
and all that are strangers to the life of Christ, 
and never knew the power of his cross and 
resurrection, and never felt your hearts 
warmed with his love, and live not on him 
as the strength of your souls — " Turn ye, 
turn ye, why will ye die ?" 

Hear, all that are void of the love of God, 
whose hearts are not toward him, nor taken 
up with the hopes of glory, but who set more 
bv your earthly prosperity and delights than 
by the joys of heaven ; all you that are re- 
ligious but a little by-the-by, and give God 
no more than your flesh can spare ; that have 



Coct. 5.) THE ^'NCONTERTED. J 07 

not denied your carnal selves, and forsaken 
all that you have for Christ, in the estima- 
tion and grounded resolution of 3'our souls, 
but have some one thing in the world so 
dear to you that you cannot spare it for 
Christ, if he required it, but will rather ven- 
ture on his displeasure than forsake it — 
*' Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?" 

If you never heard it, or observed it be- 
fore, remember that you were told from the 
word of God this day, that if you will but 
turn, you may live; and if you will not turn, 
you shall surely die. 

\Vhat now will you do, sirs ? What is your 
resolution? Will you turn, or will 3"ou not? 
Halt not any longer between two opinions. 
If the Lord be God, follow him ; if your 
flesh be God, then serve it still. If heaven 
be better than earth and fleshly pleasures, 
come away, then, and seek a better country, 
and lay up your treasure where rust and 
moths do not corrupt, and thieves cannot 
break through and steal ; and be awakened 
c'it last, with all your might to seek the kinir- 
dom that cannot be moved, Heb. 12 : 28, 
and to employ your lives on a higher design, 
and turn the stream of your cares and labors 



108 A CALL TO (Doct. 5. 

another way than formerly you have done. 
But if earth be better than heaven, or will 
do more for you, or last you longer, then 
keep it and make3^6ur best of it, and follow 
it still. Sirs, are you resolved what to do ? 
If you be not, I will set a few more moving 
considerations before you, to see if reason 
will make vou resolve. 

I. Consider what preparations mercy hath 
made for 3^our salvation ; and what pity it 
is that any man should be damned after all 
this. The time was, when the flaming sword 
was in the way, and the curse of God's law 
would have kept thee back if thou hadst 
been never so will ins: to turn to God. The 
time was when thyself, and all the friends 
that thou hadst in the world, could never have 
produced thee the pardon of thy sins past, 
though thou hadst never so much lament- 
ed and reformed them. But Christ hath re- 
moved this impediment, by the ransom of 
his blood. The time was, that God was 
wholly unreconciled, as being not satisfied 
for the violation of his law ; but now he is 
so far satisfied and reconciled, as that he 
hath made thee a free act of oblivion, and a 
free deed of the 2:ift of Christ and life, and 



Doct. 5.) THE UNCONVERTED. 109 

offereth it to thee, and entreatetn thee to ac- 
cept it ; and it may be thine if thou wilt. 
For " he was in Christ reconciUng the world 
to himself, and hath committed to us tlie 
word of reconciliation." 2 Cor. 5 : IS, 19. 
Sinners, we too are commanded to deliver 
this message to you all, as from the Lord ; 
*' Come, for all things are ready." Luke, 
14 : 17. Are all things ready, and are you 
unready? God is ready to entertain you, 
and pardon all that you have done against 
him, if you will but come. As long as you 
have sinned, as wilfully as you have sinned, 
as heinously as you have sinned, he is ready 
10 cast all behind his back, if you will but 
come. Though you have been prodigals, 
and run away from God, and have staid 
away so long, he is ready even to meet you, 
and embrace you in his arms, and rejoice in 
your conversion, if you will but turn. Even 
the worldlings and drunkards will find God 
ready to bid them welcome, if they will but 
come. Doth not this turn thy heart within 
theeV O sinner! if thou hadst a heart of 
fiesh, and not of stone in thee, methinks this 
should melt it. Shall the dreadful infinite 
Majesty of heaven even wait for tliy return- 

13. Call. 10 



110 A CALL TO (Doct.5. 

ing, and be ready to receive thee, who hast 
abused him, and forgotten him so long? 
Shall he delight in thy conversion, that 
might at any time glorify his justice in thy 
damnation? and yet doth it not melt thy 
heart within thee, and art thou not yet ready 
to come in? Hast thou not as much reason 
to be ready to come as God hath to invite 
thee and bid thee welcome ? 

But that is not all : Christ hath died on 
the cross, and made such a way for thee to 
the Father, that, on his account, thou mayest 
be welcome, if thou wilt come. And yet 
art thou not ready ? 

A pardon is already expressly granted, 
and offered thee in the Gospel. And yet art 
thou not ready ? 

The ministers of the Gospel are ready to 
assist thee, to instruct thee, pray for thee. 
And yet art thou not ready ? 

All that fear God about thee are ready to 
rejoice in thy conversion, and to receive thee 
into the communion of saints, and to give 
thee the right hand of fellowship, yea, though 
thou hadst been one that had been cast out 
of their society : they dare not but forgive 
where God forgiveth, v.- hen it is manifest to 



Doct. 5.) THE UNCONVERTED. Ill 

them by thy confession and amendment ; 
they dare not so much as reproach thee with 
thy former sins, because they know that God 
will not upbraid thee with them. If thou 
hadst been never so scandalous, if thou 
wouldst but heartily be converted and come 
in, they would not refuse thee, let the world 
say what they would against it. And are all 
these ready to receive thee, and yet art thou 
not ready to come in ? 

Yea, heaven itself is ready: the Lord 
will receive thee into the glory of his saints. 
Vile as thou hast been, if thou wilt be but 
cleansed thou mayest have a place before 
his throne ; his angels will be ready to guard 
thy soul to the place of joy if thou do but 
unfeignedly come in. And is God ready, 
the sacrifice of Christ ready, the promise 
ready, and pardon ready? Are ministers 
ready, and the people of God ready, and 
heaven itself ready? and angels ready? and 
all these but waiting for thy conversion ; and 
yet art thou not ready? What! not ready 
to live, when thou hast been dead so long ? 
not ready to come to thy right understand- 
ing, as the prodigal is said to " come to 
himself," Luke, 15 : 17, when thou hast been 



112 ▲ CALL TO (Doct. 5 

beside thyself so long? Not read}' to be sav- 
ed, when thou art even ready to be con- 
demned ? Art thou not ready to lay hold on 
Christ, that would deliver thee, when thou 
art even ready to sink into damnation ? Art 
thou not ready to be saved from hell, when 
thou art even ready to be cast remediless 
into it ■/ Alas, man ! dost thou know what 
thou doest ? If thou die unconverted there is 
no doubt to be made of thy damnation ; and 
thou art not sure to live an hour. And yet 
art thou not ready to turn and to come in ? 
O miserable wretch ! Hast thou not served 
the flesh and the devil long enough ? Yet 
hast thou not enough of sin ? Is it so good to 
thee, or so profitable for thee? Dost thou 
know what it is, that thou wouldst yet have 
moTC of it? Hast thou had so many calls, 
and so many mercies, and so many warn- 
ings, and so many examples? Hast thou 
seen so many laid in the grave, and yet art 
thou not ready to let go thy sins and come 
to Christ ? What, after so many convictions 
and pangs of conscience, after so many pur- 
poses and promises, art thou not yet ready 
to turn and live ? O that thy eyes, thy heart 
were opened to know how fair an offer is 



Doct. 5) THE UNCONVERTED. 113 

now made to thee ! and what a joyful mes- 
sage it is that we are sent on, to bid thee 
come, for all things are ready ! 

II. Consider also, what calls thou hast to 
turn and live. How many, how loud, how 
earnest, how dreadful : and yet what en- 
couraging, joyful calls ! For the principal 
inviter is God himself. He that command- 
eth heaven and earth, commands thee to 
turn, and that presently, without delay. He 
commands the sun to run its course, and to 
rise upon thee every morning ; and though it 
be so glorious an orb, and many times bigger 
than all the earth, yet it obeyeth him, and 
faileth not one minute of its appointed time. 
He commandeth all the planets and the 
orbs of heaven, and the}^ obey. He com- 
mandeth the sea to ebb and flow, and the 
whole creation to keep its course, and all 
obey him; the angels of heaven obey his 
will, when he sends them to minister to 
such worms as we on earth, Heb. 1 : 14; 
and 3^et if he command but a sinner to turn, 
he will not obey him. He onl}^ thinks him- 
self wiser than God, and he cavils and pleads 
the cause of sin, and will not obey. If the 
Lord Almighty say the word, the heavens 

10* 



114 A CALL TO (DocT, 5 

and all therein obey him : but if he call a 
drunkard oat of an alehouse, he will not 
obey : or if he call a worldly fleshly sinner 
to deny himself, and mortify the flesh, and 
set his heart upon a better inheritance, he 
will not obey. 

If thou hadst any love in thee, thou wouldst 
know the voice, and say, O this is my Father's 
call ! how can I find in my heart to disobey ? 
For the sheep of Christ " know and hear his 
voice, and they follow him, and he giveth 
them eternal life." John, 10 : 4. If thou 
hadst any spiritual life and sense in thee, at 
least thou wouldst say, " This call is the 
dreadful voice of God, and who dare dis- 
obey ? For saith the prophet, * The lion 
hath roared, who will not fear?'" Amos, 
3 ; 8. God is not a man, that thou should st 
dally and trifle with him. Remember what 
he said to Paul at his conversion, " It is hard 
for thee to kick against the pricks.'''' Acts, 9 : 5. 
Wilt thou yet go on and despise his word, 
and resist his Spirit, and stop thine ears 
asainst his call ? who is it that will have the 
worst of this ? Dost thou know whom thou 
disobeyest, and contendest with, and what 
thou art doing? It were a far wiser and 



Doct. 5.) THE LWCOXVLRTKD, 115 

easier task for thee to contend with the 
thorns, and spurn them with thy bare feet, 
and beat them with thy bare hands, or put 
thine head into the burning fire. " Be not 
deceived, God will not be mocked." Gal. 
6 : 7. Whoever else be mocked, God will 
not be : 3'ou had better play with the fire in 
3'our thatch, than with the fire of his burn- 
ing wrath. " For our God is a consuming 
fire." Heb. 12 : 29. O how unmeet a match 
f^t thou for God ! " It is a fearful thing to 
fall into his hands." Heb. 10 : 31. And 
therefore it is a fearful thing to contend witli 
him or resist him. As you love your own 
souls, take heed what you do : what will 
3'ou say if he begin in wrath to plead with 
you ? what will you do if he take you once 
in hand? Will you then strive against his 
judgment, as now ye do against his grace ? 
" Fury is not in ?7ie," saith the Lord, that is, 
I delight not to destroy you : I do it, as it 
were unwillingly; but yet "it'Ao icoidd set 
the hriars and thorns a<rainst me in battle ? J 
ivonld go through theni^ I would hum them to- 
gether. Or let him take hold of my strength j 
that he may male peace ivith nie, and he shall 
make jJcace icith me^ Isa. 27 : 4, 5. It is an 



116 A CALL TO (Doct. 5. 

unequal combat for the briers and stubble to 
make war with the fire. 

Thus you see who it is that calleth you, 
that would move you to hear his call, and 
turn. So consider also by what instruments, 
and how often, and how earnestly he calls. 

1. Every leaf of the blessed book of God 
hath, as it were, a voice, and calls out to 
thee. Turn, and live; turn, or thou wilt die. 
How canst thou open it, and read a leaf, or 
hear a chapter, and not perceive God b^s 
thee turn? 

2. It is the voice of every sermon that 
thou hearest : for w^hat else is the scope and 
drift of all, but to call, and persuade, and en- 
treat thee to turn. 

3. It is the voice of many a motion of the 
Spirit that secretly speaks over these words 
again, and urgeth thee to turn. 

4. It is likely, sometimes it is the voice 
of thy own conscience. Art thou not some- 
times convinced that all is not well with 
thee ? And doth not thy conscience tell thee 
that thou must be a new man, and take a new 
course, and often call upon thee to return ? 

5. It is the voice of the gracious exam- 
ples of the godly. When thou seest them 



Doct. 5.) THE UNCONVERTED. 117 

live a heavenly life, and fly from the sin 
which is th}- delight, this really calls on thee 
to lurn. 

G. It is the voice of all the works of God: 
for thev also are God's books that teach thee 
this lesson, by showing thee his greatness, 
and wisdom, and goodness ; and calling 
thee to observe them, and admire the Cre- 
ator. " The heavens declare the glory of 
God, and the firmament showeth his handy 
wprk : day unto day iittercth speech, night 
unto night showeth knowledge." Psalm 19 : 
1, 2. Every time the sun riseth unto thee, 
it really calleth thee to turn, as if it should 
say, "What do I travel and compass the 
world for, but to declare to men the glorv of 
their Maker, and to light them to do his 
work? And do I wStill find thee doing the 
work of sin, and sleeping out thy life in ne- 
gligence? Awake, thou that sleepest, and 
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give 
ihee hght." Ephcs. 5 : 14. " The night is far 
spent, the day is at hand ; it is nov/ high 
lime to awake oQt of sleep. Let us therefore 
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put 
on the armor of light. Let us w^alk honestlv 
as in the day, not in rioting and drunken- 



118 A CALL TO (Doct.5 

ness, not in chambering and wantonness, 
not in strife and envying, but put ye on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision 
for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." 
Rom. 13 : 11-14. This text was the means 
of Au2:ustin's conversion. 

7. It is the voice of every mercy thou 
dost possess. If thou couldst but hear and 
understand them, the}^ all cry out unto thee. 
Turn. Why doth the earth bear thee, but 
to seek and serve the Lord ? Why doth it 
afford thee its fruits, but to serve him ? Why 
doth the air afford thee breath, but to serve 
him? Why do all the creatures serve thee 
with their labors and their lives, but that 
thou mightest devote them and thyself to the 
service of God? Why doth he give thee 
time, and health, and strength, but to serve 
him ? Why hast thou meat, and drink, and 
clothes, but for his service ? Hast thou any 
thing which thou hast not received? and 
if thou didst receive them, it is reason thou 
shouldst bethink thee from whom, and to 
what end and use thou didst receive them. 
Didst thou never cry to him for help in thy 
distress, and didst ihou not then understand 
that it was thy part to turn and serve him. 



Doct.5.) THE UNCONVERTED. 110 

if he would deliver thee ? He hath done his 
part, and spared thee yet longer, and tried 
thee another, and another year ; and yet 
dost thou not turn ? You know the parable 
of the unfruitful fig-tree, Luke, 13 : 6-9. 
When the Lord had said, "Cut it down, 
why cumbereth it the ground ?" he was en- 
treated to try it one year longer, and then 
if it proved not fruitful, to cut it down. 
Christ himself there makes the application 
twice over, "Except ye repent, ye shall all 
likewise perish." How many years hath 
God looked for the fruits of love and holi- 
ness from thee, and hath found none, and 
yet he hath spared thee ? How many a time, 
by thy wilful ignorance, and carelessness, 
and disobedience, hast thou provoked jus- 
tice to say, "Cut him down, why cumbereth 
he the ground?" And yet mercy hath pre- 
vailed, and patience hath forborne the fatal 
blow to this day. If thou hadst the under- 
standing of a man within thee, thou wouldst 
know that all this calleth thee to turn. 
" Dost thou think thou shalt still escape the 
judgment of God ? or despisest thou the 
riches of his goodness, and forbearance, 
and long-suffering? not knowing that the 



120 A CALL TO (Doct. 5. 

goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. 
But, after thy hardness and impenitent 
heart, treasurest up unto th3"self wrath 
against the day of wrath and revelation of 
tlie righteous judgment of God, who will 
i-ender to every man accordino^ to his deeds." 
Rom. 2 : 3-G. 

