Heaven, and another to hell, to fo vast, so amaz ing a difference of states, if there be no great difference between them here? If holinefs no more differenced chriftians from others, than faying a fermon, or faying over a prayer, doth difference one from an infidel, where were the juftice of God in faving fome, and damning others ? And what were chriftianity better than the religion of Antonine, Plato, Socrates, Seneca, Cicero, Plutarch, and others, if not much world? Go into Londonftreets, and when you have talked with living prudent men, then go to the painter's fhop, and fee a comely picture: and to the looking-glafs, and fee the appearance of each paffenger in a glafs; and to the perriwig-fhops, and fee a wooden head with a perriwig upon the block, and you have fomething like the difference of a holy foul, and of a dead and dressed formal hypocrite.

Q. 19. Afk them, whether kings, and all men make not a difference between man and man: the loyal and perfidious, the obedient and difobedient? and, whether they difference not themfelves be. tween a friend and a foe, one that loveth them, and one that robbeth, hateth, or would kill them? And fhall not the moft Holy God make more difference between the righteous and the wicked?

Q. 20. But if they are dead in every point, fave carnal intereft, afk them why they are preachers. or priests? And if Converfion and Holiness be a needless thing, what ufe are they themfelves of? And why muft the country be troubled with them, and pay them tythes, and owe them reverence? When thefe twenty queftions are well anfwered, conclude you may be faved without converfion.

But if, poor foul, thou art fully convinced, and afketh, What shall I do to be converted? The Lord make thee willing, and fave thee from hypocrify, and I will quickly tell thee in a few words.

1. Give

1. Give not over fober thinking of these things, till thy heart be changed.

2. Come to Chrift, and take him for thy Saviour, thy Teacher, thy King, and he will pardon all that is past, and save thee.

3. Believe God's love, the pardon of fin, and the everlasting joys of heaven, that thou mayeft feel that all the pleasure of the world and flefh are dung in comparison of the heavenly delight of faith, and hope, and holy love, and peace of con fcience, and fincere obedience.

4. Sin no more wilfully, but forbear that which thou mayeft forbear, Ifaiah lv. 7.

5. Away from temptations, occasions of fin, and evil company, and be a companion of the humble, heavenly, and fincere, Pfalm cxix. 63. 115.

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6. Wait on God's Spirit in the diligent and conftant ufe of his own means: read, hear, meditate, pray; pray hard for that grace that must convert thee: wait thus, and thou fhalt not wait in vain, Pfalm xxxvii. 34, and lxix. 6.

Pity, O Lord, and perfuade thefe fouls; let not Chrift's blood, his doctrine, his example, his Spirit be loft upon them, and they loft for ever, Let not heaven be as no heaven to them, while they dream and doat on the fhadows of this world. And, O fave this land from a greater destruction, than all our late plagues, and flames, and divifions, which our fins and thy threatenings make us fear. O Lord, in thee have we trufted, let us never be confounded."

Having thus contributed my endeavours in this preface to the furtherance of the defign of this excellent book, I muft tell thee, reader, that I take it for an honour to commend so mafculine a birth into the world: the midwife of Alexander or Ariftotle need not to be ashamed of her office. Who the author of this treatife was, how he preached, how he lived, how he fuffered, (and for what) and how he died, his life and letters lately printed, fully tell

you

:

and

e

1.

e

and I earnestly commend the reading of them to
all, but especially to minifters; not to tell them
what men have here been forbidden to preach
Chrift's gofpel, and for what; nor what men they
are that fo many years have done it, but to tell
you what men Chrift's Minifters fhould be. But
fay not, he killed himfelf with exceffive labour, there-
fore I will take warning and take my cafe. For 1. He
lived in perfect health all his days, notwithftanding
all his labours, till after his hard and long impri-
fonment. 2. It was not the greatest labour of his
times of liberty that hurt him, but his preaching
fix, feven or eight times in a week, after he was,
filenced, becaufe he could not speak to all his
people at once. O make not an illufe of fo exccl-
lent an example; fay not, like Judas, What needs
this waste? His labour, his life, his fufferings, his
death, were not in vain. The
ages to come,
read his life, and read his little popular treatise,
and his Call to Archippus, fhall fay they were not
in vain. And tho' he was cut off in the midst of
his age, and his longer labours and more elaborate
writings thus prevented, take thankfully this fmall,
but methodical, warm, and ferious Tractate: read it
feriously, and it cannot be but that it must do thee
good.

