to the grave, and look when the dead will obey me, and come forth? Shall I make an oration to the rocks, or declaim to the mountains, and think to move them with arguments? Shall I give the blind to see? From the beginning of the world was it not heard that a man opened the eyes of the blind; but thou, O Lord, canst pierce the scales and prick the heart of the sinner; 1 can but draw the bow at a venture, but do thou direct the arrows between the joints of the harness, kill the sin, and save the soul of the sinner that casts his eyes on these labours.

Our gospel is not yea and nay. Have you not heard the same truths from the pulpit, by public labours, by private letters, and by personal instructions? Brethren, I am of the same mind as ever, that holiness is the best choice; that there is no entering into heaven but by the strait passage of the second birth; that "without holiness you shall never see God."1 Now give yourselves unto the Lord. Now set yourselves to seek him. Now set up the Lord Jesus in your hearts, and set him up in your houses. Now come in and kiss the Son," and embrace the tenders of mercy, touch his sceptre and live: why will ye die? I beg not for myself, but fain I would have you happy: this is the prize I run for. My soul's desire and prayer for you is, that

may be saved.4

you

Dearly beloved, forego your sins; set to prayer; up with the worship of God in your families; keep at a distance from the corruption of the times. What greater joy, to a minister, than to hear of souls born unto Christ by him, and that his children walk in the truth! 5

Brethren, I beseech you suffer friendly plainness and freedom with you in your deepest concern. I am not playing the orator, to make a learned speech to you; these lines are upon a weighty errand indeed, namely, to convince, to convert, and to save you. If I were to

1 Heb. xii. 14.
2 2 Cor. viii. 5.
3 Psalm ii. 12.

4 Rom. x. 1.
5 2 John, 4.

quiet a crying infant, I might sing to him in a pleasing mood, and rock him asleep; but when the child is fallen into the fire, the parent takes another course; he will not go to still him with a song or a trifle. I know, if we speed not with you, you are lost; if we cannot get your consent to "arise and come away,' you perish for ever: no conversion, and no salvation: I must get your good will, or leave you miserable.

But here the difficulty of my work again recurs upon me. Lord, choose my stones out of the brook.1 I come in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. I come forth like the stripling David, to wrestle, not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world. This day let the Lord smite the Philistine, and spoil the strong man of his armour, and give me the captives out of his hand. Lord, choose my words, choose my weapons for me; and when I put my hand into the bag, and take thence a stone and sling it, do thou carry it to the mark, and make it sink, not into the forehead, but into the heart of the unconverted sinner, and smite him to the ground, like Saul of Tarsus.4

3

Some of you do not know what I mean by conversion, and in vain shall I persuade you to that which you do not understand; and therefore for your sakes I shall shew what this conversion is. Others do cherish secret hopes of mercy, though they continue as they are; and for them I must shew the necessity of conversion. Others are like to harden themselves with a vain conceit that they are converted already; unto them I must shew the marks of the unconverted. Others, because they feel no harm, fear none, and so sleep upon the top of the mast; to them I shall shew the misery of the unconverted. Others sit still, because they see not their way out; to them I shall shew the means of conversion. And, finally, for the quickening of all, I shall close with the motives to conversion.

1 1 Sam. xvii. 40, 45.

2 Eph. vi. 12.

31 Sam. xvii. 49.

4 Acts ix. 4.

CHAPTER I.

SHEWING WHAT CONVERSION IS NOT, AND CORRECTING SOME MISTAKES ABOUT IT.

LET the blind Samaritans worship they know not what.1 Let the heathen Athenians inscribe their altar "To the unknown God."2 Let Papists commend ignorance as the mother of devotion. They that know man's constitution, and the nature of the reasonable soul's operation, cannot but know that the understanding having the empire in the soul, he that will go rationally to work must labour to let in the light here. And therefore, that you may not mistake me, I shall shew you what I mean by the conversion I persuade you to endeavour after.

