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the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; 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 hear the rebuke of the wise, than to hear the song of fools; for as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool." All the pleasure of fleshly things, is but like the scratching of a man that hath the itch; it is his disease that makes him desire it and a wise man had rather be without his pleasure, than be troubled with his itch. Your loudest laughter is but like that of a man that is tickled, he laughs when he hath no cause of joy. And it is a wiser thing for a man to give all his estate and his life, to be tickled to make him laugh, than for you to part with the love of God, and the comforts of holiness, and the hopes of heaven, and to cast yourselves into damnation, that you may have your flesh tickled with the pleasure of sin for a little while. Judge as you are men whether this be a wise man's part. It is your carnal, unsanctified nature that makes a holy life seem grievous to you, and a course of sensuality seem more delightful. If you will but Turn, the Holy Ghost will give you another nature and inclination, and then it will be more pleasant to you to 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. But how cometh it to pass, that men should be so unreasonable in the matters of salvation? They have wit enough in other matters; what makes them so loath 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 unconverted?'

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

1. Men are naturally in love with earth and flesh, they are born sinners, and their nature hath an enmity to God and godliness, as the nature of a serpent hath to a man. And when all that we can say, goes against the habitual inclinations of their natures, no marvel if it little prevail.

4 Eccl. ii. 2. vii. 2. 6.

2. They are in darkness and know not the very things that they hear. Like a man that was born blind, and hears a high commendation of the light: 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 are, even when they hear of them. They are in a mist of ignorance, they are lost and bewildered in sin, like a man that hath lost himself in the night, and knows not where he is, nor how to come to himself again, till the daylight do recover him.

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

4. They are become slaves to their flesh, and drowned in the world to make provision for it. Their lusts, and passions, and appetites have distracted them, and got such a hand 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 cannot forbear it.' The glutton saith,' I love good cheer, and I cannot forbear' The fornicator saith, 'I love to have my lusts fulfilled, and I cannot forbear.' And the gamester loveth to have his sports, and he cannot forbear. So that they are even become 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 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, the lean kine did eat up the fat ones; so this lean and barren earth do eat up the thoughts of heaven.

all

5. Some are so carried away by the stream of evil company, that they are possessed 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

r Gen. xli. 4.

cast into hell, and another snatched away from among them, to the same condemnation, it doth not much daunt them, because they see not whither they are gone. Poor wretches! They hold on in their ungodliness for all this; for they little know that their companions are now lamenting it in torments. In Luke xvi. 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 like he knew their minds and lives, and knew that they were hasting thither, and little dreamed that he was there; yea, and little would have believed one that should have told them so. I remember a passage a gentleman told me he saw upon a bridge over the Severn'. A man was driving a flock of fat lambs, and something meeting them and hindering their passage, one of the lambs leaped upon the wall of the bridge, and his legs slipping from under him, he fell into the stream, and the rest seeing him, did one after another leap over the bridge into the stream, and were all, or almost all, drowned. Those that were behind, did little know what was become of them that were gone before, but thought that 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 into hell, and another follows the same way; and yet they will go after them, because they think not whither they are going. Oh! but when death has 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 Scriptures, or not to trouble their minds with these matters; or by persuading them to think ill of a godly life, or to think that it is more ado than needs, 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, 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 jugr Mr. R. Rowley, of Shrewsbury, upon Acham bridge.

gling, deluding cheats as these, the devil keeps most in his captivity, and leadeth them to his misery.

These, and such like impediments as these, do keep so many thousands unconverted, 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 lament their wilful misery.

I have now shewed you the reasonableness of God's commands, and the unreasonableness of wicked men's disobedience. If nothing will serve turn, but men will yet refuse to Turn, we are next to consider who it is long of if they be damned. And this brings me to the last Doctrine; which is,

Doct. VII. That if, after all this, men will not turn, it is not long of God that they are condemned but of themselves, even their own wilfulness. They die because they will die, that 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 concerning his unprofitable vineyard, "Judge I pray you, between me and my vineyard, what could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it?" When he had "planted it in a fruitful 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 you men, and endued you with reason; he hath furnished you with external necessaries, all creatures are at your service; he hath given you a righteous, perfect law; when you had broke it, and undone yourselves, he had pity on you, and sent his Son by a miracle of condescending mercy to die for you, and be a sacrifice for your sins, and he "was in Christ reconciling 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,

Isa. v. 1-4.

and return. He hath on this reasonable condition, offered you the free pardon of all your sins: he hath written this in his word, and sealed it by his Spirit, and sent it you by his ministers; they have made the offer to you a hundred and a hundred times, and called you to accept it, and turn to God. They have in his name entreated you, and reasoned the case with you, and answered all your frivolous objec tions. 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 mind you of your folly, and call you to your wits: and his Spirit hath been often striving with your hearts, and saying there, Turn sinner, turn to him that calleth thee: whither art thou going? What art thou doing? Dost thou know what will be the end? How long wilt thou hate thy friends, and love thine enemies? When wilt 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?' These pleadings have been used with thee; and when thou hast delayed, thou hast been urged to make haste, and God hath called to thee. "To-day, while it is called to-day, harden not your heart? Why not 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. iii. 1. You have been a hundred times told, that you are but lost men, till you come unto him; as oft as you have been told of the evil of sin, and of the vanity of sin, the world, and all the pleasures and wealth it can afford; of the shortness and uncertainty of your lives, and the endless duration of the joy or 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, when the sparks do fly about