8. Moreover, it is the voice of every af- 
fliction to call thee to make haste and turn. 
Sickness and pain cry, Turn: and poverty, 
and loss of friends, and every twig of the; 
chastening rod cry, Turn. And yet wih 
thou not hearken to the call ? These have 
come near thee, and made thee feel; they 
have made thee groan, and can they not 
make thee turn? 

9. The very frame of thy nature and 
being itself bespeaketh thy n^turn. Why 
hast thou reason, but to rule thy flesh, and 
serve thy Lord? Why hast thou an under- 
standing soul, but to learn and know his will 
and do it ? Why hast thou a lieart Within 
thee that can love, and fear, and desire, but 
that thou shouldst fear liim, and love him, 
and desire after him ? 

Lay all these together now, ;ind see what 
should be the issue. Tlie holy Scriptures 



Doct. 5.) THE UNCONVERTED. 121 

call upon thee to turn ; the ministers of 
Christ call upon thee to turn ; the Spirit cries, 
Turn ; thy conscience cries, Turn ; the god- 
iv, by persuasion and example, cry, Turn ; 
the whole world, and all the creatures there- 
in that are presented to thy consideration, 
cry. Turn; the patient Ibrbearance ot" God 
cries. Turn ; all the mercies which tiiou re- 
ceivest cry. Turn; the rod of God's chns- 
tisement cries. Turn ; thy reason and the 
frame of thy nature bespeaks thy turning; 
and so do all thy promises to God; and yet 
art thou not resolved to turn V 

III. Moreover, poor hard-hearted sinner, 
didst thou ever consider uikhi what terms thou 
standest all this while with Him that calleth 
on thee to turn '( Thou art his own, and 
owest him tli3^self and all thou hast; and 
may he not command his own? Thou art, 
his absolute servant, and shouhl serve no 
other master. Thou standest at his mercv, 
and thy life is in his hand, and he is resolv- 
ed to save thee upon no other terms; thou 
hast many malicious spiritual enemies that 
would be glad if God would but forsake 
thee, and let them alone with thee, and 
leave thee to their will : how tpiickly would 

li. Cull H 



122 A CALL TO (DoctS 

they deal with thee in another manner ! and 
thou canst not be delivered from them but 
by turning unto God. Thou art fallen under 
his wrath by thy sin already ; and thou 
knowest not how long his patience will 3^et 
wait. Perhaps this is the last 3'ear, perhaps 
the last day. His sword is even at thy heart 
while the word is in thine ear ; and if thou 
turn not, thou art a dead and undone man. 
Were thy eyes but open to see where thou 
standest, even upon the brink of hell, and 
to see how many thousands are there al- 
ready that did not turn, thou would st see 
that it is time to look about thee. 

Well, sirs, look inwards now and tell me 
how your hearts are affected with these of- 
fers of the Lord. You hear what is his mind : 
he delighteth not in your death ; he calls to 
you. Turn, turn : it is a fearful sign if all 
this move thee not, or if it do but half move 
thee ; and much more if it make thee more 
careless in thy misery, because thou hearest 
of the mercifulness of God. The workinof of 
the medicine will partly tell us whether there 
be any hope of the cure. O what glad ti- 
dings would it be to those that are now in 
hell, if they had but such a message from 



Doct. 5.) THE UNCONVERTED. 123 

God ! What a joyful word would it be to 
hear this, Turn and live ! yea, what a wel- 
come word would it be to th^'self, when thou 
hadst felt that wrath of God but an hour! 
Or if, after a thousand or ten thousand years' 
torment, thou couldst but hear such a word 
from God, "Turn and live;" and yet wilt 
thou neglect it, and suffer us to return with- 
out our errand ? 

Behold, sinners, we are sent here as the 
messengers of the Lord to set before you 
life and death. What say you ? which of 
them will you choose ? Christ standeth, as 
it were, by thee, with heaven in the one 
hand and hell in the other, and offereth 
thee thy choice. Which wilt thou choose ? 
The voice of the Lord maketh the rocks to 
tremble. Psalm 29. And is it nothing to 
hear him threaten thee, if thou wilt not turn ? 
Dost thou not understand and feel this voice, 
" Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die ?" It is 
the voice of love, of infinite love, of thy best 
and kindest friend, as thou mightest easily 
perceive by the motion ; and yet canst thou 
neglect it ? It is the voice of pity and com- 
passion. The Lord seeth whither thou art 
going better than thou dost, which makes 



124 A CALL TO (Doct. 5. 

liim call after thee, Turn, turn. He seeth 
what will become of thee, if thou turn not. 
He thinkrth with himself, " Ah ! this poor 
sinner will cast himself into endless tor- 
ments if he do not turn. I must in justice 
deal with him according to my righteous 
law." And therefore he calleth after thee, 
Turn, turn. O sinner ! if thou didst but 
know the thousandth part as well as God 
doth the danger that is near you, and the 
misery that ^^ou are running into, we should 
have no more need to call after you to turn. 
Moreover, this voice that calleth to thee is 
the same that hath prevailed with thousands 
already, and called all to heaven that are 
now there ; and they would not now for a 
thousand worlds that the}- had made hght of 
it, and not turned to God. Now what are they 
possessing that turned at God's call "? Now 
they perceive that it was indeed the voice 
of love, that meant them no more harm than 
their salvation ; and if thou wilt obey the 
same call thou shalt come to the same hap- 
piness. There are millions that must for 
ever lament that they turned not ; but there 
is never a soul in heaven that is sorry that 
they were converted. 



Doct. 5.) THE UNCONVERTED. 125 

Well, Sirs, are you yet resolved, or are 
you not? Do I need to say any more to 
you? What will you do? Will you turn, 
or not? Speak, man, in thy heart, to God, 
though you speak not out to me ; speak, lest 
he take thy silence for denial ; speak quick- 
ly, lest he never make thee the like offer 
more ; speak resolvedly, and not waveringly, 
for he will have no indifferent ones to be his 
followers. Say in thine heart now, without 
any more delay, even before thou stir hence, 
*' By the grace of God I am resolved presently 
to turn. And because I know my own insuf- 
ficiency, I am resolved to wait on God for his 
grace, and to follow him in his ways, and for- 
sake my former courses and companions and 
give up myself to the guidance of the Lord." 

Sirs, you are not shut up in the darkness 
of heathenism, nor in the desperation of the 
damned. Life is before you, and you may 
have it on reasonable terms, if you will ; 
yea, on free cost, if you will accept it. The 
way of God lieth plain before you ; the 
church is open to you. You may have 
Christ, and pardon, and holiness, if you will. 
What say you? Will you, or will you not? 
If you say Nay, or say nothing, and still go 

11* 



126 A CALL TO (Doct. «. 

on, God IS witness, and those who hear me 
are witnesses, and your own consciences 
are witnesses, how* fair an ofter you had this 
day. Remember, you might have had Christ, 
and would not. Remember, when you have 
lost it, that vou mi^ht have had eternal life 
as well as others, and would not ; and all this 
because you would not turn! 

But let us come to the next doctrine, and 
hear your reasons. 



DOCTRINE VI. 

The Lord condescendeth to reason the case with uncon 
verted sinners, and to ask them why iJicy will die. 

A Strange disputation it is, both as to the 
controversy and as to the disputants. 

I. The controversy, or question propound- 
ed is. Why wdcked men will destroy them- 
selves? or. Why they w^ill rather die than 
turn ; whether they have any sufficient rea- 
son for so doing ? 

II. The disputants are God and man : the 
most holy God, and wicked unconverted 
smners. 



Doct. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 127 

Is it not a strano^e thinj?, which God doth 
here seem to suppose, thnt any man sliouhl 
be wiUing to die and be damned V yea, iliat 
TJiis should ])e the case of all the wicked ? 
that is, of the greatest part of the world. 
But you will say, " This cannot be ; for 
nature desireth the preservation and felicity 
of itself; and the wicked are more selfish 
than others, and not less ; and therefore how 
(•an any man be willing to be damned ?" 

To which I answer : — 1. It is a certain 
truth that no man can be willing to bear any 
evil, as evil, but only as it hath some appear- 
ance of good ; much less can any man be 
willing to be eternally tormented. Misery, 
as such, is desired by none. 2. But yet, for 
all that, it is most true which God here 
teacheth us, that the cause wliy the wicked 
die is, because they will die. And this is 
true in several respects. 

1. Because the}^ will go the way that 
leads to hell, althougli they are told by God 
and man whither it goes and where it ends ; 
and though God hath so often professed in 
his word, that if they hold on in that wav 
they shall be condemned ; and that they 
shall not be saved unless thev turn. *' There 



128 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.'* 
" The way of peace they know not ; there 
is no judgment in their goings ; they have 
made them crooked, paths. Whosoever 
goeth therein shall not know^ peace." Isa. 
4S : 22 ; 57 : 21 ; 59 : S. They have the 
word and the oath of the living God for it, 
that if they will not turn they shall not en- 
ter into his rest : and yet, wicked they are, 
and wicked they will be, let God and man 
sa}^ what they will : fleshly they are, and 
fleshly the}^ will be, worldlings they are, and 
worldlings they wall be, though God hath 
told them that the love of the world is en- 
mity to God, and that if any man love the 
w^orld (in that measure) the love of the Fa- 
ther is not in him. James, 4 : 4 ; 1 John, 
2 : 15. So that, consequently, these men are 
willing to be damned, though not directly; 
they are w^illing to w^alk in the way to hell, 
and love the certain cause of their torment ; 
though they do not will hell itself, and do 
not love the pain which they must endure. 
Is not this the truth of your case, sirs ? 
You would not burn in hell, but you will 
kindle the fire by your sins, and cast your- 
selves into it ; 3^ou would not be tormented 



Poet. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 129 

with devils for ever, but vou will do tlint 
which will certainly procure it in spite of all 
iliHt can be said against it. It is just as if 
vou would say, "I will drink this poison, 
but yet I will not die. I will cast mvself 
headlong from the top of a steeple, but yet 
1 will not kill myself. I will thrust this 
knife into my heart, but yet I will not take 
away my life. I will put this fire into the 
1 hatch of my house, but yet I will not burn 
ii." Just so it is with wicked men ; they 
MJU be wicked, and they will live after the 
ilosh and the world, and yet they would not 
be damned. But do you not know that the 
means lead to the end? and that God hath, 
by his righteous law, concluded that ^o\\ 
must repent or perish? He that will take 
])oison may as well say plainly, I will kill 
myself, for it will prove no better in the end ; 
though perhaps he loved it for the sweetness 
of the sugar that was mixed with it, and 
would not be persuaded that it was poison, 
but that he might take it and do well enough ; 
but it is not his conceits and confidence that 
will save his life. So if you will be drunk- 
ards, or fornicators, or worldlings, or live 
after the flesh, you may as well say plainlv, 



130 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

We will be damned ; for so you will be un- 
less you turn. Would you not rebuke the 
folly of a murderer that would say I wdll 
kill, but I will not be hanged, when he 
knows that if he does the one, the judge in 
justice will see that the other be done ? If 
he say I will murder, he may as well sayi 
plainly, I will be hanged ; and if you will 
go on in a carnal life, you may as well say 
plainly. We will go to hell. 

2. Moreover, the wicked will not use those 
means without which there is no hope of 
their salvation. He that will not eat, may 
as well say plainl}^, he will not live, unless 
he can tell how to live without meat. He 
that will not go his journey, may as well say 
plainly he will not come to the end. He that 
falls into the w^ater, and will not come out, 
nor suffer another to help him out, may as 
well say plainly, he will be drowned. So if 
you be carnal and ungodly, and will not be 
converted, nor use the means by which you 
should be converted, but think it more ado 
than needs, you may as well say plainly you 
will be damned ; for if you have found out 
a Avay to be saved without conversion, you 
have done thatwdiich was never done before. 



Doct. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 131 

3. Yea, this is not all ; but the wicked are 
unwilling even to partake of salvation itself; 
though they may desire somewhat which 
they call by the name of heaven, yet heaven 
itself, considered in the true nature of the 
felicity, they desire not; yea, their hearts 
are quite against it. Heaven is a state of per- 
fect holiness, and of continual love and praise 
to God, and the wicked have no heart to 
this. The imperfect love, and praise, and 
holiness which is here to be attained, they 
have no mind for ; much less for that which 
is so much greater. The joys of heaven are 
of so pure and spiritual a nature that the 
heart of the wicked cannot truly desire them. 

So that by this time you may see on what 
ground it is that God supposeth that the 
wicked will their own destruction. They 
will not turn, though they must turn or die : 
they will rather venture on certain misery 
than be converted ; and then to quiet them- 
selves in their sins, they will make them- 
selves believe that they shall nevertheless 
escape. 

II. And as this controversy is matter of 
wonder, in that men should be such enemies 
to themselves as wilfully to cast away their 



132 A CALL TO (BoclG. 

souls, SO are the disputants too : that God 
should stoop so low as thus to plead the 
case with men ; and that men should be so 
strangely blind and obstinate as to need aU 
tliis in so plain a case ; yea, and to resist all 
this, when their own salvation lieth upon the 
issue. 

No wonder if they will not hear us thut 
are men, when they will not hear the Lord 
himself. As God saith, when he sent the 
prophet to the Israelites, " The house of 
Israel will not hearken unto thee ; for they 
will not hearken unto me ; for all the house 
of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted." 
Ezek. 3:7. No wonder if they can plead 
ao:ainst a minister, or a sfodlv neio^hbor, when 
they will plead against the Lord himself, 
even against the plainest passages of his 
word, and think that they have reason on 
their side. When they weary the Lord with 
their words, thev say, " Wherein have we 
wearied him?" Mai. -J : 17. The priests 
that despised his name durst ask, *' Where- 
in have \VQ despised thy name?" And 
'•when they polluted his altar, and made; 
the table of the Lord contemptible," thev 
durst SO}', " Wherein have we polluted 



Doct. 6.) THE U^CONVERTED. 133 

theeV* Mai. 1:0,7. But "Wo unto him 
(saith the Lord) that striveth with his Ma- 
ker ! Let the potsherds strive with the pot- 
sherds of the earth: shall the clay say to 
him that fashioneth it, What uiakest thou?" 
Lsa. 45 : 9. 

Question. But why is it that God will rea- 
son the case with man V 

Answ. 1. Because man being a reasonable 
creature, is to be dealt with accordingly, antl 
by reason to be persuaded and overcome ; 
God hath therefore endowed them with rea- 
son, that they might use it for him. One 
would think a reasonable creature should 
not go against the clearest, the greatest rea- 
son in the world, v/hen it is set before him. 