Truly, my beloved, the devil hath made many counterfeits of this conversion, and cheats one with this, and another with that; and such craft and artifice he hath in his mystery of deceits, that (if it were possible) he would deceive the very elect. Now, that I may cure the ruinous mistake of some, who think they are converted when they are not, as well as remove the troubles and fears of others, who think they are not converted when they are, I shall shew you the nature of conversion, both what it is not, and what it is. We will begin with the negative.

It is not the taking upon us the profession of christianity. Doubtless christianity is more than a name. If we will hear Paul, it lies not in word, but in power." If to cease to be Jews and Pagans, and to put on the christian profession, had been true conversion, (as this is all that some would have to be understood by it,) who better christians than they of Sardis and Lao3 1 Cor. iv. 20.

1 John iv. 22.

2 Acts xvii. 22.

2

dicea? These were all christians by profession, and had a name to live: but because they had but a name, they are condemned by Christ, and threatened to be rejected.' Are there not many that mention the name of the Lord Jesus, that yet depart not from iniquity?" and "profess they know God, but in works they deny him ? And will God receive these for true converts, because turned to the christian religion? What! converts from sin, when yet they live in sin! It is a visible contradiction. Surely, if the lamp of profession would have served the turn, the foolish virgins had never been shut out. We find not only professors, but preachers of Christ, and wonder-workers, turned off because evil-workers.5

It is not being washed in the laver of regeneration, or putting on the badge of Christ in baptism. Ananias and Sapphira, and Simon Magus, were baptized as well as the rest. How fondly do many mistake here, deceiving and being deceived! dreaming that effectual grace is necessarily tied to the external administration of baptism, (which, what is it but to revive the popish tenet of the sacraments working grace ?) and so every baptized person shall be regenerated, not only sacramentally, but really and properly. Hence men fancy that, being regenerated already when baptized, they need no farther work.

But if this were so, then all that have been baptized must necessarily be saved, because the promise of pardon and salvation is made to conversion and regeneration."

Our calling, sanctification, (as to the beginning of it,) or conversion, (which are but the same things under different conceptions and expressions,) is but a middle link in the golden chain, fastened to election at one end, and glorification at the other. The silver cord may not be broken, nor the connection between sanc

Rev. iii. 1, 16.
2 2 Tim. ii. 19.
3 Titus i. 16.
4 Matt. xxv. 12.

5 Matt. vii. 22, 23

6 Acts iii. 19; Matt. xix. 28.
7 Rom. viii. 30; 2 Thess. ii.
13; 1 Pet. i. 2.

tification and salvation, between grace and glory, impiously violated.' If we are indeed begotten again, it is, "to an inheritance incorruptible, reserved in heaven for us," and the divine power is engaged to keep us for it.2

And indeed, were conversion and baptism the same, then we need look no farther to see our names written in heaven, than only to search the register, and see whether we were baptized. Then I would keep the certificate of my baptism as my fairest evidence for heaven. Then men would do well to carry but a certificate of their baptism, under the registrar's hand, when they died, and, upon sight of this, there were no doubt of their admission into heaven.

In short, if there be no more necessary to conversion, or regeneration, than to be turned to the christian religion, or to be baptized, this will fly directly in the face of that scripture, as well as multitudes of others. For, first, we shall then no more say, "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way;" for, if all that were baptized, and are of the true religion, are saved, the door is become exceedingly wide, and we shall henceforth say, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth unto life." For, if this be true, whole parishes, yea, whole countries, and whole kingdoms, may go in abreast; and we will no more teach, that the righteous are scarcely saved, or that there is need of such a stir in taking the kingdom of heaven by violence, and striving to enter in. Surely, if the way be so easy as many take it, that there is little more necessary than to be regenerated in our baptism, and cry, Lord, have mercy," and be absolved by the minister at our death, it is more ado than needs, to put ourselves to such running, and seeking, and knocking, and fighting, and wrestling, as the word requires as necessary to salvation. Secondly, if this be true, we shall no more say, "few there be that find it;" yea, we will rather say, "few there be that miss it." We shall no more say, that, of the "many" that 1 Matt. v. 8. 3 Matt. vii. 13, 14.

21 Pet. i. 4, 5.