abhorreth. They are incapable of that imperfect communion with him, which his saints here do partake of. How then can they live in that perfect love of him, and full delights and communion with him, which is the blessedness of heaven? You do not accuse yourselves of unmercifulness, if you make not your enemy your bosom counsellor; 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 will you blame the absolute Lord, the most wise and gracious Sovereign of the world, if he condemn the unconverted man to perpetual misery.

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USE. I beseech you now, all that love your souls, that instead of quarrelling with God, and with his word, you will presently stoop to it, and use it for your good. All you that are yet unconverted in this assembly, take this as the undoubted truth of God; you must ere long be converted or condemned, there is no other way but Turn or Die. When God, that cannot lie, hath told you this, when you hear from the Maker and Judge of the world, 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 you 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, ver. 8. When I say to the wicked man, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.” You see then, though this be a rough, unwelcome doctrine, it is such as we must preach, and you must hear. It is easier to hear of hell than feel it. If your necessities did not require it we should not gall your tender ears, with truths that seem so harsh and grievous. Hell would not be so full, if people were but willing to know their case, and to hear and think of it. The reason why so few escape it, is, because they strive not to enter in at the strait gate of conversion, and to go the narrow way of holiness while they have time; and they strive not, because they be not awakened to a lively feeling of the danger they are in: and they be not awakened, because they are loath to hear or think of it; and that is partly, through foolish tenderness, and carnal self

truth, methinks the weight of it should force you to remember it, and it should follow you and give you no rest till you love; and partly, because they do not well believe the word that threateneth it. If you will not thoroughly believe this are converted. If you had but once heard this word, by the voice of an angel, 'Thou must be converted or condemned; turn or die!' Would it not stick in your mind, and haunt you night and day? So that in your sinning you would remember it, as if the voice were still in your ears, Turn or Die! O happy were your souls, if it might thus work with you, and never be forgotten, or let you alone till it hath driven home your hearts to God. But if you will cast it out by forgetfulness, or unbelief, how can it work to your conversion and salvation? But take this with you, to your sorrow, though you may put this out of your minds, you cannot put it out of the Bible; but there it will stand as a sealed truth, which you 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 be 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 themselves, This is my own case,' and never be quiet till they found themselves converted. Believe it, sirs, 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 eyes, that either grace or hell will shortly bring these matters to the quick, and make you say, ' What have I done? What foolish, wicked courses have I taken?" The scornful and the stupid state of sinners, will last but a little while: as soon as they either Turn or Die, the presumptuous dream will be at an end, and then their wits and feeling will

return.

But, I foresee there are two things that are like to harden the unconverted, and make me lose all my labour, except they can be taken out of the way: and that is, the misunderstanding of those two words, The wicked,' and 'Turn.' Some will think with themselves, it is true, the wicked must Turn or Die; but what is that to me? I am not Wicked, though I am a sinner, as all men be. Others will think, it

is true that we must turn from our evil ways; but I am tunred long ago, I hope this is not now to do. And thus, while wicked men think they are not wicked, but are already converted, we lose all our labour in persuading them to turn. I shall therefore, before I go any further, tell you here, who are meant by the wicked,' and who they be that must Turn or Die, and also what is meant by Turning; and who they be that are truly converted; and this I have purposely reserved for this place, preferring the method that fits my end.

And here you may observe, that in the sense of the text, a wicked man and a converted 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 unconverted man, is all one. And therefore in opening one, we shall open both.

Before I can tell you what either wickedness or conversion is, I must go to the bottom, and fetch 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 therefore he made them only for heaven and not to dwell on earth. Beasts were made flesh without immortal souls; and therefore they were made only for earth, and not for heaven. Man is of a middle nature, between both, as partaking of both flesh and 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 happiness. The blessed state that man was made for, was to behold the glorious majesty of the Lord and to praise him among his holy angels, and to love him, and be filled with his love for ever. And as this was the end that man was made for, so God did give him means that were fitted to the attaining of it. These means were principally two. First, The right inclination and disposition of the mind of man. Secondly, The right ordering of his life and practice. For the first, God suited the disposition of man to his end; giving 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 condition; but having made him a free agent, he left

him in the hands of his own free-will. For the second, God did that which belonged to him; that is, he gave man a perfect law requiring him to continue in the love of God, and perfectly to obey him. By the wilful breach of this law, man did not only forfeit his hopes of everlasting life, but also turned his heart from God, and fixed it on these lower, fleshly things, and hereby did blot out the spiritual image of God from his soul. So that man did both fall short of the 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 holy inclination and love of his soul to God, he lost; and instead of it, he contracted an inclination and love to the pleasing of his flesh, or carnal self, by earthly things: growing strange to God, and acquainted with the creature: and the course of his life was 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 the Lord. With this nature or corrupt inclination, we are all now born into the world; for " who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" As a lion hath a fierce and cruel nature, before he doth devour, and as an adder hath a venomous nature before she stings, so in our very infancy we have those sinful natures or inclinations, before 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 mercy provided us a remedy, even the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the Saviour of our souls, and bring us back to God again, we naturally love our present state, and are loath 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 persuadeth us to refuse his remedies, and to desire to be excused when we are commanded to take the medicines which he offereth, and are called to forsake all, and follow him to God and glory.

I pray you read over this leaf again, and mark it; for in these few words you have a true description of our natural state; and consequently of a wicked man. For every man that is in this state of corrupted nature, is a wicked man, and in a state of death.

By this also you are prepared to understand what it is to

be converted, to which end you must further know, that the mercy of God, not willing that man should perish in his sin, 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 our sins on the cross, to ransom us from the curse of God, and the power of the devil: and having thus redeemed us, the Father hath delivered 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 life 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 everlasting life to all, that by true repentance, and by faith in Christ, are converted unto God. Like an act of oblivion, which is made by a prince, to a company of rebels, on condition 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 be left to themselves; therefore the Holy Ghost hath undertaken it as his office, to inspire the apostles, and seal up the Scripture by miracles and wonders, and to illuminate and convert the souls of the elect.

So that 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 these Persons have their several works, which are eminently ascribed to them.

The Father's 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 Son 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 their Redeemer, on terms of grace, and to make intercession for us, that the benefits of his death may be communicated, and to send the Holy Ghost, (which the Father also doth by the Son).

The works of the Holy Ghost for us are these: to indite the holy Scriptures, by inspiring, and guiding the prophets and apostles; and sealing the word, by his miraculous gifts