2. At least, men shall see that God did 
require nothing of them that was unreason- 
able ; but both in what he commandeth them, 
and what he forbids them, he hath all the 
right reason in the world on his side ; mid 
they have good reason to obey him — but 
none to disobey him. And thus even iln- 
damned shall be forced to justilV God, .-ind 
confess that it was only reasomihlc tliiit 
liiey should have turned to him ; and thev 
shall be forced to condemn themselves, and 

D. Cull. 12 



134 A CALL TO (Doct.6. 

confess that they had little reason to cast 
away themselves by the neglecting of his 
grace in the day of their visitation. 

Look up your best and strongest reasons, 
sinners, if you will make good your way. 
You see now with whom you have to deal. 
What sayest thou, unconverted sensual sin- 
ner? Darest thou venture upon a dispute 
with God ? Art thou able to confute him ? 
Art thou ready to enter the lists ? God ask- 
eth thee. Why wilt thou die ? Art thou fur- 
nished with a sufficient answer ? Wilt thou 
undertake to prove that God is mistaken, 
and that thou art in the right ? O what an 
undertaking is that ! Why, either he or j^ou 
are mistaken, when he is for your conver- 
sion, and you are against it ; he calls upon 
vou to turn, and you will not ; he bids you 
do it presently, even to-day, while it is call- 
ed to-day, and you delay, and think it time 
enouQ-h hereafter. He saith it must be a 
total change, and you must be holy and new 
creatures, and born again; and you think that 
less may serve the turn, and that it is enough 
to patch up the old man, without becoming 
new. Who is in the right now? God or 



Doct. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 135 

you? God calleth you to turn, and to live 
a holy life, and you will not. By your dis- 
obedient lives it appears you will not. If 
you will, why do you not? Why have you 
not done it all this while ? And why do you 
not fall upon it yet? Your wills have the 
command of your lives. We may certainly 
conclude that you are unwilling to turn when 
you do not turn. And why will you not ? 
Can you give any reason for it that is wor- 
thy to be called a reason ? 

I that am but a worm, your fellow-crea- 
ture, of a shallow capacity, dare challenge 
the wisest of you all to reason the case with 
me while I plead my Maker's cause ; and 
I need not be discouraged when I know I 
plead but the cause that God pleadeth, and 
contend for him that will have the best at 
last. Had I but these two general grounds 
against you, I am sure that you have no 
good reason on your side. 

1. I am sure it can be no c^ood reason 
which is against the God of truth and rea- 
son. It cannot be light that is contrary to 
the sun. There is no knowledge in any 
creature but what it had from God ; and 
therefore none can be wiser than God. It 



136 A CALL TO (DocL 6. 

were fatal presumption for the highest an- 
gel to compare with his Creator! What is it 
then for a lump of earth, an ignorant sot, 
that knoweth not himself nor his own soul, 
that knoweth but little of the things which 
he seeth, yea, that is more ignorant than 
many of his neighbors, to set himself against 
the wisdom of the Lord ! It is one of the 
fullest discoveries of tlie horrible wicked- 
ness of carnal men, and the madness of such 
as sin, that so silly a mole dare contradict 
his Maker, and call in question the word of 
God : yea, that those people that are so ig- 
norant that they cannot give us a reasonable 
answer concerning the very first principles 
of religion, are yet so wise in their own con- 
ceit that they dare question the plainest 
truths of God, yea, contradict them and 
cavil against them, when they can scarcely 
speak sense, and will believe them no fur- 
ther than agreeth with their foolish wisdom ! 
2. And as I know that God must needs be 
in the right, so I know the case is so pal- 
pable and gross which he pleadeth against 
that no man can have reason for it. Is it 
possible that a man can have any reason to 
break his Maker's laws, and reason to dis- 



Docuti) THE UNCONVERTED. 137 

honor the Lord of glory, and reason to abuse 
the Lord that bought him? Is it possible 
that a man can have any good reason to 
damn his own immortal soul? Mark the 
Lord's question, Turn ye, turn ye, why will 
vou die? Is eternal death a thins: to be de- 
sired? Are 3^ou in love with hell? What 
reason have you wilfully to perish ? If you 
think you have some reason to sin, should 
you not remember that deatli is the wages 
of sin, (Rom. 6 : 23,) and think whether you 
have any reason to undo yourselves, body 
and soul, for ever ? You should not only ask 
whether you love the adder, but whether 
you love the sting ? It is such a thing for a 
man to cast away his everlasting happiness, 
and to sin against God, that no good reason 
can be given for it ; but the more any one 
pleads for it, the more mad he showeth him- 
self to be. Had you a kingdom offered jthi 
for every sin that you commit, it were not 
reason but madness to accept it. Could you 
by every sin obtain the highest thing on 
earth that flesh desireth, it were of no con- 
siderable value to persuade you in reason to 
commit it. If it were to please your greatest 
or dearest friends, or to obey the greatest 

12* 



138 A CALL TO (Doct.fi. 

prince on earth, or to save 3'our lives, or to 
escape the greatest earthly misery ; all these 
are of no consideration to draw a man in 
reason to the committinfr of one sin. If it 
were a right hand or a right eye that would 
hinder your salvation, it is the most gainful 
way to cast it away, rather than to go to 
hell to save it ; for there is no saving a part 
when you lose the whole. So exceedingly 
greai are the matters of eternit}^ that no- 
thing in this world deserveth once to be 
named in comparison with them ; nor can 
any earthly thing, though it were life, or 
crowns, or kingdoms, be a reasonable ex- 
cuse for the neglect of matters of such high 
and everlasting con.sequence. A man can 
have no reason to cross his ultimate end. 
Heaven is such a thing, that if you lose it, 
nothing can supply the want, or make up 
the loss ; and hell is such a thing, that if you 
suffer it, nothing can remove your misery, 
or give } ou ease and comfort ; and therefore 
nothing can be a valuable consideration to 
excuse you for neglecting your own salva- 
tion ; for, saith our Savior, " What shall it 
profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, 
and lose his own soul?" Mark, 8 : 86. 



Doct. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 139 

O sirs, did you but know what matters 
they are that we are now speaking to you of, 
you would have other thoughts of these 
thin2:3. If the devil could come to the saints 
in heaven that live in the sight and lovo of 
God, and should oflcr them sensual plea- 
sures, or merry company, or sports to entice 
them away from God and glory, I pray you 
tell me, bow do you think they would enter- 
tain the motion? Nay, or if he should offer 
them to be kings on the earth, do you think 
this would entice them down from heaven? 
O with what hatred and holy scorn would 
they reject the motion ! and why should not 
you do so, that have heaven open to your 
faith, if you had but faith to see it? There 
is not a soul in hell but knows, by this time, 
that it was a mad exchange to let go heaven 
for fledily pleasure ; and that it is not a 
little mirth, or pleasure, or worldly riches, or 
honor, or the good will or word of men, that 
will quench hell fire, or make him a gainer 
that loseth his soul. O if you had heard 
what I believe, if you had seen what I be- 
lieve, and that on the credit of the word of 
God, you would say there can be no rea- 
son to warrant a man to destroy liis soul ; 



1-40 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

you durst not sleep quietly another night, 

before vou had resolved to turn and live. 

.J 

If you see a man put his hand in the fire 
till it burn off, you will marvel at it ; but 
this is a thing that a man may have reason 
for, as Bishop Cranmer had when he burnt 
off his hand for subscribing to popeiy. If 
you see a man cut off a leg or an arm, it is a 
sad sight ; but this is a thing that a man may 
have a good reason for, as many a man hath 
it done to save his life. If 3^ou see a man give 
his bodv to be tormented with scours^es and 
racks, or to be burned to ashes, and refuse 
deliverance when it is offered, this is a hard 
case to flesh and blood ; but this a man may 
have good reason for, as you may see in 
Heb. 11 : 33-36, and as many a hundred 
martyrs have done. But for a man to forsake 
the Lord that made him, and to run into the 
lire of hell when he is told of it, and entreat- 
ed to turn that he may be saved — this is a 
thin2f that can have no reason in the world to 
justify or excuse it. For heaven will pay for 
the loss of any thing that we can lose to ob- 
tain it, or for any labor which we bestow for 
it ; but nothing can pay for the loss of heaven. 
I beseech you now let his word come 



Docte.) THE UNCONVERTED. 141 

nearer to your heart. As you are convinced 
that you have no reason to destroy your- 
selves, so tell me what reason have you to 
refuse to turn and live to God? What reason 
has the veriest worldling, or drunkard, or ig- 
norant careless sinner of you all, why he 
should not be as holy as any you know, and 
be as careful for his soul as any other ? Will 
not hell be as intolerable to you as to others ? 
Should not your own souls be as dear to you 
as theirs to them ? Hath not God as much 
authority over you ? Why then will you not 
become a sanctified people, as well as they ? 

O, sirs, when God bringeth the matter 
down to the very principles of nature, and 
shows that you have no more reason to be 
ungodly than you have to damn your own 
souls — if yet you will not understand and 
turn, it seems a desperate case that you are in. 

And now, either 3''ou have good reason for 
what you do, or you have not: if not, will 
you go against reason itself? Will you do 
that which you have no reason for? But if 
you think you have a reason, produce it, and 
make the best of your matter. Reason the 
case a little with me, your fellow-creature, 
which is far easier than to reason the case 



142 A CALL TO (Doct. 6 

with God ; tell me, man, here before the 
Lord, as if thou wert to die this^ hour, why 
shouldst thou not resolve to turn this day, 
before thou stir from the place thou stand- 
cst in ; what reason hast thou to deny or to 
delay ? Hast thou any reasons that satisfy 
thine own conscience for it, or any that thou 
darest own and plead at the bar of God ? 
If thou hast, let us hear them, bring them 
forth and make them good. But, alas ! 
w^iat poor stuff, what nonsense, instead of 
reasons, do we daily hear from ungodly 
men ! But for the worth of their immortal 
souls, I should be ashamed to name them. 

Objection. 1. One saith, if none shall be 
saved but such converted and sanctified 
ones as you talk of, heaven will be but 
empty : then God help a great many ! 

Answer. Why, it seems you think that 
God doth not know, or else that he is not 
to be believed ! Measure not all by your- 
selves: God hath thousands and millions of 
his sanctified ones ; but yet they are few 
m comparison of the world, as Christ him- 
self hath told us, Matt. 7 : 13, 14. It better 
beseems you to make that use of this truth 
which Christ teacheth you: "Strive to en- 



Doct. 6.) THK UNCONVERTED. 143 

ter in at the strait gate ; for strait is the gate 
and narrow is the way that leadeth unto 
lite, and few there be that find it ; but wide 
is the gate and broad is the way which lead- 
eth to destruction, and many there be that 
go in thereat." Luke, 13 : 22-24. Fear not, 
little flock, (saith Christ to his sanctified 
ones,) for it is your Father's good pleasure 
10 give you the kingdom. Luke, 12 : 32. 

Objection 2. I am sure, if such as I go to 
hell, we shall have store of company. 

Answer. And will that be any ease or 
comfort to 3^ou? Or do you think you mav 
not have company enough in heaven ? Will 
you be undone for company, or will ^^ou not 
believe that God will execute his threaten- 
ings because there be so many that are guil- 
ty? These are all unreasonable conceits. 

Objection 3. But all men are sinners, 
even the best of you all. 

Answer. But all are not unconverted sin- 
ners. The godly live not in gross sins ; and 
their very infirmities are their grief and bur- 
den, which they daily long, and pray, and 
strive to be rid of. Sin hath not dominion 
over them. 

Objection 4. I do not see that professors 



144 A CALL TO (Doct.6. 

are any better than other men ; they wilJ 
overreach, and oppress, and are as covetous 
as any. 

Ansiver. Whatever hypocrites are, it is 
not so with those that are sanctified. God 
hath thousands and tens of thousands that 
are otherwise, though the mahcious world 
accuse them of what they can never prove, 
and of that which never entered into their 
hearts; and commonly they charge them 
with heart sins, which none can see but 
God, because they can charge them with no 
such wickedness in their lives as they are 
guilty of themselves. 

Objection 5. But I am no whoremonger, 
nor drunkard, nor oppressor ; and therefore 
why should 3^ou call upon me to be converted V 

Answer. As if vou were not born after the 
flesh, and had not lived after the flesh, as 
well as others ! Is it not as great a sin as 
any of these, for a man to have an earthly 
mind, and to love the world above God, and 
to have an unbelieving, unhumbled heart? 
iVa}?-, let me tell you more, that many per- 
sons that avoid disgraceful sins are as fast 
glued to the world, and as much slaves to 
the flesh, and as strange to God, and averse 



Doct6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 145 

to heaven in their more eivil course, as 
others are in their more shameful notorious 
sins. 

Ohjectlon 6. But I mean nobody any 
harm, nor do any harm ; and why then 
should God condemn me ? 

Answer. Is it no harm to neglect the Lord 
that made thee, and the work for which thou 
camest into the world, and to prefer the crea- 
ture before the Creator, and to neglect grace 
that is daily offered thee? It is the depth of 
thy sinfulness to be so insensible of it : the 
dead feel not that they are dead. If once 
ihou wert made alive, thou wouldst see 
more amiss in thyself, and marvel at thy- 
self for making so light of it. 

Objection 7. I think you would make men 
mad, under pretence of converting them : it 
is enough to rack the brains of simple peo- 
ple to muse so much on matters too high for 
them. 

Answer 1. Can you be more mad than 
you are already ? or, at least, can there be 
a more dangerous madness than to neglect 
your everlasting welfare and wilfully undo 
yourselves ? 

2. A man is never truly in his right mind 

B. Can. 13 



146 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

till he be converted : he never knowa God, 
nor knows sin, nor knows Christ, nor knows 
the world, nor himself, nor what his busines^ 
is on Nearth, so as to set himself ab6ut it, 
till he be converted. The Scripture saith 
that the wicked are unreasonable men, and 
that the w^isdom of the world is foolishness 
with God. 2 Thes. 3 : 2 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 20, and 
Luke, 15 : 17. It is said of the prodigal, 
that when he came to himself he resolved to 
return. What a strange wisdom is this ; 
men will disobey God, and run to Itell, for 
fear of being accounted fools ! 

3. What is there in the work that Christ 
calls you to, that should drive a man out 
of his senses ? Is it loving God, and calling 
upon him, and comfortably thinking of the 
glory to come, and the forsaking of our sins, 
and loving one another, and delighting our- 
selves in the service of -God ? Are these 
such things as should make men mad '? 

4. And whereas you say that these mat- 
ters are too high for us ; you accuse God 
himself for maki-rig thi^ur work, and giving 

• us his word, and commanding all that will 
be blessed to meditate on it day and night. 
Are the matters which we are made for, and 



Doct. C.) THE UNCONVERTED. 147 

which we live for, too high for us to meddle 
with? This is plainly to unman us, and to 
make beasts of us, as if we were like them 
that must meddle with no higher matters than 
what belono^s to flesh and earth. If heaven 
be too high for you to think on and provide 
for, it will be too high for 3^ou ever to possess. 

5. If God should sometimes suffer any 
weak-headed person to be distracted by 
thinking of eternal things, this is because 
they misunderstand them, and run without 
a guide ; and of the two, I had rather be in 
the case of such a one, than of the mad un- 
converted world, that take their distraction 
to be their wisdom. 

