not! that God fhould carefs thee to become his Darling, and thou voluntarily and freely lift thy felf in the Catalogue of the Devils Favourites and Votaries! that God fhould leave no means untried to melt thy stubborn heart, and thou defperately fight against his Heaven! and when he would thruft thee into it, violently break Joofe from him, and lay force upon damnation ! How inexcufable will this make thee? What Man, what Angel can, or dares plead for thee after fuch horrid wilfulness? by it thou shut'st up all mens compaffion against thee. Were thy errour an infirmity, or had invincible ignorance caufed thy folly, fome or other poffibly might be moved to speak in favour of thy concerns; but that thou knowing the will of God, and having power to think what the end of thy courses will be, and power to avoid the danger, and power to pray for help, a gracious God to encourage thee, a glorious Reward to entice thee, Eternity to fright thee, the everlafting Gulph to ftartle thee, fhouldst, in defpight of all thefe Motives, wilfully and malicioufly fhun thine own cure! This is a malady, which no creature can juftly hed a tear, or frame an Apology for. Be aftonifh'd, O ye Heavens, and tremble, O thou Earth! ye Angels that rejoyce at a finners converfion here on Earth; O all ye that pass by, behold and fee, whether there be a forrow as fuch a finners forrow is? We have read of Men that have eaten their Enemies, or Monsters that have devour'd their own Children; but here is one devours himself, inhumane to a prodigy! one that contrives how to fhut himself out of Heaven, plors how to undermine his everlasting Salvation, and studies how to fink into the dungeon of defpe ration. . Sirs, What is it that we are exhorting you unto? Is it to dig down Mountains? Is it to exhaust the Sea? Is it to pull down the Sun from his Orb? Is it to reverse the course of Nature? Is it to work Miracles? Is it to unhinge the Earth, or to ftop the flux and reflux of the Ocean? One would think, by the earnestness and vehemency of expreffions we are forced to ufe, that it must be fomething beyond the power of Man: but no, all that we keep this stir for, is only, that you would confent to be happy, contrive how to inherit an incorruptible Crown, and think seriously how to escape your own torment; and needs there any intreaty for this? One would think you should run to us, break down the doors of our habitations, pull us out of our studies, interrupt us though we were never fo bufie, and importune us, as that Widow did the Judge, and follow us day and night to be fatisfied, the thing is of that importance. And O, did you but believe an Eternity, you would do fo? Believe! Why what fhould hinder you from believing it? What Arguments can you defire that you have not? Can there be any thing furer than the Word of God? Can there be a greater Witness than the Son of God? Dd 4 God God cannot deceive you, he cannot impose upon you, he cannot delude you; dare to believe him: Though you have not look'd into Hell, yet certainly there is one; though you have not feen the Joys above, yet fuch Joys there are; and to confider, to ftudy, to ponder how to arrive to them, is the great thing we press upon you, as being fenfible of your danger, fenfible that death will arrest you before you are aware of it, fenfible that many thousands are for ever miferable for neglecting fuch exhortations. O Sirs, we do not envy your worldly happiness; we dare affure you, that it is not any grudge we have against your profperity, that makes us put you in mind of thefe unwelcome Leffons; we have a God calling upon us, to ftop you in your earneftness for the World; woe to us, if we give you no warning! woe to you, if ye take no warning! If making provifion for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts thereof, would make you happy; if rioting and drunkennefs, chambering and wantonness, and rolling in all the pleasures that your flesh does promise, and your fancy pay, could contribute any thing to your felicity; if folacing your felves in the wanton streams of fenfual delights, would lead you into Paradife, we promife you, we would not moleft or difturb you in your ways; nay; if you had not Souls to be faved, did your Spirits die with your Bodies, we would not ftint you in your jollities. But Oh! can we read how the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all un godliness godliness and unrighteoufnefs of men, and fee you fall a prey to that indignation? Can we read how tribulation and anguish shall certainly fall upon every Soul that doth evil, and not speak to you to prevent it? Can we read, how the Lord Jefus will, e're long, come from Heaven in flames of fire, to take vengeance of those who have continued to difobey his Gofpel, and to punish them with everlasting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, and not call to you, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at band? Can we read how the unprofitable Servant, that made not use of his Talent, but bu ried it under ground, and would not watch, or make himself ready to meet his Master, shall be thrown into outward darkness, where there is howling and gnashing of teeth, and not beg of you to trim your Lamps, and arife from the dead, that Chrift may give you light? Can we remember how many millions lie now roaring under the fears and terrours of their own Consciences in another world, that would not be perfwaded to part with their darling bofom fins, till death tore them away from them, and not teftifie unto you, left you also come into that place of torment? Can we fee you stand upon the brink of deftruction, and be fo cruel, as not to acquaint you with the bottomless gulph that's underneath? Would you have us to be as tyrannical to you, as you are to your own Souls? Or would you have us leap into everlafting lafting burnings with you, for not reclaiming you from venturing into that fire? Sirs, What is it that doth difcourage you from a fincere confideration of your Spiritual condition? What are you afraid of? Why do you loiter? Why do you deliberate whether ye fhall or no? Why do ye difpute the cafe? Why do ye ftand mufing? What hinders you? Is there any impediment that you may not remove, if you will? Had you been but a quarter of an hour in Hell, would not you call all those men fots and fools, that now excufe their wilful neglect of this work? Would not you see the vanity of their pretences? Would not you confefs, that all thofe pretended clogs are meer cobwebs, which may be broke through with the greatest ease? Would you be frighted from this duty by any temporal loffes, as now you are? Are you afraid men will laugh at you for being serious? Had not you better be laugh'd at here, than be fcorn'd by God and his holy Angels to all Eternity? Had not you better be jeer'd here, than have the great King of Heaven laugh at your endless calamity, and mock when your everlasting fears do come upon you? If a fool laughs at you, do you regard it? and why should you regard fuch mens fcorn any more, than the laughter of fools? Alas! they are diftemper'd in their brains, they see not the things which belong to their peace, they know not what Religion means! Will any man give over the study of Divinity, or Law, or Phyfick, because |