ing wrath. For our God is a confuming fire, Heb. xii. 29. O how unmeet a match art thou for God! It is a fearful thing to fall into his hands, Heb. x. 31. And therefore it is a fearful thing to contend with him, or refift hin. As you love your own fouls, take heed what you do. What will you fay, 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 judg ment, as now ye do against his grace, faith the Lord, Ifa. xxvii. 3, 6. Fury is not in me: (that is) I delight, not to deftroy you: I do it as it were unwillingly: but yet who will fet the briars and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them; I would burn them together. Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me. It is an unequal combat for

the briars and ftubble to make war with the fire.

And thus you fee, who it is that calleth you, that fhould move you to hear his call, and turn: fo confider all by what inftruments, and how often, and how earneftly he doth it.

1. Every leaf of the bleffed book of God hath as it. were a voice, and calls out unto thee, Turn, and live; turn, or thou wilt die. How canft thou open it, and read a leaf, or hear a chapter, and not perceive God bids thee turn?

2. It is the voice of every fermon that thou heareft: for what else is the fcope and drift of all, but to call and perfuade, and intreat thee for to turn.

3. It is the voice of many a motion of the fpirit, that fecretly fpeaks over these words again, and urgeth thee to turn.

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4. It is likely fometime it is the voice of thy own confcience. Art thou not fometimes convinced that all is not well with thee? And doth not thy confcience tell thee that thou must be a new man, and take a new courfe, and often call upon thee to return?

5. It is the voice of the gracious examples of the godly: When thou feeft them live an heavenly life,

and fly from the fin which is thy delight, this really calls upon thee to turn.

6. It is the voice of all the works of God: For they alfo are God's books that teach thee this leffon, by fhewing thee his greatnefs and wifdom, and goodnels, and calling thee to obferve them, and admire the Cres ator, Pfalm xiv. 1, 2. The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament theweth his handywork: Day unto day uttereth fpeech: Night unto night fheweth knowledge.' Every time the fun rifeth upon thee, it really calleth thee to turn, as if it fhould fay What do I travel and compass the world for, but to declare to men the glory of their Maker, and to light them to do his work? And do I ftill find thee doing the work of fin, and fleeping out thy life in neg→ ligence? A wake thou that fleepeft, and arife from the dead, and Chrift fhall give thee light,' Ephef. v. 14. • The night is fpent, the day is at hand: It is now high time to awake out of fleep: Let us therefore caft off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honeftly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkennefs, not in chambering and wan◄ tonnels, not in ftrife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Jefus Chrift, and make no provifion for the flesh to fulfil the luft thereof,' Rom. xiii. 11, 12, 13. 14. (This text was the means of Auftin's conversion!)

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7. It is the voice of every mercy thou doft poflefs; if thou couldst but hear and understand them, they all cry out unto thee, turn: Why doth the earth bear thee, but to feek and ferve the Lord? Why doth it afford thee its fruits, but to ferve him? Why doth the air afford thee breath, but to ferve him? Why doth all the creatures ferve thee with their labours and their lives, but that thou mightest ferve the Lord of them and thee? Why doth he give thee time, and health, and strength, but for to ferve him? Why haft thou meat, and drink, and cloaths, but for his fervice? Haft thou any thing which thou haft not received, and if

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thou didst receive them, it is reafon thou fhouldst bethink thee, from whom, and to what end and ufe thou didft receive them? Didst thou never cry to him for help in thy diftrefs, and didst thou not then understand that it was thy part to turn and ferve him, if he would deliver thee? He hath done his part, and fpared thee yet longer, and tryed thee another, and another year; and yet doft thou not turn? You know the parable of the unfruitful fig-tree, Luke xvi. 6, 7, 8, 9. When the Lord had faid, Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground? he was intreated to try it one year longer, and then if it proved not fruitful, to cut it down. Chrift himself there makes the application twice over, verfe 3 and 5. Except ye repent, ye shall all likewife perish. How many years hath God looked for the fruits of love and holinefs from thee, and hath found none, and yet he hath spared thee? How many a time by thy wilful ignorance, and carelessness, and difobedience, haft thou provoked juftice to fay, cut him down, why cumbereth he the ground? And yet mercy, hath prevailed, and patience hath forborne the killing, damning blow to this day. If thou hadft the underftanding of a man within thee, thou wouldst know that all this calleth thee to turn. Doft thou think thou fhalt ftill escape the judgment of God, or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and longfuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treafureft up unto thyfelf wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds,' Rom. ii. 3, 4, 5, 6.