Objection 8. I do not think that God cares 
so much what men think, or speak, or do, as 
to make so great a matter of it. 

Answer. It seems, then, you take the word 
of God to be false : then what will you be- 
lieve ? But your own reason might teach you 
better, if you believe not the Scriptures ; for 
you see God sets not so light by us but that 
he vouchsafed to make us, and still pre- 
serveth us, and daily upholdeth us, and pro-* 
videth for us ; and will any wise man make 
a curious frame for nothing ? Will you make 



148 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

or buy a clock or watch, and daily look at 
it, and not care whether it go true or false? 
Surely, if you believe not a particular eye 
of Providence obser\'ing your hearts and 
lives, you cannot believe or expect any par- 
ticular Providence toobserve your wants and 
troubles, or to relieve you ; and if God had 
so little care for you as you imagine, 3"ou 
would never have lived till now ; a hundred 
diseases would have striven which should 
first destroy you; yea, the devils would 
have haunted you, and fetched you away 
alive, as the great fishes devour the less, 
and as ravenous beasts and birds devour 
others. You cannot think that God made 
man for no end or use, and if he made him 
for any, it was surely for himself; and can 
you think he cares not whether his end be 
accomplished, and whether we do the work 
that we are made for? 

Yea, by this atheistical objection you sup- 
pose God to have made and upheld all the 
world in vain ; for what are all other lower 
creatures for, but for man ? What doth the 
earth but bear us and nourish us, and the 
beasts but serve us with their labors and 
lives, and so of the rest? And hath God 



Doct. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 149 

made so glorious a habitation, and set man 
to dwell in it, and made all his servants ; 
and now doth he look for nothing at his 
hands, nor care how he thinks, or speaks, or 
lives? This is most unreasonable. 

Objection 9. It was a better world when 
men did not make so much ado in religion. 

Answer 1. It hath ever been the custom to 
praise the times past ; that world that you 
speak of was wont to say it was a better 
world in their forefather's days ; and so did 
they of their forefathers. This is but an old 
custom, because we all feel the evil of our 
own times, but we see not that which was 
before us. 

2. Perhaps you speak as you think. 
Worldlings think the world is at the best 
when it is agreeable to their minds, and 
when they have most mirth and worldty 
pleasure ; and I doubt not but the devil, as 
well as you, would say that then it was a 
better world ; for then he had more service 
and less disturbance. But the world is at 
the best when God is most loved, regarded, 
and obeyed ; and how else will you know 
when the world is good or bad, but by this? 

Objection 10. There are so many ways and 



150 A CALL TO (Doct. e. 

religion?, that we know not which to l)e of, 
and therefore we will be even as we are. 

Answer. Because there are many, will yon 
be of that way that you may be sure is wrong V 
None are further out of the way than world- 
ly, fleshly, unconverted sinners ; for they do 
not only err in this or that opinion, as many 
sects do, but in the very scope and drift of 
their lives. If you were going a journey that 
your life lay on, would you stop or turn 
again because you met with some cross- 
waj's, or because you saw some travellers 
go the horse-wa}^, and some the foot-wa}', 
and some perhaps break over the hedge, 
3^ea, and some miss the way ? Or would you 
not rather be the more careful to inquire the 
way ? If you have some servants that know 
not how to do your work right, and some 
that are unfaithful, would you take it well 
of any of the rest that would therefore be 
idle and do you no service, because they 
see their companions so bad ? 

Ohjcction 11. I do not see that it goes any 
better with those that are so godly, than 
with other men ; they are as poor and in as 
much trouble as others. 

Anstver. And perhaps in much more, when 



Poet, fi.) Tni: r.\c()NVERTF.n. 151 

God sncs it meet. Tliov take not earthly 
prosperity for their wages ; they have laid 
up their treasure and hopes in another world, 
or else they arc not christians indeed ; the 
less they have, the more is behind, and they 
are content to wait till then. 

Objection 12. When you have said all that 
you can, I am resolved to hope well, and 
trust in God, and do as well as I can, and 
not make so much ado. 

Answer 1. Is that doing as well as you can, 
when you will not turn to God, but your 
heart is against his holv and dili2:ent ser- 
vice? It is as well as you will, indeed, but 
that is your misery. 

2. My desire is, that you should hope and 
trust in God. But for what is it that you 
will hope? Is it to be saved, if you turn and 
be sanctified ? For this you have God's pro- 
mise, and therefore I say, hope for it, and 
spare not. But if you hope to be saved 
without conversion and a holy life, this is not 
to hope in God, but in Satan, or yourselves ; 
for God hath given you no such promise, but 
told you the contrary; but it is Satan and 
self-love that made yon such promises, and 
raised you to such hopes. 



152 A CALL TO (Doct. e 

Well, if these objections, and such as 
these, be all you have to say ngainst con- 
version and a holy life, your all is nothing, 
and worse than nothing ; and if these, and 
such as these, seem reasons sufiicient to 
persuade you to forsake God and cast your- 
selves into hell, the Lord deliver you from 
such reasons, and from such blind under- 
standings, and from such senseless, hardened 
hearts. Dare you stand to aver one of these 
reasons at the bar of God ? Do you think it 
will then serve your turn to say, " Lord, 1 
did not turn, because I had so much to do 
in the world, or because I did not like the 
lives of some professors, or because I saw 
men of so many minds!" O how easily will 
the light of that day confound and shame 
such reasonings as these ! Had you the 
w^orld to look after? Let the world which 
you served now pay you your wages, and 
save you if it can. Had you not a better 
world to look after first, and were you not 
commanded to seek first God's kingdom and 
righteousness, and promised that other things 
should be added to you '? Matt. 6 : 33. And 
were you not told that godliness is pro 
fitable to all things, having the promise of 



Doct. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 153 

this life, and that which is to come? 1 Tim. 
4 : 8. Did the sins of professors hinder you? 
You should rather have been the more heed- 
ful, and learned by their falls to beware, 
and have been the more careful, and not the 
more careless. It was the Scripture, and 
not their lives, that was j^our rule. Did the 
many opinions of the world hinder you ? 
Why, the Scripture that was your rule did 
teach you but one way, and that was the 
right way. If you had followed thsft, even 
in so much as was plain and easy, 3'ou 
would never have miscarried. Will not 
such answers as these confound and silence 
3^ou? If these wdll not, God hath those that 
will. When he asked the man, " Friend, 
how camest thou in hither, not having on a 
wedding garment?" Matt. 22:12, that is, 
what doest thou in my church among pro- 
fessed christians, without a holy heart and 
life — what answer did he make? Why, the 
text saith, " he was speechless ;" he had 
nothing to say. The clearness of the case 
and the majesty of God will then easily 
stop the mouths of the most confident of you, 
though you will not be put down by any thing 
we can say to you now, but will make good 



154 A CALL TO ( Doct. 6. 

3^our cause, be it ever so bad. I know al- 
ready that never a reason that now you can 
give me will do you any good at last, when 
3^our case must be opened before the Lord, 
and all the world. 

Na}^, I scarce think that your own con- 
sciences are well satisfied with your rea- 
sons ; for if they are, it seems, then, you 
have not so much as a purpose to repent. 
But if 3'ou do purpose to repent, it seems 
you dcf not put much confidence in the rea- 
sons which you bring against it. 

What say you, unconverted sinners ? 
Have you any good reasons to give why 
you should not turn, and presently turn 
with all your hearts? Or will 3'ou go to 
hell in despite of reason itself? Bethink 
you what 3^ou do in time, for it will shortly 
be too late to bethink 3^ou. Can ^^ou find 
any fault with God, or his work, or wages? 
Is he a bad master? Is the devil, whom 
you serve, a better? or is the flesh a better? 
Is there any harm in a holy life ? Is a life 
of worldliness and ungodliness better? Do 
you think in your consciences that it would 
do you any harm to be converted and live a 
holy life ? What harm can it do you ? Is it 



Doct.6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 155 

harm to you to have the Spirit of Christ 
within you, and to have a cleansed, purihed 
heart? If it be bad to be holy, why doth 
God sa}^, " Be ye holy, for I am holy ?" 1 
Pet. 1 : 15, 16 ; Lev. 20 : 7. Is it evil to be 
like God ? Is it not said that God made 
man in his own image? Why, this holiness 
is his image; this Adam lost, and this Christ 
by his word and Spirit would restore to you, 
as he doth to all that he will save. How is 
it that men are baptized into the Holy Ghost 
as their Sanctifier, and yet you will not be 
sanctified by him, but think it a hurt to j'ou 
to be sanctified? Tell me truly, as before 
the Lord, though you are loth to live a holy 
life, had you not rather die in the case of 
those that do so, than of others ? If you 
were to die this day, had you not rather 
die in the case of a converted man than of 
an unconverted ? of a holy and heavenly 
man than of a carnal earthly man ? and 
would you not say as Balaam, " Let me 
die the death of the righteous, and let my 
last end be like his !" Numb. 23 : 10. And 
why will you not now be of the mind that 
you will be of then ? First or last you must 
come to this, either to be converted, or to 



156 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

wish you had been, when it is too late. 

But what is it that you are afraid of losing, 
jf you turn ? Is it your friends ? You will 
but change them ; God will be your Friend, 
and Christ and the Spirit will be your Friend ; 
and every christian will be your friend. You 
will get one Friend that will stand you in 
more stead than all the friends in the world 
could have done. The friends you lose 
would have but enticed you to hell, but 
could not have delivered you : but the 
Friend you get will save you from hell, 
and bring you to his own eternal rest. 

Is it your pleasures that you are afraid of 
losing? You think you shall never have a 
merry day again if once you be converted. 
Alas ! that you should think it a greater 
pleasure to live in foolish sports and merri- 
ments, and please your flesh, than to live in 
the believing thoughts of glory, and in the 
love of God, and in righteousness, and peace, 
and joy in the Holy Ghost, in which the 
state of grace consisteth. Rom. 14 : 17. If 
it would be a greater pleasure for you to 
think of your lands and inheritance, if you 
were lord of all the country, than it is for a 
child to play at pins, why should it not be 



Docte.) THE UNCONVERTED. 157 

a greater joy to you to think of the kingdom 
of heaven being yours, than all the riches 
or pleasures of the world ? As it is but 
foolish childishness that makes children so 
delight- in toys that they would not leave 
them frfr all your lands, so it is but foolish 
worldliness, and fleshliness, and wicked- 
ness, that makes you so much delight in 
your houses and lands, and meat and drink, 
and ease and honor, as that you would not 
part with them for the heavenly delights. 
But what will you do for pleasure when 
these are gone ? Do you not think of that V 
When your pleasures end in horror, and go 
out like a taper, the pleasures of the saints 
are then the highest. I have had myself 
but a little taste of the heavenly pleasures 
in the forethoughts of the blessed approach- 
ing day, and in the present persuasions 
of the love of God in Christ ; but I have 
taken too deep a draught of earthly })lea- 
sures : so that you may see, if I be partial, 
it is on your side ; and yet I must profess, 
from that little experience, that there is no 
comparison. There is more joy to be had 
in a day, if the sun of life shine clear upon 
us, in the state of holiness, than in a whole 

B. Cull. M 



158 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

life of sinful pleasures. " I had rather be a 
door-keeper in the house of God than to 
dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psahn 
84 : 10. "A day in his courts is better than 
a thousand" any where else. The mirth 
of the wicked is like the laughter of a mad- 
man, that knows not his own misery; and 
therefore Solomon says of such laughter, " it 
is mad ; and of mirth, what doeth it?" *' It 
is better to go to the house of mourning 
than to go to the house of feasting; for that 
is the end of all men, and the living will lay 
it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laugh- 
ter ; for by the sadness of the countenance 
the heart is made better. The heart of the 
wise is in the house of mourning ; but the 
heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is 
better to bear the rebuke of the wise, than 
to hear the song of fools ; for as the crack- 
ling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter 
of the fool." Eccles. 2 : 2 ; 7 : 2-6. Your 
loudest laughter is but like that of a man 
that is tickled ; he laughs when he has no 
cause of joy. Judge, as you are men, whe- 
ther this be a wise man's part. It is but 
your carnal unsanctified nature that makes 
a holy life seem grievous to you, and a 



Doct. 6.) THE UiVCONVKRTED. 159 

course of sensuality seem more delightful. 
If you will but turn, the Holy Ghost will 
<live vou another nature and inclination, 
and then it will be more pleasant to you to 
be rid of your sin, than now it is to keep it ; 
and you will then say, that you knew not 
what a comfortable life was till now, and 
that it was never well with you till God and 
holiness were your delight. 

Quest ioji. But how cometh it to pass that 
men should be so unreasonable in the mat- 
ters of salvation? They have sense enough 
in other matters : what makes them so loth 
to be converted that there should need so 
many words in so plain a case, and all will 
not do, but the most will live and die un- 
converted ? 

Answer. To name them only in few words, 
the causes are these : 

1. Men are naturally in lo\e with the 
earth and flesh ; they are born sinners, and 
their nature hath an enmity to God and god- 
liness, as the nature of a serpent hath to a 
man : and when all that we can say goes 
against an habitual inclination of their na- 
tures, no marvel if it prevail little. 

2. They are in darkness, and know not 



160 A CALL TO (Doct. 6. 

the very things they hear. Like a man that 
was born bhnd, and hears a high commen- 
dation of the hght; but what will hearing 
do, unless he sees it "? They know not what 
God is, nor what is the power of the cross 
of Christ, nor what the Spirit of holiness is, 
nor what it is to live in love by faith : they 
know not the certainty, and suitableness, 
and excellency of the heavenly inheritance. 
They know not what conversion and a holy 
mind and conversation is, even when they 
liear of it. They are in a mist of ignorance. 
They are lost and bewildered in sin ; like a 
man tliat has lost himself in the night, and 
knows not where he is, nor how to come to 
himself again, till the daylight recover him. 

o. They are wilfully confident that the}^ 
need no conversion, but only some partial 
amendment, and that they are in the wa}*" 
to heaven already, and are converted when 
they are not. And if 3^ou meet a man that 
is quite out of his way, 3'ou may long 
enough call on him to turn back again, if he 
will not believe that he is out of the way. 

4. They are become slaves to their flesh, 
and drowned in the world, to make provi- 
sion for it. Their lusts, and passions, and 



Doct.6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 161 

appetites have distracted them, and got 
such power over them that they cannot tell 
how to deny them, or how to mind any thing 
else ; so that the drunkard saith, I love a 
cup of good drink, and I cannot forbear ; 
the glutton saith, I love good cheer, and I 
cannot forbear; the fornicator saith, I love 
to have my lust fulfilled, and I cannot for- 
bear; and the gamester loves to have his 
sports, and he cannot forbear. So that they 
are become even captivated slaves to their 
flesh, and their very wilfulness is become 
an impotency ; and what they would not do, 
they say they cannot. And the worldling is 
so taken up with earthly things, that he 
hath neither heart, nor mind, nor time for 
heavenly; but, as in Pharaoh's dream, 
Gen. 41 : 4, the lean kine did eat up the fat 
ones, so this lean and barren earth doth cat 
up all the thoughts of heaven. 

