that you see the case is plain in Scripture: that, till men are converted, they are in the power of satan.

It may be you perceive not the misery of your condition; and no marvel, for satan's servants are all volunteers, and he useth to keep his possession in peace, till a stronger than he shall come upon him, and cast him out; Luke xi. 21. O that the eyes of poor sinners were but opened to see who it is that leadeth them about! Poor soul! didst thou but see that the devil is thy ruler, that he standeth by thee, and puts thee on in all thy wickedness, it would sure make thee desire to change thy master. You are afraid of seeing him appear to you in any shape, and if you should but see him, it would make your joints to tremble. O! why are you not afraid to be ruled by him, and to follow him to your destruction? Why are you not more afraid, lest you should dwell with him for ever? A man that is in the favour of God, were not much the worse if he should see all the devils in hell, no more than a soldier to see the enemies, when they are conquered; but a man that is unconverted, whether he see them or not, should tremble to think that he is yet in their snares. O that you did but know, and well consider, that it is the devil himself within you that cavilleth against the word of God, and contradicteth the truth, and draweth you to doubt, and enticeth you to sin. If you did hear the devil say to you with a voice, 'Come, follow me to the alehouse,' it would sure frighten you from going. Or if you heard him speak out, and say against the Gospel, 'It is not true, do not you believe it,' how would this affect you? Why, it is he that speaks this in you, whenever you have these thoughts in your hearts. Your own corrupt hearts are the inother, but he is the father of them all. When you feel such thoughts as these within you, that sin is a small matter, and that God doth not hate it so much as preachers talk of, and that God will not condemn all the unconverted, that so live and die, and that men may be saved without a holy life, and that this is but preciseness, and more ado than needs, all this is as truly the very inward persuasions and motions of the devil, as if you heard him speak it openly in a voice. It is he that bids you 'go on in sin and fear not, and yet at least take a little more of your fleshly pleasure, and if you must turn, let it not be

yet.' It is he that bids you hate them that endeavour your conversion, and make a scorn of those that fear God. It is he that bids you lose your time, especially on the Lord's day, and talk of filthiness or vanity, and rail, or lie, or backbite, or hate your brother; as truly as if you saw and heard him, this is he. The Scripture telleth us so, that this is his work, which Christ did come into the world to destroy3. We can certainly know the workman by his work. So bad a work hath no better an author. I beseech you, therefore, in the name of God, bethink you where you are, and what a case you are in. Have you known all this while, that you were in the power and captivity of the devil? What, and yet be so merry or careless as you have been? What, sleep quietly, and live quietly, and yet be in such a case? Why, if a man be taken prisoner by the Turks, and laid in a dungeon, or put into their gallies, how sadly doth he take it? How many a sigh and groan comes from him, to think where he is, and what a case he is in, in comparison of other men! And many a time he cries, O that I were free!' And yet all the servants of satan are willing of their bondage. This is it that makes you deserve the less pity, because it is your own doing, and you will not be delivered. A Turkish slave would be delivered if he could, and would give a thousand thanks to him that would deliver him: but you might be delivered and will not. Christ hath provided a remedy in his blood, he offereth it to you, and entreateth you to accept it, and yet you will not. He hath commanded us to entreat you, and you will not be entreated. "God would have all men saved, and come to the knowledge of his truth," and many will not be saved. Christ "would gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing, and they will not t." When God offers you help, and ministers offer you help, and godly friends offer you help, and fain they would have you delivered, and you will not; what pity do you deserve, if you perish everlastingly? It is a strange thing to see how people hate the devil, and yet love his service! How they speak ill of him and yet obey him! How they even spit at his name, as men that abhor him, and yet will not be persuaded by any means that we can use, to come out of this captivity, when the doors are set

open by Christ that bought them. Not that I suspect that any of you do really love him; for I know that God hath put an enmity in the beginning, even between the nature of satan and of man". I know you hate him, even while you wilfully serve him. But the matter lieth here; though you hate him, you love the sin, because it is pleasant to flesh and blood, and you do not know, or will not consider that it is he indeed that leadeth you to it; or else you durst not continue in that case. Well sirs, lay this to heart, and believe that all men are slaves to satan till they be converted; and if you are not willing to live and die his slaves, and to be used for ever as his slaves, delay not your conversion.