that

I am one that have looked into Books, Sciences and Speculations of many forts, and feriously tell thee, as a dying man, that after all my fearches and experience, I have found that philofophical enquiries into the divine artifices and nature of things, have among a great number of uncertainties, a great many pretty pleafant probabilities which a holy foul can make good ufe of in admiring God, and may or find us a lawful kind of sport; but in the morane lities, which Atheists count uncertainties, the knowledge of God, and our duty and our hopes, the doctrine and practice of holinefs, temperance, charity, and juftice, and the diligent feeking and joyful hopes of life everlasting, is all the true wisdom,

d

wifdom, goodnefs, reft, and comfort of a foul. Whatever be the plea, this is the fanctifying certainty, the bufinefs, and the beautiful improvement of our lives.

RICHARD BAXTER,

¢

READER,

How

OW well were it, if there were no more unconverted ones among us, than those to whom this is directed! Unconverted perfons, how many are there! but how few unconverted Readers, especially of fuch books as this before thee! A Play or a Romance better fuits the lufts, and therefore must have more of the eye of fuch; what will cherish the evil heart only is most grateful, not what will change it. How many are there to whom this is directed, who will not know that they are the men and how little hope is there that this excellent treatise should reach its end with those that apprehend themselves not concerned in it ! Art thou not one of them? Art thou a convert, or art thou yet in thy fins ? What is fin ? What is converfion? It may be thou canst tell me neither, and yet thou fayeft a convert thou art: But to what purpose is it then like to be, for the fervants of God to treat with thee about this matter? Let them bid thee believe, Thou art a believer already: let them bid thee repent and turn to the Lord, that work thou fayeft) is not to do now. What can there be faid to this man that is like to bring him to good? Friend, know thyself better, or thou perifheft without remedy. Thou mayeft pray, but what hope is there in thy praying ? Thou mayeft read, but what hope is there in thy reading? Yet read on, this little hope there is, in this book there's eye-falve that may heal thee of thy blindness. In this book there is a glass that will fhew thee thy face. Doft thou know thy

own

own face when thou feeft it ? Behold thy very image in those marks that are given of an unconverted person; read and confider them, and then fay if thou be not, the man.

"Be willing to know thyfelf, and to know the worst of thy cale: wink not at the light: hide not thyself from thine own foul. Wilt thou never know thy difeafe till it be paft remedy?

"Much of our hardeft work would be over, if we could fee the finners to whom we are sent to be convinced finners. If we could but open the blind eyes, there were hopes we should shortly raise the dead.

"Sinner, of a truth thou art in an evil cafe, whether thou know it or not; thou art among the dead, and there is but one step betwixt thee and hell. Thou wilt not believe it tho' it be told thee: yet once again let me befeech thee, come to the glass that is here presented to thee, and narrowly obferve whether the very marks of the dead be not found upon thee.

"If there be mifcarriages in this firft work, if thou wilt not understand thy mifery and thy danger, there is an end of all hope concerning thee. Whilft felf-ignorance abides upon thee, all the counfels that are necessary to a man in thy cafe will do thee no good; they are never like to prof. per with thee, because thou wilt not count them proper for thee; who will be perfuaded to do that which he believes is already done? Who will take the counsel of the physician, that does not think himself fick ? The man of God may spare his pains of perfuading thee to converfion, whilft thou art confident thou art converted already, Who will be at the pains of repentance that concludes he hath repented? Who will be at the labour and pangs of the new-birth, that is confi dent he is already paffed from death unto life?

"But, Friend, let me reason a little with thee: Thou art confident it is well with thee, yet why

wilt