5, Some are so carried away by the 
stream of evi)> company, that they are pos- 
sessed with hard thoughts of a godly life, by 
hearing them speak against it ; or at least 
they think they may venture to do as they 
see most do, and so they hold on in their 
sinful ways ; and when one is cut off and 

14* 



1G2 A CALL TO (D0CL6. 

cast into heil, and another snatched away 
from among them to the same condemna- 
tion, it doth not much daunt them, because 
they see not whither they are gone. Poor 
wretches, they hold on in their ungodhness 
for all this ; for they little know that their 
companions are now lamenting it in tor- 
ments. In Luke, 16, the rich man in hell 
would fain have had one to warn his five 
brethren, lest they should come to that place 
of torment. It is lik-ely he knew their minds 
and lives, and knew that they were hasting 
thither, and little dreamed that he was there, 
yea, and would little have believed one that 
should have told them so. 

I remember an occurrence that a gentle- 
man, yet living, told me he saw upon a 
bridge over the Severn.* A man was dri- 
ving a flock of fat lambs, and something 
meeting them and hindering their passage, 
one of the lambs leapt upon the wall of the 
bridge, and his legs slipping he fell into the 
stream ; and the rest seeing him, did, one after 
another, leap over the bridge into the stream, 
till all or almost all were drowned. Those 

* Mr. R. Rowly, of Shrewsbun', upon Acham-Bridge. 



Doct. 6.) THE UNCONVERTED. 163 

that were behind little knew what was become 
of them that were gone before : but thought 
they might venture to follow their companions ; 
but as soon as ever they were over the wall, 
and falling headlong, the case was altered. 
Even so it is with unconverted carnal men. 
One dieth by them and drops mto hell, and 
another follows the same way ; and yet they 
will go after them, because they think not 
whither they are going. O, but when death 
hath once opened their eyes, and they see 
what is on the other side of the wall, even 
in another world, then what would they give 
to be where they were ! 

6. Moreover, they have a subtle malicious 
enemy that is unseen of them, and plays his 
game in the dark ; and it is his principal 
business to hinder their conversion ; and 
therefore to keep them where they are, by 
persuading them not to believe the Scrip- 
lures, or not to trouble their minds with 
these matters ; or by persuading them to 
think ill of a godly life, or to think that more 
is enjoined than need be, and that they may 
be saved without conversion, and without 
all this stir ; and that God is so merciful 
that he will not damn any such as they ; or 



164 A CALL TO (Doct.6. 

at least, that they may stay a little longer, 
and take their pleasure, and follow the 
world a little longer yet, and then let it go, 
and repent hereafter. And by such jug- 
gling, deluding cheats as these, the devil 
keeps the most in his captivit}^, and leadeth 
them to his misery. 

These, and such like impediments as 
these, do keep so many thousands uncon- 
verted, when God hath done so much, and 
Christ hath suffered so much, and ministers 
have said so much for their conversion. 
When their reasons are silenced and they 
are not able to answer the Lord that calls 
after them, "Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye 
die?" yet all comes to nothing with the 
greatest part of them ; and they leave us no 
more to do after all, but to sit down and la- 
ment their wilful misery-. 

I have now showed you the reasonable- 
ness of God's commands, and the unreason- 
ableness of wicked men's disobedience. If 
nothing will serve to persuade them, but 
men will yet refuse to turn, we are next 
to consider who is in fault if they be 
damned. And this brings me to the last 
doctrine ; which is. 



Doct.7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 1G5 

DOCTRINE VII. 

That if after all this men rvili not turn, it is not the fault 
of God that they are condemned., hut their own, even 
their own wilfulness. They die because they will, Oiat 
is, because they will not turn. 

If you will go to hell, what remedy? God 
here acquits himself of your blood ; it shall 
not lie on him if you be lost. A negligent 
minister may draw it upon him ; and those 
that encourage you or hinder you not in sin, 
may draw it upon them ; but be sure of it, it 
shall not lie upon God. Saith the Lord, con- 
cerning his unprofitable vineyard: *' Judge, 
I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard : 
what could have been done more to my 
vineyard that I have not done in it ?" Isa. 
5 : 1-4. When he had planted it in a fruit- 
ful soil, and fenced it, and gathered out the 
stones, and planted it with the choicest 
vines, what should he have done more to it? 
He hath made j^ou men, and endowed you 
with reason; he hath furnished you with all 
external necessaries ; all creatures are at 
your service ; he hath given you a righteous 
perfect law. When you had broken it and 
undone yourselves, he had pity on you, and 



IGG A CALL TO <Doct. 7. 

sent his Son by a miracle of condescending 
mercy to die for you, and be a sacrifice for 
vour sins ; and he was in Christ reconciling: 

^ ' CD 

the world to himself! ' 

The Lord Jesus hath made you a deed of 
gift of himself, and eternal life with him, on 
the condition you will but accept it, and re- 
turn. He hath on this reasonable condition 
offered ^^ou the free pardon of all your sins ! 
he hath written this in his word, and sealed 
it by his Spirit, and sent it by his ministers : 
they have made the offer to you a hundred and 
a hundred times, and called you to accept it, 
and to turn to God. The}^ have in his name en- 
treated you, and reasoned the case with you, 
and answered all 3'our frivolous objections. 
He hath long waited on you, and staid your 
leisure, and suffered you to abuse him to his 
face! He hath mercifully sustained you in 
the midst of your sins ; he hath compassed 
you about with all sorts of mercies ; he hath 
also intermixed afflictions, to remind you of 
your folly and call you to your senses, and 
his Spirit has been often striving with your 
hearts, saying, " Turn, sinner, turn to him 
that calleth thee. Whither art thou going? 
What art thou doinsf 1 Dost thou know what 



Doct. 7.) TUE UNCONVERTED. 1G7 

will be the end ? How long wilt thou hnte 
thy friends and love thine enemies ? When 
wih thou let go all, and turn and deliver up 
thyself to God, and give thy Redeemer the 
possession of thy soul ? When shall it once 
be V" These pleadings have been used with 
thee, and when thou hast delayed, thou hast 
been urged to make haste, and God haih 
called to thee, " To-day, while it is called 
to-day, harden not thy heart." Why not lis- 
ten now without any more delay ? 

Life hath been set before you ; the joys 
of heaven have been opened to you in the 
Gospel ; the certainty of them hath been 
manifested ; the certainty of the everlasting 
torments of the damned hath been declared 
to you — unless you would have had a sight 
of heaven and hell, what could you desire 
more ? Christ hath been, as it were, set 
forth crucified before your eyes. Gal. 3:1. 
You have been a hundred times told that 
you are but lost men till j^ou come unto 
him : as often you have been told of the evil 
of sin, of the vanity of sin, the world, and 
all the pleasures and wealth it can nil'ord ; 
of the shortness and uncertainty of your 
lives, and the endless duration of the joy or 



168 A CALL TO (Doct.7. 

torment of the life to come. All this, and 
more than this have you been told, and told 
again, even till you were weary of hearing 
it, and till you could make the lighter of it, 
because you had so often heard it, like the 
smith's dog, that is brought by custom to 
sleep under the noise of the hammers and 
when the sparks fly about his ears ; and 
though all this have not converted you, yet 
you are alive, and might have mercy to this 
day, if you had but hearts to entertain it. 
And now let reason itself be the judge, 
whether it be the fault of God, or of your- 
selves, if after all this you will be uncon- 
verted and be damned. If you die now, it is 
because you will die. 

What should be said more to you, or what 
course should be taken that is more likely 
to prevail ? Are you able to say, and make 
it good, " We would fain have been con- 
verted and become new creatures, but we 
could not ; we would fain have forsaken our 
sins, but we could not ; we would have 
changed our company, and our thoughts, 
and our discourse, but we could not." Whr 
could you not if you would ? What hinder- 
ed you but the wickedness of your hearts? 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 1G9 

Who forced you to sin, or who held you back 
from duty? Had not you the same teach- 
ing, and time, and liberty to be godly, as 
your godly neighbors had ? Why then could 
not you have been godly as well as they? 
Were the church-doors shut against you, or 
did you not keep away yourselves, or sit 
and sleep, or hear as if you did not hear ? 
Did God put in any exceptions against you 
in his word, when he invited sinners to re- 
turn ; and when he promised mercy to those 
that do return ? Did he say, " I will pardon 
all that repent except thee V" Did he shut 
thee out from the liberty of his holy wor- 
ship? Did he forbid you to pray to him 
any more than others ? You know he did 
not. God did not drive you away from him, 
but you forsook him, and ran away your- 
selves, and when he called you to him, you 
would not come. 

If God had excepted you out of the gene- 
ral promise and offer of mercy, or had said 
to you, '* Stand off, I will have nothing to do 
with such as you ; pray not to me, for I will 
not hear you ; if you repent never so much, 
and cry for mercy never so much, I will not 
regard you," — if God had left you nothing 

B. CaU. 15 



170 A CALL TO (Doct. 7. 

to trust to but desperation, then you had a 
fair excuse ; you might have said, " To what 
end should I repent and turn, when it will 
do no good?" But this was not your case : 
you might have had Christ to be your Lord 
and Savior, 3^our head and husband, as well 
as others, and vou would not, because you 
felt yourselves not sick enough for the phy- 
sician : and becauss you could not spare 
your disease. In 3^our hearts you said as 
those rebels, Luke, 19 : 14, *' We wdll not 
have this man to reign over us." Christ 
would have gathered you under the wings 
of his salvation, and you w^ould not. Matt. 
23 : 37. What desires of your welfare did 
the Lord express in his holy word ? With 
what compassion did he stand over you and 
s-ay, " O that my people had hearkened un- 
to me, and that they had walked in my 
w^ays!" Psalm 81 : 13. *' O that there were 
such a heart in this people, that they would 
fear me, and keep all my commandments 
always, that it might be well with them and 
with their children for ever!" Deut. 5 : 29. 
*' O that they were wise, that they understood 
this, that they would consider their latter 
end !" Dcut. 32 : 29. He would have been 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 171 

your God, and done all for you that your 
souls could well desire ; but you loved the 
world and your flesh above him, and there- 
fore you would not hearken to him : though 
you complimented him, and gave him high 
titles ; yet when it came to the closing, you 
would have none of him. Psalm 81 : 11, 12. 
No marvel then if he gave you up to your 
own hearts' lusts, and you walked in your 
own counsels. 

He condescends to reason, and pleads 
the case with you, and asks you, " What is 
there in me, or my service, that you should 
be so much against me? What harm have 
I done thee, sinner? Have I deserved this 
unkind dealing at thy hand ? Many mercies 
have I showed thee : for which of them dost 
thou thus despise me? Is it I, or is it Satan 
that is thy enemy ? Is it I, or is it thy carnal 
s-elf that would undo thee? Is "it a holy life, 
or a life of sin, that thou hast cause to fly 
from? If thou be undone, thou procurcst 
this to thyself, by forsaking me, the Lord 
that would have saved thee." Jcr. 2:17. 
*' Doth not thy own wickedness correct thee, 
and thy sin reprove thee? Thou mayest see 
that it is an evil and bitter thing that thou 



172 A CALL TO (Doct. 7 

ha?t forsaken me." Jer. 2:19. " What ini- 
quity have you found in me that you have 
followed after vanity, and forsaken me ?" 
Jer. 2 : 5, 0. He calleth out, as it were, to 
the brutes, to hear the controversy he hath 
against you. " Hear, O ye mountains, the 
Lord's controversy, and ye strong founda- 
tions of the earth ; for the Lord hath a con- 
troversy with his people, and he will plead 
with Israel. O my people, what have I done 
unto thee, and wherein have I wearied thee ? 
testify against me, for I brought thee up out of 
Egypt, and redeemed thee." Micah, 6 : 2, 3. 
*' Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, 
for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished 
and brought up children, and they have re- 
belled against me. The ox knoweth his 
owner, and the ass his master's crib ; but 
Israel doth not know, my people doth not 
consider ! Ah, sinful nation, a people laden 
with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers!" &c. 
Isaiah, 1 : 2, 4. *' Do you thus requite the 
Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is 
not he thy Father that bought thee ? Hath 
he not made thee, and established thee?" 
Deut. 32 : 6. When he saw that you for- 
sook him, even for nothing, and turned away 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 173 

from iho Lord of life to hunt after the chaff 
and feathers of the world, he told you of 
your folly, and called you to a more profit- 
able emploj^ment, Isaiah, ^^ : 2-7. " Where- 
fore do you spend your money for that which 
is not bread, and your labor for that which 
satisfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto me, 
and eat ye that which is good, and let your 
soul delight itself in fatness. Inchne your 
ear, and come unto me ; hear, and your soul 
shall live ; and I will make an everlasting 
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of 
David. Seek ye the Lord while he may be 
found : call ye upon him while he is near. 
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the 
unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him 
return unto the Lord, and he will have 
mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he 
will abundantly pardon." Isa. ^5 : 2-7 ; and 
so chap. 1 : lG-18. 

And when you would not hear, what com- 
plaints have you caused him to bring against 
you ? charging it on you as your wilfulness 
and stubbornness. " Be astonished, O hea- 
vens,#at this, and be horribly afraid ; for my 
people have committed two evils ; they have 
forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, 

15* 



174 A CALL TO iDoct. 7. 

and hewed them out cisterns, broken cis- 
terns, that can hold no water." Jer. 2 : 12, 
13. Many a time hath Christ proclaimed 
that free invitation to you, *' Let him that is 
athirst come, and whosoever will, let him 
take the water of Hfe freely." Rev. 22 : 17 
But you put him to complain, after all his 
offers, *' They will not come to me, that they 
may have life." John, 5 : 40. He hath invi- 
ted you to feast with him in the kingdom of 
his grace, and you have had excuses from 
3^our grounds, and • your cattle, and your 
worldly business ; and when you w^ould not 
come, you have said you could not, and pro- 
voked him to resolve that you should never 
taste of his supper. Luke, 14 : 16-25. And 
who is it the fault of now but yourselves ? 
and what can you say is the chief cause of 
your damnation but your own wills? yon 
would be damned. The whole case is laid 
open by Christ himself. *' Wisdom crieth 
without, she uttereth her voice in the streets ; 
she crieth in the chief place of concourse — 
How long, ye simple ones, wnll ye love sim- 
plicity, and the scorners delight i{i their 
scorning, and fools hate knowledge ? Turn 
ye at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out 



Doct7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 175 

my Spirit upon you, I will make known my 
words unto you. Because I have called, 
and ye refused ; I have stretched out my 
hands, and no man regarded ; but ye have 
set at naught all my counsel, and would 
none of my reproof. I also will laugh at 
your calamity, I will mock when your fear 
Cometh ; when your fear cometh as desola- 
tion, and your destruction cometh as a whirl- 
wind ; when distress and anguish cometh 
upon you, then shall the}^ call upon me, but 
I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, 
but they shall not find me, for that they 
hated knowledge, and did not choose the 
fear of the Lord. They would none of my 
counsel; they despised all my reproof; 
therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their 
own way, and be filled with their own de- 
vices. For the turning away of the simple 
shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools 
shall destroy them. But whoso hearkencth 
to me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet 
from the fear of evil." Prov. 1 : 20-33. I 
thought best to recite the whole text at 
large to you, because it doth so fully show 
the cause of the destruction of the wicked. 
It is not because God would not teach them. 