78. Moreover, it is the voice of every affliction to call thee to make hafte and turn. Sicknefs and pain cry turn; and poverty, and lofs of friends, and every twig of the chastising rod, cry turn, and yet wilt thou not hearken to the call? Thefe 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, befpeaketh thy return? Why haft thou reafon, but to rule thy flesh, and ferve thy Lord? Why haft thou an understanding foul but to learn and know his will and do it? Why haft thou an heart within thee, that can love, and fear, and defire, but that thou shouldst fear him, and love him, and defire after him?

10. Yea, thine own engagements by promife to the Lord, do call upon thee to turn and ferve him. Thou haft bound thyself to him by a baptifmal covenant, and renounced the world, the flesh and the devil: This thou haft confirmed by the profeffion of Chriftianity, and renewed it at Sacraments, and in times of afflic tion; and wilt thou promife and vow, and never perform and turn to God?.

Lay all thefe together now, and fee what should be the iffue. The holy Scriptures calls upon thee to turn; the Minifters of Chrift do call upon thee to turn; the fpirit cries turn; thy confcience cries turn; the godly, by perfuafions and examples, cry turn; the whole world, and all the creatures therein that are prefented to thy confideration, cry turn; the patient forbearance of God, cries turn; all the mercies which thou received, cry turn; the rod of God's chaftifement, cries turn; thy reason, and the frame of thy nature befpeaks thy turning; and fo do all thy promifes to God; and yet art thou not refolved to turn?

3. Moreover, poor hard-hearted finner! Didft thou ever confider upon what terms thou ftandeft all this while with him that calleth on thee for to turn 2. Thou art his own, and oweft him thyfelf, and all thou haft; and may he not command his own? Thou art his ab folute fervant, and fhouldeft ferve no other master, Thou ftandeft at his mercy, and thy life is in his hand, and he is refolved to fave thee upon no other terms; thou haft many malicious fpiritual enemies, that would

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be glad if God would but forfake thee, and let him a lone with thee, and leave thee to their will; how quickly would 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 fin already, and thou knoweft not how long his patience will yet wait. Perhaps this is the last year; perhaps the last day; his fword 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 fee where thou standeft, even upon the brink of hell, and to fee how many thoufands are there al ready that did not turn, thou wouldeft fee that it is time to look about thee.

Well, Sirs, look inwards now, and tell me, how are your hearts affected with thofe offers of the Lord? You hear what is his mind; he delighteth not in your death; he calls to to you, turn, turn: it is a fearful fign 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 mifery, because thou hearest of the mercifulness of God. The working of the medicine will partly tell us whether there be any hope of the cure. O what glad tidings would it be to those that are now in hell, if they had but fuch a meffage from God! what a joy. ful word would it be to hear this, turn and live: Yea, what a welcome word would it be to thyfelf, when thou haft felt that wrath of God but an hour! Or, if after a thousand or ten thousand years torment, thou couldft but hear fuch a word from God, turn and live, and yet wilt thou neglect it, and futfer us to return without our errand?

Behold, finners, we are fent here as the meffengers of the Lord, to fet before you life and death: What fay you? which of them will you choofe? Chrift ftandeth as it were by thee, with heaven in one hand, and hell in the other, and offereth thee thy choice, which wilt thou choofe? The voice of the Lord maketh the