is fufficiency in the fatisfaction of Chrift, the promife is free, and full, and universal; you may have life, if you will but turn. But then, as you love your fouls, remember what turning it is that Scripture fpeaks of. It is not to mend the old houfe, but to pull down all, and build anew, on Chrift the Rock and fure Founda tion. It is not to mend fomewhat in a carnal courfe of life, but to mortify the flesh, and live after the Spirit. It is not to ferve the flesh and the world, in a more reformed way, without any fcandalous difgraceful fins, and with a certain kind of religioufhefs; but it is to change your mafter, and your works, and end; and to fet your face the contrary way, and do all for the life that you never faw; and dedicate yourselves, and all you have, to God. This is the change that must be made, if you will live.

Yourfelves are witneffes now, that it is falvation, and not damnation, that is the great doctrine I preach to you; and the first part of my meffage to you. Accept of this, and we fhall go no further with you; for we would not fo much as affright, or trouble you with the name of damnation, without neceffity.

But if you will not be faved, there is no remedy, but damnation must take place. For there is no mid-dle place between the two: You must have either life or death.

And we are not only to offer you life, but to fhew you the grounds on which we do it, and call you to believe that God doth mean, indeed, as he speaks; that the promife is true, and extendeth conditionally. to you, as well as others; and that heaven is no fancy, but a true felicity.

If you afk, Where is your commiffion for this offer? Among an hundred texts of fcripture, I will fhew it unto you in these few..

First, you fee it here in my text, and the following verfes; and in the 18th of Ězek. as plain as can be fpoken; and in 1 Cor. v. 17. xviii. 16. xx. 21. you

have the very fum of our commiffion; If any man be in Chrift he is a new creature; old things are paft away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jefus Chrift, and hath given to us the miniftry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Chrift reconciling the world unto himself; not imputing their trefpaffes to them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation: Now then we are ambaffadors for Chrift, as though God did befeech you by us, we pray you in Chrift's ftead be ye reconciled unto God; for he hath made him to be fin for us, who knew no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God in him. So Mark xvi. 15, 16. Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth, (that is, with fuch a converting faith as is expreffed) and is baptized, fhall be faved: and he that believeth not, fhall be damned. And Luke xxiv. 46, 47. Thus it behoved Chrift to Suffer, and to rife from the dead the third day, and that repentance (which is converfion) and remiffion of fins Should be preached in his name among all nations. And Acts v. 30, 31. The God of our fathers raifed up Jefus, whom ye flew and hanged on a tree, him bath God xalted with his right-hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Ifrael, and forgiveness of fins. And Acts xiii. 38, 39. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, That through this man is preached unto you the forgivenefs of fins; and by him all that believe, are juftified from all things, from which you could not be juftified by the law of Mofes. And left you think this offer is reftrained to the Jews, fee Gal. vi. 15. For in Chrift Jefus neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumcifion, but a new creaAnd Luke xiv. 17. Come, for all things are now ready. And ver. 22, 24.

ture.

You fee by this time that we are commanded to of fer life to you all, and to tell you from God, that if you will turn, you may live.

Here you may fafely truft your fouls; for the Love of God is the fountain of this offer, John iii. 16. and the Blood of the Son of God hath purchased it; the faithfulness and truth of God is engaged to make the promife good; miracles oft fealed up the truth of it; preachers are fent through the world to proclaim it; the facraments are inftituted and used for the folemn delivery of the mercy offered to them that will accept it; and the fpirit doth open the heart to entertain it, and is itself the earneft of the full poffeffion. So that the truth of it is paft controverfy, that the worst of you all, and every one of you, if you will but be converted, may be faved.

Indeed, if you will needs believe that you fhall be faved without converfion, then you believe a falfehood; and if I should preach that to you, I fhould preach a lie: This were not to believe God, but the devil and your own deceitful hearts. God hath his promife of life, and the devil hath his promife of life. God's promife is, Return and live: The devil's promife is, You fhall live whether you turn or not. The words of God are, as I have fhewed you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, Matt. xviii. 3. Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, John iii. 3, 5. Without holiness none fhall fee God, Heb. xii. 14. The devil's word, You may be faved without being born again and converted, you may do well enough without being holy, God doth but frighten you, he is more merciful than to do as he faith, he will be better to you than his word. And alas, the greatest part of the world believe this word of the devil, before the.. word of God; just as our first fin and mifery came into the world. God faid to our firft parents, If ye eat ye fhall die: And the devil contradicted him, and faith, Ye shall not die; and the woman believeth the devil before God. So now the Lord faith, Turn or die: And the devil faith, You shall not die, if you do but

cry God's mercy at last, and give over the acts of fin when you can practise it no longer. And this is the word that the world believes. Ŏ heinous wickedness, to believe the devil before God!

And yet that is not the worft; but blafphemously they call this a Believing and Trufting in God, when they put him in the fhape of Satan, who was a liar from the beginning; and when they believe that the Word of God is a lie, they call this a Trufting God, and fay they believe in him, and trust on him for falvation: Where did ever God fay, That the unregenerate, unconverted, unfanctified, fhall be faved? Shew fuch a word in fcripture. I challenge you if you can. Why this is the devil's word, and to believe it is to believe the devil, and the fin that is commonly called prefumption; and do you call this a Believing and Trufiing in God? There is enough in the Word of God to comfort and strengthen the hearts of the fanctified; but not a word to ftrengthen the hands of wickedness, nor to give men the leaft hope of being. faved, though they be never fanctified.

But if you will turn, and come into the way of mercy, the mercy of the Lord is ready to entertain you. Then truft God for falvation, boldly and confidently; for he is engaged by his word to fave you. He will. be a father to none but his children, and he will fave none but thofe that forfake the world, the devil, and the flesh, and come into his family to be members of his Son, and have communion with his faints. But if they will not come in, it is long of themselves: His doors are open; he keeps none back; he never fent fuch a metlenger as this to any of you; It is now too. Fate: I will not receive thee, though thou be converted.' He might have done fo, and done you no wrong; hut he did not he doth not to this day: He is ftill ready to receive you, if you were but ready unfeignedly, and with all all your hearts to turn. And the fulness of this truth will yet more appear in the two

following Doctrines, which I fhall therefore next proceed to, before I make any further application of this.

1

Doct. 3. God taketh Pleasure in Mens Conversion and Salvation, but not in their Death or Damnation : He had rather they would Return and Live, than go on and Die.

I SHALL firft teach you how to understand this, and then clear up the truth of it to you:

And for the firft, you muft obferve thefe following things; 1. A fimple willingness or complacency is the first act of the will following the fimple apprehenfion of the understanding, before it proceedeth to compare things together; but the choofing act of the will is a following act, and fuppofeth the comparing practical act of the understanding, and thefe two acts may often be carried to contrary objects, without any fault at all in the perfon.

2. An unfeigned willingness may have divers degrees; fome things I am fo far willing of as that I will do all that lyeth in my power to accomplish it, and fome things I am truly willing another fhould do, when yet I will not do all that ever I am able to procure it, having many reafons to diffuade me therefrom, though yet I will do all that belongs to me to do.

3. The will of a Ruler, as fuch, is manifefted in making and executing laws; but the will of a man in his fimple natural capacity, or as abfolute lord of his own, is manifefted in defiring or refolving of events.

4. A ruler's will, as law giver, is firft and principally that his laws be obeyed, and not at all that the penalty be executed on any, but only on fuppofition that they will not obey his people; but a ruler's will, as judge, fuppofeth the law already either kept or broken, and therefore he refolveth our reward or punifhment accordingly.