17G A CALL TO (Doct. 7 

but because they would not learn. It is not 
because God would not call them, but be- 
cause they would not turn at his reproof. 
Their wilfulness is their undoing. 

From what hath been said, you may fur- 
ther learn these following things : 

1. From hence you may see not only 
what blasphemy and impiety it is to lay the 
blame of men's destruction upon God, but 
also how unfit these wicked wretches are to 
bring in such a charge against their Maker ! 
They cry out upon God, and say that he 
gives them no grace, and that his threaten- 
ings are severe, and that it is unreasonable 
that all should be condemned who are not 
converted and sanctified ; and they think it 
hard measure that a short sin should have 
an endless suffering ; and if they be damned 
they say they cannot help it, when in the 
meantime they are bringing about their own 
destruction, even the destruction of their 
own souls, and will not be persuaded to 
hold their hands. They think God were 
cruel if he should condemn them, and yet 
they are so cruel to themselves that they 
will run into the fire of hell, when God hath 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 177 

told them it is but a little before them ; and 
ueither entreaties nor threatenings, nor any 
thing that can be said, will stop them. 

We see them almost undone ; their care- 
less, worldly, fleshly lives tell us that they 
are in the power of the devil ; we know, 
if they die before they are converted all 
the world cannot save them ; and knowing 
the uncertainty of their lives, we are afraid 
every day lest they drop into the fire ; and 
therefore we entreat them to pity their own 
souls, and not to undo themselves when 
mercy is at hand, but they will not hear us. 
We entreat thefn to cast away their sin, and 
come to Christ without delay, and to have 
some mercy on themselves, but they will 
have none ; and yet they think that God 
must be cruel if he condemn them. 

O wilful miserable sinners ! it is not God 
that is cruel to you, it is you that are cruel 
to yourselves ; you are told you must turn 
or burn, and yet you turn not. You are told 
that if you will needs keep your sins, you 
shall keep the curse of God with them, and 
yet you will keep them. You are told that 
there is no way to happiness but by holiness, 
and 3'et you will not be holy. What would 



178 A CALL TO (Doct,7. 

YOU have God say more to you ? What 
would you have him do with his mercy ? He 
offereth it to you, and you will not have it. 
You are in the ditch of sin and misery, and 
he w^ould give you his hand to help you out, 
and 3^ou refuse his help ; he would cleanse 
you of your sins, and you had rather keep 
them ; 3"ou love your lust, and love your 
gluttony, and sports, and drunkenness, and 
will not let them go. Would you have him 
bring you to heaven whether you will or 
not ? Or would you have him bring you 
and vour sins to heaven tosrether? That is 
an impossibility ; 3"ou may as well expect 
lie should turn the sun into darkness. What ! 
an unsanctified fleshly heart be in heaven! 
it cannot be. There entereth into it nothing 
that is unclean. Rev. 21 : 27. " For what 
communion hath lis^ht with darkness, or 
Christ with Behal ?" "All the day long 
hath he stretched out his hands to a diso- 
bedient and gainsaying people." 2 Cor. 6 : 
14, 15; Rom. 10:21. 

What will YOU do now ? Will you cry to 
God for mercy ? Why, God calleth upon you 
to have mercy upon yourselves, and you 
will not ! Ministers see the poisoned cup m 



Do^t. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 179 

the drunkard's hand, and tell him there is 
j)oison in it, and desire him to have mercy 
on his soul, and forbear, and he will not hear 
us ! Drink it he must and will ; he loves it, 
and therefore, though hell comes next, he 
saith he cannot help it. What should one 
say to such men as these ? We tell the un- 
godly careless worldling, it is not such a 
life that will serve the turn, or ever bring 
you to heaven. If a lion were at your back 
you would mend your pace ; and when the 
curse of God is at your back, and Satan 
and hell are at your back, will you not stir, 
but ask. What need of all this ado ? Is an 
immortal soul of no more worth? O have 
mercy upon yourselves ! But they will have 
no mercy on themselves, nor once regard 
us. We tell them the end will be bitter. 
Who can dwell with everlasting fire ? And 
yet they w^ill have no mercy on themselves. 
Still will these shameless transgressors say 
that God IS more merciful than to condemn 
them, when it is themselves that cruelly and 
unmercifully run upon condemnation ; and 
if we should go to them and entreat them, we 
cannot stop them ; if we should fall on our 
knees to them we cannot stop them, but to 



ISO A CALL TO (DocU7. 

hell they will go, and yet will not believe 
that they are going thither. 

If we beg of them, for the sake of God 
that made them, and preserveth them ; for 
the sake of Christ that died for them ; for 
the sake of their own souls, to pity them- 
selves, and go no further in the way to hell, 
but come to Christ while his arms are open, 
and enter into the state of life while the door 
stands open, and now take mercy while 
mercy may be had, they will not be per- 
suaded. If we should die for it, we cannot 
so much as get them now and then to con- 
sider with themselves of the matter, and 
turn ; and yet they can say, "I hope God 
will be merciful." Did you never consider 
what he saith, Isa. 27 : 11, " It is a people 
of no understanding; therefore he that made 
them will not have mercy on them, and he 
that formed them will show them no favor." 
If another man will not clothe you when 
you are naked, and feed you when you are 
hungry, you will say he is unmerciful. If 
he should cast you into prison, or beat and 
torment you, you would say he is unmerci- 
ful : and yet you will do a thousand times 
more against yourselves, even cast away 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. ISl 

both soul and body for ever, and never com- 
plain of your own unmercifulness ! Yea, and 
God that waited upon you all the while 
with his mercy, must be taken to be unmer- 
ciful, if he punish you after all this. Unless 
the holy God of heaven will give these un- 
godly men leave to trample upon Jbis Son's 
blood, and with the Jews, as it were, again 
to spit in his face, and do despite to the Spi- 
rit of grace, and make a jest of sin, and a 
mock at holiness, and set more light by 
saving mercy than by their fleshly pleasures ; 
and unless, after all this, he will save them 
by the mercy which they cast awav, and 
would have none of, God himself must be 
railed unmerciful by them ! But he will be 
justified when he judgeth, and he will not 
stand or fall at the bar of a sinful worm. 

I know there are many particular cavils 
that are brought by them against the Lord ; 
but I shall not here stay to answer them 
particularly, having done it already in mv 
Treatise of Judgment, to which I shall lefer 
them. Had the disputing part of the world 
been as careful to avoid sin and destruction 
as they have been busy in searching after 
the cause of them, and forward indirectly to 

B. CaU. 16 



182 A CALL TO (Doct. 7. 

impute them to God, they might have ex- 
ercised their wits more profitably, and have 
less wronged God, and sped better them- 
selves. When so ugly a monster as sin is 
within us, and so heavy a thing as punish- 
ment is on us, and so dreadful a thing as 
hell is before us, one would think it would 
be an easy quesiton who is in the fault; 
whether God or man be the principal or 
culpable cause. Some men are such favor- 
able judges of themselves, that they are 
more prone to accuse infinite perfection 
and goodness itself, than their own hearts, 
and imitate their first parents, who said, 
*' The serpent tempted me; and the woman 
that thou gavest me gave unto me, and I 
did eat ;" secretly imptying that God was 
the cause. So sav thev, " The understand- 
ing that thou gavest me was unable to dis- 
cern ; the will that thou gavest me was un- 
able to make a better choice ; the objects 
which thou didst set before me did entice 
me ; the temptations which thou didst per- 
mit to assault me prevailed against me," 
And some are so loth to think that God can 
make a self-determining creature, that they 
dare not deny him that which they take to 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 183 

be his prerogative, lo be the determiner 
of the will in every sin, as the first effi- 
cient immediate physical cause ; and many 
could be content to acquit God from so 
much causing of evil, if they could but re- 
concile it with his being the chief cause of 
good; as if truths would be no longer truths 
than we are able to see them in their per- 
fect order and coherence ; because our ra- 
velled wits cannot set them right together, 
nor assign each truth its proper place, wo 
presume to conclude that some must be cast 
away. This is the fruit of proud self-con- 
ceitedness, when men receive not God's 
truth as children, in holy submission to the 
omniscience of our Teacher, but as censur- 
ers that are too wise to learn. 

Objection. But w^e cannot convert ourseh^es 
till God convert us ; we can do nothing with- 
out his grace ; it is not of him that willeth, 
nor of him that runneth, but of God that 
showeth mercy. 

Answer 1. God hath two detrrees of mercv 
to show ; the mercy of conversion first, and 
the mercy of salvation last ; the latter he 
will give to none but those that will and noi, 
and hath promised it to them only. The 



1S4' A CALL TO ( Doct. 7 

former is to make them willing that are un- 
willing ; and though vour own willingness 
and endeavors deserve not his grace, yet 
your wilful refusal deserveth that it should 
be denied to you. Your disability is your 
very unwillingness itself, which excuseth 
not vour sin, but maketh it the greater. You 
could turn if you were but truly willing ; 
and if your wills themselves are so corrupt- 
ed that nothing but effectual grace will move 
them, you have the more cause to seek for 
that grace, and yield to it, and do what you 
can in the use of means, and not neglect it 
and set yourselves against it. Do what you 
are able first, and then complain of God for 
denying you grace, if you have cause. 

Objection. But you seem to intimate all thi? 
while that man hath free will. 

Answer 1. The dispute about free will is 
beyond your capacity ; I shall therefore 
now trouble you with no more but this about 
it. Your will is naturallv a free, that is, a 
self-determining faculty ; but it is viciously 
inclined, and backward to do good ; and 
therefore we see, by sad experience, that 
it hath not a virtuous moral freedom ; but 
this is tlie wickedness of it which deserv- 



Doct.7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 1S5 

clh the punishment; and I pray you let us 
not befool ourselves with opinions. Let the 
case be your own. If you had an enemy 
who was so malicious as to fall upon you, 
and beat you, or take away the lives of your 
children^ would you excuse him because he 
said I have not free will : it is my nature, I 
cannot choose unless God give me grace "? If 
you had a servant that robbed you, would 
you take such an answer from him ? Might 
not every thief and murderer that is hanged 
at the assize give such an answer : I have 
not free w'ill ; I cannot change my own 
heart; what can I do without God's grace? 
and shall they therefore be acquitted? If 
not, why then should you think to be acquit- 
ted for a course of sin against the Lord ? 

2. From hence also you may observe these 
three things together: — 1. What a subtle 
tempter Satan is. 2. What a deceitful thing 
sin is. 3. What a foolish corrupted creature 
man is. A subtle tempter, indeed, that can 
persuade the greatest part of the world to 
go into everlasting fire, when they have so 
many warnings and dissuasives as the}^ 
have! A deceitful thing is sin, indeed, that 
can bewitch so many thousands to part 



1S6 A CALL TO (DcKf. 7 

with everlasting life for a thing so base and 
utterly unworthy ! A foolish creature is 
man, indeed, that will be cheated of his 
salvation for nothing, yea, for a known no- 
thing ; and that by an enemy, and a known 
enemv. You would think it impossible that 
any man in his senses should be persuaded 
for a trifle to cast himself into the fire, or 
water, or into a coal-pit, to the destruction 
of his life ; and yet men will be enticed to 
cast themselves into hell. If your natural 
lives were in 3'our own hand, that you 
should not die till you would kill your- 
selves, how long would most of you live? 
And yet, when everlasting life is so far in 
your own hands, under God, that you cannot 
be undone till you undo ^"ourselves, how few 
of you will forbear your own undoing? Ah, 
what a silly thing is man ! and what a be- 
witching and befooling thing is sin ! 

3. From hence, also, you may learn, that 
it is no great wonder if wicked men be hin- 
derers of others in the way to heaven, and 
would have as many unconverted as thev 
can, and would draw^ them into sin, and keep 
them in it. Can you expect that they should 
have mere}' on others, that have none upon 



Tlocr. 7.) THL UXCONVERTCn. 1S7 

themselves? n.nd that they should liesitato 
much at the destruction of others, that liesi- 
tato not to destroy themselves ? They do 
no worse bv otlicrs than thev do hy tlieni- 
selves. 

4. Lastly, You may hence learn that the 
greatest enemy to man is himself; and th<.' 
greatest judgment in this life that can befall 
him, is to be left to himself; and that the 
great work that grace hath to do, is to sav(; 
us from ourselves ; and that the greatest ac- 
cusatit)ns and complaints of men should be 
against themselves ; and that the greatest 
work we have to do ourselves, is to resist 
ourselves; and the greatest enemy that we 
should daily pray, and watch, and strive? 
against, is our own carnal hearts and wills ; 
and the greatest part of your work, if yon 
would do good to others, and help them to 
heaven, is to save them from Uiemselves, 
(!ven from their own blind understandings, 
and corrupted wills, and perverse affections, 
and violent passions, and unruly senses. 1 
only name all these for brevity's sake, and 
leave them to your further consideration. 

Well, sirs, now we have fcnmd out the G;reai 



ISS A CALL TO (Poet. 7 

delinquent and murderer of souls, (even 
men's selves, their own wills,) what remains 
but that you judge according to the evidence, 
and confess this great iniquity before the 
Lord, and be humbled for it, and do so no 
more ? To these three ends distinctly I shall 
add a few words more. 1. Further to con- 
vince vou. 2. To humble vou. And, 3. To 
reform you, if there 3^et be any hope. 

1. We know so much of the exceeding 
gracious nature of God, who is willing to do 
good, and delighteth to show mercy, that 
we have no reason to suspect him of being 
the culpable cause of our death, or to call 
him cruel: he made all good, and he pre- 
serveth and maintaineth all ; the eyes of all 
wait upon him, and he giveth them their 
meat in due season ; he openeth his hand, 
and satisfieth the desires of all the living. 
Psalm 145 : 15, IG. He is not only righ- 
teous in all his ways, and therefore will deal 
justly ; and holy in all his works, and there- 
fore not the author of sin, but he is also good 
to all, and his tender mercies are over all 
his works. Psalm 145 : 17, 19. 

But as for man, we know his mind is 
dark, his will perverse, and liis affections 



Doot. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. ISO 

carry him so headlong, that he is fitted by 
his folly and corruption to such a work as the 
destroying of himself. If you saw a lamb 
lie killed in the way, would j^ou sooner sus- 
]>ect the sheep or the wolf to be the author 
of it, if they both stand by ? Or if you see 
a house broken open, and the people mur- 
dered, would you sooner suspect the prince 
or judge, that is wise and just, and had no 
need, or a known thief or murderer? I say, 
therefore, as James, 1 : 13-15, " Let no man 
say, when he is tempted, that he is tempted 
of God, for God cannot be tempted with 
evil, neither tempteth he any man, (to draw 
him to sin,) but every man is tempted when 
he is drawn away of his own lust and en- 
ticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it 
bringeth forth sin ; and sin, when it is finish- 
ed, bringeth forth death." You see here that 
sin is the ofi'spring of your own concupi- 
scence, and not to be charged on God ; and 
that death is the oftsprmg of your own sin, 
;md the IVuit which it will yield 3^ou as soon 
;is it is ripe. You have a treasure of evil in 
yourselves, as a spider hath of poison, from 
whence you are bringing forth hurt to your- 
selves, and spinning such webs as entanirlo 



190 A CALL TO (Doct.7. 

your own souls. Your nature shows it is 
you that are the cause. 

