have not refused our teftimony, but the teftimony of God, who cannot lie: and he that believ. eth not the record of God, hath made him a liar; than which none can charge a greater impiety upon the holy God, who values himfelf upon this, that he cannot lie, which is peculiar to God only; for however there be of the creatures that do not lie, yet of none of them can it be faid, that they cannot lie; this is God's fole prerogative. (2.) Ye have shut your eyes upon clear light. Your fin and mifery have been fet before you in the cleareft light, the light of God's word. The matter has not been minced, but ye have been plainly and freely dealt with upon this head: therefore ye need to look well to yourselves, that God ftrike you not judicially blind. This he is frequently wont to do to thofe who refift clear light; he leaves them to Satan, the God of this world, to blind their eyes, and gives them up to ftrong délufions to believe lies, that they may all be damned that believe not. (3.) We did call in heaven and hell, the creator and the whole creation, as witneffes of that certain and fad truth, that man has finned and come fhort of the glory of ♦ God. I know not one witness more but fenfe, and fince no lefs is like to do, take care that fense of mifery do not convince you of its truth. Hell will make you, even the most incredulous of you, believe, and tremble too, as the devils and damned do. (3.) I come now to difcourfe those who there fore are not convinced of fin, or induced to lay falvation to heart, notwithstanding the pains taken on them, because they have defended themselves against the force of the truths propofed, by fome fhifts, which upon occafion they ufe for quieting or keeping quiet their confciences. Of this fort I fear fear there are many, too many here prefent; and therefore I fball deal more particularly and closely with fuch. We have laid before you all your fin and mifery; but few are yet awakened; few fay with the jaylor in the text, What must I do to be faved? Whence is it fo? Has not fin been laid open to your view? Has not the fad but certain truth, That all have finned and come short of ther glory of God, been plainly demonstrate from ma-: ny incontestable evidences? Nay more, has not the particular concernment of every one of us in this truth, been plainly unfolded? Yes, no doubt: but whence is it then, that the most part are fo fecure? that there is fo little fear of hell, wrath and damnation amongst us? Are there none here who have reafon to fear it? No doubt, there are many, too many fuch amongst us; but here it lies; when the truth is pressed home upon the conscience, we have a strange way of putting divine truths away from us. Now, I fhall lay open the nakedness of thefe fences, behind which most of us screen ourfelves from convictions. 1. When fin and mifery are difcovered, fome there are amongst the hearers of the gospel, who take with the charge. If we fay to them, as Nathan did to David, in the application of the parable, Thou art the man, thou art the woman that has finned, that art in danger of the eternal wrath of God: O then, anfwers the finner, it is very true, what ye tell, I have finned; and God be merciful to us, we are all finners; I hope God will be merciful to me. And there the wound is kinned over, as foon as made, and the perfon is heal, This is the refuge to which many of you betake yourselves: but we shall purfue you to the horns of God's altar, and fetch you down thence. Ye fay 2 Part II. shy God 19 mereifid : 1 fay, (1.) It is very true, he is for... The Lord has long fince prochimed his namejo The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gras clousy and be delights in fuch as hope in his mercy, Pakolvii. But, (2.) notwithstanding of the mercy of God, there are but few that shall be fav. edy Lake xii. 23. Now, who has told you, that ye thall be among that few? Ye fay, ye hope to be among that few who shall find mercy, and I fear ye hali not. Now, whether are your hopes of my fears best grounded? I can give fome account of high fears; but doubt if ye can give any of your hopesfay, I fear thae many of you be damned forthstoffaidsbefore, there are but few thar fhall be favedyand/thefe few are all penitene finners, who have been convinced of fin and mi fery, and have laid falvation to heart above all things, and have accepted of Chrift upon the gou fpel terms. Now, it is obvious that there are but very few of you of this fort; and our Lord has fard pofitively, That he who believeth wst, shall not fee life, but fhall be damned Now where are the grounds of your hopes nye fay God is merciful: and I anfwer, he is juft alfo; and his juftice has as fair a plea agamit you, as his mercy has for you: ye fay, he has faved Toma finners, and there fore hope he will have mercy upon you. I anfwer, He has damned more than he hath had thercy upon, and therefore he may deal: fo with you too. O bur, fay ye, I cannot think that God will be fo eruel as to damn meta Banfier, What more druelty will it be to damn you, than to damn the heathen world? What more cruelty to damn you, than to damn the generality of unbe Kevers, which make the far greater part of the heaters of thegofpel? Infine, is it cruelty to dainn you,whe Bombin have innumerable fins, when it was none, Cod thought it none, to fend fo many angels into hell for one fin? Is it cruelty to punish you, who have neglected the means of falvation, when others have been damned that, never had them? Who 1970. would fay the prince were cruel, or cy, who caufed execute the threatened punish- Seli bas II. Others again, when, beat from this defence, betake themfelves to a not one whit better: O, fay they, we are in no danger, for we believe ana in the Lord Jefus Chrift. I anfwer, (1.) It is ve ry true, they who do believe are indeed, out of all Hazard. But I fay, (2.) Are ye fure that ye beReve? Many have been miftaken; and are ye fure that ye are in the right? The foolish virgins thought themfelves believers, and it may be went a further length than ye can pretend to have gone; as ye may fee if ye look to the parable, Matth. xxv. 1. They had profeffions, they had lamps; npon the bridegroom's call, they awake, and endeavour to, trim their lamps to make them fhin they are convinced of the want of oil,, and endeaare vour to get it; and yet were eternally fhut, but front the prefence of God. Now with what face dare any of you pretend to believe, when ye come not up that length that we have juft now let you fee others come, and yet perifh? Are there not among you who will fay ye believe, and yet can drink drunk, can wear, mock religion, and entertain a heart-hatred at fuch as go beyond you in ftrict Part IL ftrictness, can ridicule them, and call them hypocrites? I fear there may be fome fuch amongst you. I tell you, ye have no faith but fuch as may go to hell with you. Faith works by love, is a heart-purifying grace, and difcovers itfelf by a courfe of obedience, according to that of the apostle James, Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will Thew thee my faith by my works, Jam. ii. 16. (3.) Ye fay ye believe: when did ye believe? Did ye always believe? Yes, we always did believe. Say ye fo? O horrid ignorance! Ye fay ye did always believe; I fay, ye did never to this day believe, for we are not born believers, but unbelievers; and if ye think that ye did always believe, it is proof enough, that to this day ye are ftrangers to the precious faith of God's elect, I fhall not at prefent infift in difcovering the folly of fuch a pretence to faith, because I shall have occafion, if the Lord will, afterwards to difcourfe more at length, of faith, and of the difference betwixt it, and thofe counterfeits of it whereon many do rely. Only I fay at prefent, that where faith is, it will lead to concern about falvation, and will lay hold upon the difcoveries of fin, and that faith which is not endeavouring to get the foul in which it dwells, more and more convinced of, and humbled for fin, is to be fufpected. III. When fin is held forth, and the law preached, then others will shelter themselves under the fig-leaf of their own blameless walk. Come to fome of thefe who have all their days lived in a ftate of eftrangement and alienation from God, and pofe them, when they ly upon a fick-bed, or a death-bed, as to their ftate: they will fay, they hope all is well, they fhall be faved, they never diss did any body ill; and therefore they never feared the |