2. It is evident that you are 3^our own de- 
stroyers, in that you are so ready to enter- 
tain any temptation almost that is offered to 
you. Satan is scarcely more ready to move 
you to any evil, than you are ready to hear 
and to do as he would have you. If he 
would tempt your understanding to error 
and prejudice, you yield. If he would hin- 
der you from good resolutions, it is soon 
done. If he would cool any good desires or 
aftections, it is soon done. If he would kin- 
dle any lust, or vile affections and desires in 
3^ou, it is soon done. If he will put you on 
to evil thoughts, words or deeds, you are so 
free that he needs no rod or spur. If he 
w^ould keep you from holy thoughts, and 
words and ways, a little does it, you need 
no curb. You examine not his suggestions, 
nor resist them with any resolution, nor cast 
them out as he casts them in, nor quench 
the sparks which he endeavoreth to kindle ; 
but vou set in with him, and meet him half 
way, and embrace his motions, and tempt 
him to tempt you. And it is eas}^ for him 
to catch such greedy fish that are ranging 



Doct 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 



191 



for a bait, and will take the bare hook. 
3. Your destruction is evidently of your- 
selves, in that you resist all that would help 
to save you, and would do you good, or 
hinder 3^ou from undoing yourselves. God 
would help and save you by his word, and 
you resist it; it is too strict for you. He 
would sanctify you by his Spirit, and you 
resist and quench it. If any man reprove 
you for your sin, you fly in his face with 
evil words ; and if he would draw you to a 
holy life, and tell you of your present dan- 
ger, you give him little thanks, but either 
bid him look to himself, he will not have to 
answer for you ; or at best you put him off 
with heartless thanks, and will not turn when 
3^ou are entreated. If ministers would pri- 
vately instruct and help you, you will not 
come to them; your unhumbled souls feel 
but little need of their help ; if they would 
teach you, you are too old to be taught, 
though you are not too old to be ignorant 
and unholy. Whatever they can say to you 
for your good, you are so self-conceited 
and wise in your own eyes, even in the 
depth of ignorance, that you will regard no- 
tning that agreeth not with your present con- 



192 A CALL TO (Doct. 7 

ceits, but contradict vour teachers, as if vou 
were wiser than they ; you resist all that 
the}' can say to you, by your ignorance, and 
wilfulness, and foolish cavils, and shifting 
evasions, and unthankful rejections, so that 
no good that is offered can find any welcome, 
or acceptance, or entertainment with you. 

4. Moreover, it is apparent that you are 
self-destroyers, in that vou " draw the mat- 
ter of your sin and destruction even from 
the blessed God himself" You hke not the 
contrivances of his wisdom ; you like not 
his justice, but take it for crueUy ; you like 
not his holiness, but are ready to think he is 
such a one as yourselves, Psalm 50 : 21. and 
makes as light of sin as you do ; yon like 
not his truth, but would have his threaten- 
ings, even his peremptory threatening?^, 
prove false ; and his goodness, which vou 
seem most highly to approve, you partly re- 
sist, as it would lead you to repentance ; and 
partly abuse, to the strengthening of youi- 
sin, as if vou mio-ht more freely sin because 
(Jod is merciful, and because his grace doth 
so much abound. 

5. Yea, you draw down destruction even 
from the blessed Redeemer, and death from 



DocU7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 19o 

the Lord of lif(3 himself! and nothing more 
emboldcneth you in sin, than that Christ hath 
died tor you ; as if now the danger of death 
were over, and you might boldly venture ; 
as if Christ were become a servant to Satan 
and your sins, and must wait upon you 
while you are abusing him ; and because 
he is become the Ph3^sician of souls, and is 
able to save to the uttermost all that come 
to God by him, you think he must suffer you 
to refuse his help, and throw away his re- 
medies, and must save you whether you will 
come to God by him or not : so that a great 
part of your sins are occasioned by your bold 
presumption upon the death of Christ, not 
considering that he came to redeem his peo- 
ple from their sins, and to sanctify them a 
peculiar people to himself, and to conform 
them in holiness to the image of their hea- 
venly Father, and to their head. Matt. 1 : 
21 ; Tit. 2 : 14 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 15, IG ; Col. 3 : 
10, 11 ; Phil. 3 : 9, 10. * 

0. You also draw your own destruction 
from all the providences and works of God. 
When you think of his eternal fore-know- 
ledge and decrees, it is to harden you in 
your sin, or possess your minds with quar- 

U. CaU. 17 



194 A CALL TO (Doct. 7 

relling thoughts, as if his decrees might 
spare you the labor of repentance and a holy 
life, or else were the cause of your sin and 
death. If he afflict you, you repine ; if he 
prosper you, you the more forget him, and 
are the more backward to the thoughts of 
the life to come. If the wicked prosper, you 
forget the end that will set all reckonings 
straight, and are ready to think it is as good 
to be wicked as godly ; and thus you draw 
your death from all. 

7. And you pervert to your ruin all the 
creatures and mercies of God to you. He 
giveth them to you as the tokens of his love 
and furniture for his service, and you turn 
them against him, to the pleasing of your 
flesh. You eat and drink to please your ap- 
petite, and not for the glor}^ of God and to 
enable you to perform his work. Your clothes 
3^ou abuse to pride ; 3^our riches draw your 
hearts from heaven, Phil. 3:18; your ho- 
nors and appl5.use puff you up ; if you have 
health and strength, it makes you more se- 
cure, and you forget your end. Yea, other 
men's mercies are abused by you to your 
hurt. If you see their honors and dignity, 
you are provoked to envy them ; if you see 



Doct.7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 195 

their riches, you are ready to covet them ; if 
you look upon beauty, you are stirred up to 
lust ; and it is well if godliness itself be not 
an eye-sore to you. 

8. The very gifts that God bestoweth on 
you, and the ordinances of grace which he 
hath instituted for his church, 3'ou turn to 
sin. If you have better parts than others, you 
grow proud and self-conceited ; if you have 
but common gifts, you take them for special 
grace. You take the bare hearing of 3'our 
duty for so good a work, as if it would ex- 
cuse you for not obeying it. Your prayers 
are turned into sin, because you *' regard 
iniquity in your hearts," and depart not from 
iniquity when you call on the name of the 
Lord. Psalm 66 : IS ; 2 Tim. 2 : 19. Your 
*' prayers are abominable, because you turn 
away your ear from hearing the law," and 
are more ready to offer the sacrifice of fools, 
thinking you do God some special service, 
than to hear his word and obey it. Pro v. 
28 : 9 ; Eccles. 5 : 1. 

9. Yea, the persons that j^ou converse 
with, and all their actions, you make the oc- 
casions of your sin and destruction. If thev 
live in the fear of God, you hate them. If 



196 A CALL TO (Doct. 7 

they live ungodly, you imitate them ; if the 
wicked are many, you think you may the 
more boldly follow them ; if the godly bo 
few, 3-0U are the more emboldened to des- 
pise them. If they walk exactly, you think 
they are too precise ; if one of them fall in a 
particular temptation, you stumble and turn 
away from holiness because others are im- 
perfectly holy ; as if you were warranted to 
break your necks because some others have, 
by their heedlessness, sprained a sinew or 
put out a bone. If a h3^pocrite discover him- 
self, 3^ou say, " They are all alike," and 
think yourselves as honest as the best. A 
professor can scarce slip into any miscar- 
riage, but because he cuts his linger you 
think you may boldly cut your throats. If 
ministers deal plainly with you, j^ou say they 
rail. If they speak gently or coldly, you 
either sleep under them, or are little more 
affected than the seats you sit upon. If any 
errors creep into the church, some greedi- 
ly entertain them, and others reproach the 
christian doctrine for them, which is most 
nirainst them. And ifw^e would draw you 
from any ancient rooted error, which can 
but plead two, or three, or six, or seven hun- 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 197 

dred years' custom, you are as much offend- 
ed with a motion for reformation as if you 
were to lose your life by it, and hold fast old 
errors, while you cry out against new ones. 
Scarce a difference can arise among the 
ministers of the Gospel but you will draw 
your own death from it ; and you will not 
hear, or at least not obey, the unquestion- 
able doctrine of any of those that agree not 
with your conceits. One will not hear a min- 
ister because he readeth his sermons ; an- 
other will not hear him because he doth not 
read them. One will not hear him because 
he saith the Lord's prayer ; and another will 
not hear him because he doth not use it. 
One will not hear them that are for episco- 
pacy ; and another will not hear them that 
are against it. And thus I might show 
you in many other cases, how you turn all 
that comes near you to your own destruc- 
tion ; so clear is it that the ungodly are self- 
destroyers, and that their perdition is of 
themselves. 

Methinks now, upon the consideration of 
what is said, and the review of your own 
ways, you should bethink you what you 

17* 



198 A CALL TO (Doct7 

have done, and be ashamed and deeply 
Mimhled to remember it. If you be not, I 
pray you consider these following truths : 

1. To be your own destro3^ers is to sin 
against the deepest principle in your na- 
tures, even the principle of self-preservation. 
Every thing naturally desireth or inclineth 
to its own felicity, welfare or perfection ; 
and will you set yourselves to your own de- 
struction V When you are commanded to 
love your neighbors as yourselves, it is sup- 
posed that you naturally love yourselves ; 
but if you love your neighbors no better than 
yourselves, it seems you would have all the 
world to be damned. 

2. How extremely do you cross your own 
intentions ! I know you intend not your 
own damnation, even when you are procu- 
ring it ; you think you are but doing good to 
yourselves, by gratifying the desires of your 
flesh. But, alas, it is but as a draught of cold 
water in a burning fever, or as the scratch- 
ing of an itching wild-fire, which increaseth 
the disease and pain. If indeed you would 
have pleasure, profit or honor, seek them 
where they are to be found, and do not hunt 
after them in the way to hell. 



Doct.7.) THE Ux\COXVERTED. 109 

3. What pity is it that you should do 
that against yourselves which none else on 
earth or in 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 no one else can do? You have hate- 
ful thoughts of the devil, because he is your 
enemy, and endcavoreth your destruction ; 
and will you be worse than devils to your- 
selves ? 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 your- 
selves the greatest mischief, you could not 
devise to do a greater. 

4. You are false to the trust that God hath 
reposed in vou. He hath much intrusted you 
with your own salvation ; and will you be- 
tray your trust? He hath set you, with all 
diligence, to keep your hearts ; and is this 
the keeping of them ? Prov. 4 : 23. 



200 A CALL To (Doct.7 

5. You do even forbid all others to pity 
you, when you will have no pity on 3^our- 
selves. If you cry to God in the day of 
your calamit}'' for mercy, mercy ; what can 
3'ou expect, but that he should thrust 3'ou 
away, and say, " Nay, thou wouldst not 
have mercy on th3rself: who brought this 
upon thee but thy own wilfulness?" And 
if your brethren see 3^ou everlastingly in 
misery, how shall they pity you that were 
your own destroyers, and would not be dis- 
suaded ? 

6. It will everlastingly make you your 
own tormentors in hell, to think that 3^ou 
brought yourselves wilfully to that miser}'. 
O what a piercing thought it will be for ever 
to think with yourselves that this was your 
own doing ! that 3^ou were warned of this 
da}^, and warned again, but it would not do ; 
that you wilfully sinned, and wilfully turned 
away from God ! that you had time as well 
as others, but you abused it ; you had teach- 
ers as well as others, but 3'ou refused their 
instruction ; 3'ou had holy examples, but 
you did not imitate them ; you were offered 
Christ, and grace, and glory, as well as 
others, but you had more mind to 3^our flesh- 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 201 

ly pleasures ! you had a price in your hands, 
but you had not a heart to lay it out. Prov. 
17 : IG. Can it fail to torment you to think 
of this your present follv ? O that your eyes 
were open to s(3C what you have done in the 
wilful wronging of your own souls ! and that 
you better understood these words of God, 
" Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse 
it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, 
watching daily at my gates, waiting at tlie 
2")0Sts of my doors : lor whoso lindeth me 
iindeth life, and shall obtain favor of the 
Lord. But he that sinneth against mc, 
wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate 
me love death." Prov. 8 : 33, 36. 

And now I am come to tlic conclusion of 
this work, my heart is troubled to think how 
1 shall leave you, lest after this the flesh 
should still deceive you, and the world and 
tlie devil should keep you asleep, and I 
should leave you as I found you, till 3'ou 
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 de- 
sired the woful day, thou Lord knowest." 



202 A CALL TO (Doct. 7. 

17 : IG. I have not, with James and John, 
desired that "file might come from heaven'* 
to consume them that refused Jesus Christ. 
Luke, 9 : 54. But it is the preventing of the 
eternal fire that I have been all this while 
endeavorinc: : and O that it had been a need- 
less work ! that God and conscience might 
have been as willing to spare me this labor 
as some of vou could have been. Dear 
friends, I am so loth that 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 re- 
solve ? Will you turn, or die ? I look upon 
you as a physician on his patient in a dan- 
gerous disease, that saith to him, " Though 
3^ou are far gone, take but this medicine, 
and forbear but these few things that are 
hurtful to you, and I dare warrant your life ; 
but if 3^ou will not do this you are but 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 s.in, do but now turn and come to Christ, 



DocL7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 203 

and take his remedies, and your souls shall 
live. Cast up your deadly sins by repent- 
ance, and return not to the poisonous vomit 
any more, and you shall do well. But yet, 
if it were your bodies that we had to deal 
with, we might partly know what to do for 
you. Though you would not consent, yet 
you might be held or bound while the me- 
dicine 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 has thought meet to lay 
men's salvation or destruction exceedinfr 
much upon the choice of their own will, that 
no man shall come to heaven that chose 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 



204 A CALL TO (Doct 7 

our friends, and must they lose their God, 
their happiness, their souls, for want of this V 
O God forbid I It is a strange thing to me 
that men are so unnatural and stupid in the 
greatest matters, who in lesser things are 
civil and courteous, and good neighbors. 

For aught I know, I have the love of all, 

or almost all my neighbors, so far, that if I 

should send to any man in the town, or 

parish, or county, and request a reasonable 

courtesy of them, they would 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 earnest or not, and means as he 

speaks ; for I think I have few neighbors ; but 

if I were sitting familiarly with them, and 

telling them what I have seen and 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, w^hat they 

tliemselves shall see and know in the world 

to come, they show by their lives that they 

do either not believe it or not much regard 

it. If I met any one of them on the way, 



Doct. 7.) THE UiVCOiWERTED. 205 

and told them yonder is a coal-pit, or there 
is a quicksand, or there are thieves lying 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 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, neighbors, I am in as good earnest 
with you in the pulpit as I am in any fami- 
liar discourse ; and if ever j^ou will regard 
me, I beseech you let it be here. 

I think there is not a man of you all, but, 
if my own soul lay at your wills, you would 
be willing to save it, though I cannot pro- 
mise that 3"ou would leave your sins for it. 
Tell me, thou drunkard, art thou so cruel to 
me, that thou wouldst not forbear a few 
cups of drink, if thou knewest it would save 
my soul from hell'/ Hadst thou rather that 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 i If I came hunirry or naked to 

CD J 

one of your doors, would you not part with 
more than a cup of drink to relieve me ? I 
am confident vou would. If it were to save 
my life, I know you would f some of you, 

D. Call. 18 



206 A CALL TO (Doct-7. 

hazard 3'our own ; and yet will you not be 
entreated to part with your sensual plea- 
sures for 3'our own salvation ? Wouldst 
thou forbear a hundred cups of drink to 
save my life, if it were in thy power, and 
wilt thou not do it to save thy own soul ? 
I profess to ^-ou, sirs, I am as hearty a beg- 
gar with you this day for the saving of your 
own souls, as I would be for my own sup- 
ply, if I were forced to come begging to 
your doors; and therefore if you w^ould 
hear me then, hear me now. If you would 
pity me then, be entreated now to pity 
yourselves. I do again beseech you, as if it 
were on my bended knees, that you would 
hearken to 3'our Redeemer, and turn, that 
you may live. 

All 3'OU that have lived in ignorance, and 
carelessness, and presumption, to this day ; 
all you that have been drow^ned 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 w^ork of the 
Holy Ghost upon your souls ; that never em- 



Doct 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 207 

braced your blessed Redeemer by a lively 
faith, and with admiring and thankful ap- 
prehensions of his love ; and that never felt 
a higher estimation of God and heaven, and 
a heartier love to them than to 3'our fleshl}" 
prosperity, and the things below ; I earnest- 
ly beseech you, not only for my sake, but 
for the Lord's sake, and for your soul's sake, 
that you go not on one day longer in your 
former condition, but look about 3'ou, and 
cry to God for converting grace, that you 
may be made new creatures, and may es- 
cape the plagues that are but 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 ex- 



208 A CALL TO (Doct. 7. 

tremities, 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 would hear such a message as I bring 
vou with more awakened re2:ardful 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 in their hearts and 
said, " Men and brethren, what shall we 
do ?" Acts, 2 : 37. How may 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 con- 
version, 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, Deut. 5 : 28, 29, " 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 com- 
mandments always !" Your purposes are 
good : O that there were but a heart in you 
to perform these purposes ! And in hope 



Doct, 7.) THE UNCONVERTED, 209 

hereof I shall gladly give you direction 
what to do, and that but briefly, that j'ou 
may the more easily remember it lor your 
practice. 

Direction I. — If you would be convert- 
ed and saved, labor to understand the ne- 
cessity and true nature of conversion : for 
what, and from what, and to what, and by 
what it is that you must turn. 

Consider in what a lamentable condition 
you are till the hour of your conversion, that 
you may see it is not a state to be rested in. 
You are under the guilt of all the sins that 
ever you committed, and under the wrath 
of God and the curse of his law; you are 
bond slaves to the devil, and daily employ- 
ed in his work against the Lord, yourselves, 
and others ; you are spiritually dead and 
deformed, as being devoid of the holy life, 
and nature, and image of the Lord. You 
are unfit for any holy work, and do nothing 
that is truly pleasing to God. You are with- 
out any promise or assurance of his protec- 
tion, and live in continual danger of his jus- 
tice, not knowing what hour you may be 
snatched away to hell, and most certain to 

18» 



210 A CALL TO (Doct.7. 

be damned if you die in that condition ; and 
nothing short of conversion can prevent it. 
Whatever civilities, or amendments, or vir- 
tues are short of true conversion, will never 
procure the saving of your souls. Keep the 
true sense of this natural misery, and so of 
the necessity of conversion, on your hearts. 

And then you must understand what it is 
to be converted ; it is to have a new heart 
or disposition, and a new conversation. 

1. Consider /or what you must turn. For 
these ends following, which you may attain: 
1. You shall immediately be made living 
members of Christ, and have an interest in 
him, and be renewed after the image of 
God, and be adorned with all his graces, 
and quickened with a new and heavenly 
life, and saved from the tyranny of Satan 
and the dominion of sin, and be justified 
from the curse of the law, and have the par- 
don of all the sins of your whole lives, and 
be accepted of God, and made his sons, 
and have liberty with boldness to call him 
Father, and go to him by prayer in all your 
needs, with a promise of acceptance ; you 
shall have the Holy Ghost to dwell in you, 
to sanctify and guide you ; you shall have 



Doct7.) THE UNCONVERTED, 211 

part in the brotherhood, communion, and 
prayers of the saints ; you shall be fitted for 
God's service, and be freed from the do- 
minion of sin, and be useful, and a blessing 
to the place where you live ; and shall have 
the promise of this life, and that which is 
to come : you shall want nothing that is 
truly good for you, and your necessary af- 
flictions you will be enabled to bear ; you 
may have some taste of communion with 
God in the Spirit, especially in all holy or- 
dinances, where God prepareth a feast for 
your souls; you shall be heirs of heaven 
while you live on earth, and may foresee by 
faith the everlasting glory, and so may live 
and die in peace; and you shall never be 
so low but your happiness will be incom- 
parably greater than your misery. 

How precious is every one of these bless- 
ings, which I do but briefly name, and which 
in this life you may receive ! 

And then, 2. At death your souls shall go 
to Christ, and at the day of judgment both 
soul and body shall be justified and glorified, 
and enter into your Master's joy, where your 
happiness will consist in these particulars : 

(1.) You shall be perfected yourselves; 



212 A CALL TO (Doct. 7. 

your mortal bodies shall be made immortal, 
and the corruptible shall put on incorrup- 
tion ; you shall no more be hungry, or thirs- 
t}^, or weary, or sick, nor shall you need to 
fear either shame, or sorrow, or death, or 
hell ; your souls shall be perfectly freed from 
sin, and perfectly fitted for the knowledge, 
and love, and praises of the Lord. 

(2.) Your employment shall be to behold 
your glorified Redeemer, with all your holy 
fellow-citizens of heaven, and to see the glo- 
ry of the most blessed God, and to love him 
perfectl}^ and be beloved by him, and to 
praise him everlastingh^ 

(3.) Your gloiy will contribute to the glory 
of the New Jerusalem, the city of the living 
God, which is more than to have a private 
felicity to yourselves. 

(4.) Your glory will contribute to the glo- 
rifying of your Redeemer, who will everlast- 
ingly be magnified and pleased in you that 
are the travail of his soul, and this is more 
than the glorifying of yourselves. 

(5.) And the eternal Majesty, the living 
God, will be glorified in your glory, both as 
he is magnified by your praises, and as he 
communicateth of his glory and goodness to 



Doct,7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 213 

you, and as he is pleased in you, and in the 
accomplishment of his glorious work, in the 
glory of the New Jerusalem, and of his Son. 
All this the poorest beggar of you that is 
converted shall certainly and endlessly enjoy. 

2. Next you must understand from wfiat 
you must turn ; and this is, in a word, from 
your carnal self, which is the end of all the 
unconverted : from the flesh that would be 
pleased before God, and would still be en- 
ticing you ; from the world, that is the bait; 
and from the devil, that is the angler for 
souls, and the deceiver. And so from all 
known and wilful sins. 

3. Next you must know to what you 
must turn ; and that is, to God as your end ; 
to Christ as the way to the Father ; to holi- 
ness as the way appointed you by Christ; 
and to the use of all the helps and means of 
grace afforded you by the Lord. 

4. Lastly ; you must know hy what you 
must turn ; and that is by Christ, as the only 
lledeemer and Intercessor ; and by the Holy 
Ghost, as the Sanctiher; and by the word, as 
his instrument or means ; and by faith and re- 
pentance, as the means and duties on your 
part to be performed. All this is of necessity. 



214 A CALL TO (Doct. 7. 

Direction II. If vou will be converted 
and saved, be much in secret serious con- 
sideration. Inconsiderateness undoes the 
world. Withdraw yourselves oft into retired 
secrecy, and there bethink you of the end 
why you were made, of the life you have 
lived, of the time you have lost, the sins you 
have committed ; of the love, and sufferings, 
and fulness of Christ ; of the danger you are 
in ; of the nearness of death and judgment ; 
of the certainty and excellency of the joys 
of heaven; and of the certainty and terror of 
the torments of hell, and the eternity of both ; 
and of the necessity of conversion and a holy 
life. Absorb your hearts in such considera- 
tions as these. 

Direction III. If 3'ou will be converted 
and saved, attend upon the word of God, 
w^hich is the ordinary means. Read the 
Scripture, or hear it read, and other holy 
writings that do apply it ; constantly attend 
on the public preaching of the word. As God 
will lighten the world by the sun, and not by 
himself without it, so will he convert and 
save men by his ministers, who are the lights 
of the world. Acts, 26 : 17, 18 ; Matt. 5 • 14. 



Doot. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 215 

When he had miraculously Immbled Paul, 
he sent Ananias to him, Acts, 9 : 10, and 
when he had sent an angel to Cornelius, it 
was but to bid him send for Peter, who must 
tell him what to believe and do. 

Direction IV. Betake yourselves to God 
in a course of earnest constant prayer. Con- 
fess and lament your former lives, and beg 
his grace to illuminate and convert you. Be- 
seech him to pardon what is past, and to 
give you his Spirit, and change your hearts 
and lives, and lead you in his ways, and 
save 3"ou from temptation. Pursue this w^ork 
daily, and be not weary of it. 

Direction V. Presently give over your 
known and wilful sins. Make a stand, and 
go that way no farther. Be drunk no more, 
but avoid the very occasion of it. Cast away 
your lusts and sinful pleasures with detesta- 
tion. Curse, and swear, and rail no more ; 
and if you have wronged any, restore, as 
Zaccheus did ; if you will commit again your 
old sins, what blessing can you expect on 
the means for conversion ? 

Direction VI. Immediatel}'', if possible, 



216 A CALL TO (Doct,7. 

change your company, if it hath hitherto 
been bad ; not by forsaking your necessary 
relations, but your unnecessary sinful com- 
panions ; and join yourselves with those that 
fear the Lord, and inquire of them the way 
to heaven. Acts, 9 : 26 ; Psalm 15 : 4. 

Direction VII. Deliver up yourselves to 
the Lord Jesus, as the physician of your 
souls, that he may pardon you by his blood, 
and sanctify you by his Spirit, by his word 
and ministers, the instruments of the Spirit. 
He is the way, the truth, and the life ; there 
is no coming to the Father but by him. John, 
14 : 6. Nor is there any other name under 
heaven by which you can be saved. Acts, 
4 : 12. Study, therefore, his person and na- 
tures, and what he hath done for you, and 
what he is to you, and what he will be, and 
how he is fitted to the full supply of all your 
necessities. 

Direction VIII. If you mean indeed to 
turn and live, do it speedily, without dela}^. 
If you be not willing to turn to-day, you are 
not willing to do it at all. Remember, you 
are aU this while in your blood, under the 



Docl. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 217 

guilt of many thousand sins, and under God's 
wrath, and you stand at the very brink of 
hell ; there is but a step between you and 
death : and this is not a state for a man in 
his right mind to be quiet in. Up therefore 
presently, and fly as for your lives, as you 
would be gone out of your house if it were 
all on fire over your head. O, if you did but 
know in what continual dano-er vou live, and 
what dailv unspeakable loss you sustain, and 
what a safer and sweeter life vou mis^ht live, 
you would not stand trifling, but presently 
turn. Multitudes miscarry that wilfully de- 
lay when they are convinced that it must be 
done. Your lives are short and uncertain ; 
and what a case are vou in if you die before 
you thoroughly turn ! You have staid too 
long already, and wronged God too long. 
Sin getteth strength while you delay. Your 
conversion will grow more hard and doubt- 
ful. You have much to do, and therefore put 
not all ofl'to the last, lest God forsake vou, 
and give you up to yourselves, and then 
you are undone for ever. 

Direction IX. — If you will turn and live, 
do it unrcscrvcdlv, absolutclv, and univcr- 

B. C;ill 19 



218 A CALL TO (Doct. 7 

sally. Think not to capitulate with Christ, 
and divide your heart between him and the 
world ; and to part with some sins and keep 
the rest ; and to let that go which your flesh 
can spare. This is but self-deluding ; you 
must in heart and resolution forsake all that 
3^ou have, or else you cannot be his dis- 
ciples. Luke, 14 : 26, 33. If j^ou will not 
take God and heaven for j^our portion, and 
lay all below at the feet of Christ, but j^ou 
must needs also have your good things here, 
and have an earthly portion, and God and 
glory are not enough for 3^ou, it is vain to 
dream of salvation on these terms ; for it 
will not be. If you seem ever so religious, 
if yet it be but a carnal righteousness, and 
if the flesh's prosperity, or pleasure, or safe- 
ty, be still excepted in your devotedness to 
God, this is as certain a way to death as 
open profaneness, though it be more plausible. 

Direction X. — If you will turn and live, 
do it resolvedly, and stand not still delibe- 
ratins:, as if it were a doubtful case. Stand 
not wavering, as if you were uncertain 
whether God or the flesh be the better mas- 
ter, or whether sin or holiness be tlie better 



Doct. 7.) THE UNCONVERTED. 219 

way, or whether heaven or hell be the better 
end. But away with your former lusts, and 
j^resently, habitually, fixedly resolve. Be 
not one da}^ of one mind and the next day 
of another ; but be at a point with all the 
world, and resolvedly give up 3'ourselve3 
and all you have to God. Now, while 3^ou 
are reading, or hearing this, resolve ; before 
you sleep another night, resolve ; before 3"ou 
^tir from the place, resolve ; before Satan 
have time to take you off, resolve. You will 
never turn indeed till you do resolve, and 
that with a firm unchangeable resolution. 



And now I have done my part in this 
work, that you may turn at the call of God 
and live. What will become of it I cannot 
tell. I have cast the seed at God's com- 
mand ; but it is not in my power to give lue 
increase. I can go no further with my mes- 
sage ; I cannot bring it to your heart, nor 
make it work; I cannot do your part for 
you, which is to entertain it and consider it ; 
nor can I do God's part, by opening vour 
heart to cause you to entertain it; nor can 
I show heaven or hell to vour sii^ht, nor 



220 A CALL TO THE UNCOWEKTED. (Doct. 7, 

give you new and tender hearts. If I loiew 
what more to do for ^^our conversion, I hope 
I should do it. 

But O thou that art the gracious Father 
of spirits, thou hast sworn thou dehghtest 
not in the death of the wicked, but rather 
that thev turn and hve ; denv not thv bless- 
ing to these persuasions and directions, and 
suffer not thine enemies to triumph in thy 
sight, and the great deceiver of souls to pre- 
vail against thy Son, thy Spirit, and tliy 
Word! O pit}?- poor unconverted sinners, 
that have no hearts to pity or help them- 
selves ! Command the blind to see, and the 
deaf to hear, and the dead to live, and let 
not sin and death be able to resist thee. 
Awaken the secure, resolve the unresolved, 
confirm the wavering; and let the eyes of 
sinners, that read these lines, be next em- 
plo3^ed in weeping over their sins, and bring 
them to themselves, and to thy Son, before 
their sins have brought them to perdition. 
If tliou say but the word, these poor endea- 
vors shall prosper to the winning of many a 
soul to their everlasting joy and thine ever- 
lasting glory. — Amen. 

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