5. Moreover, the misery of the unconverted doth further appear in this; that while men are unconverted, nothing that they do can truly please God. There are many works which, for the matter of them, are commanded, which such men may do, but yet there are so many defects, and so much of the venom of their corruption mixt in them, that God hath no delight in them, but doth abhor them. I would not be misunderstood in this, as if I said or thought, that therefore, all that the unconverted can do, is to no purpose, in order to their salvation : and that, therefore, it is as good for them to let all alone, and sit still and be careless till God shall convert them; or as if it were better, or as good for them not to pray, as to pray, and not to hear or read, or ask advice, as to do it, because that all is displeasing to God. But I mean, and say, that there is more in their best duties to displease God, than to please him, and that they are such as he hath made them no promise of accepting, so far as to give them any special grace, or reward thereupon. Or if this please not any, yet this much is out of controversy, that the duties of no unconverted man are pleasing to God, so as to prove their persons pleasing to him, as his own servants are; and that God takes no delight in their duties, as he doth in those that are performed by the righteous. And thus at least you may take it as beyond all question, that God is comparatively displeased with, and abhors even the best works that are performed by the unconverted. The works of wicked men are of four sorts. (1.) Some are such as have no tendency to their con

" Gen. iii. 15.

For these they

version and recovery, nor to the good of any others, but are either plainly wicked for the substance, or but indifferent for the matter, and wicked in the ends and manner. These God abhors in the highest degree. (2.) And there are some that are common civil actions, in themselves neither good or evil. But yet, because the common ends of such are wrong, and the manner sinful, these therefore are said to be abomination to the Lord. (3.) And then there are their best works which are done by them with evil intents, to settle them in their present state, without any thoughts of turning from it, as their alms-deeds which are done to merit, or to quiet their consciences in a sinful state, or the like. These also God abhorreth, for all the good that is in them. do as wicked men, wickedly, for all the goodness that is in the action. (4.) But then, there are some actions of the unconverted, that are in order to their conversion, and these God accepteth not, so as to accept their persons, as of one reconciled to him in Christ, nor as he accepteth the works of his people, nor so as to be engaged by promise for their reward. But yet he so far accepteth them, that they are ordinarily the way in which he will be found; and in which he will give them greater things. They are means of his appointing for the conversion of their souls, which he hath not appointed them to use in vain. So that by this time you may see my meaning here in this particular. The three first sorts of the works of wicked men, God doth plainly abhor, even their works that are both such for matter and end; and their civil and natural works, that are wicked for the end; and their religious works, that are wicked for the end. But the fourth sort, which are works that are done in order to their conversion, though they please not God as the works of the regenerate do, yet he abhorreth them not as he doth the rest for as they come from a common faith, though not from a special faith, so they may please God in a common manner, though not in a special. And as they have an end that is good in its place; that is, the saving of their souls by turning from their sins, though they have not the true ultimate end of the saints; that is, the glory and pleasing of God everlastingly, and the enjoyment of him therein, so are they proportionably acceptable to God. So that it is the first three sorts of action that I mean in this

application. And in regard of them, I say it is a matter of great terror to the unconverted, that God abhorreth all that they do.

I will first prove it to you, and then shew you the terror of it. As for their wicked works, there is no question, they are abominable to God, and he hateth them. See Jer. Ixiv. 4. Psal. liii. 1. 14. Ezek. xvi. 52. Tit. i. 16. Prov. viii. 16. xi. 1. 20. xii. 22. And the "very thoughts of the wicked are abominable to him," as Prov. xv. 26. But the question is of their better works. And we find in Scripture, that their very trades, and works of their callings, are sin. The " ploughing of the wicked is sin*;" or if perhaps the sense of that text may be that their preparations and contrivances are sinful, which are metaphorically called ploughing, yet of their best works the Scripture is plain. The "sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight." Note, that he saith not, the humiliation or the repentance, or thoughts of conversion that may be in a wicked man, but his sacrifice, which is somewhat that he thinketh God should accept, as a matter of worth. And therefore it was that Cain's sacrifice was abhorred, when Abel's was accepted. And that you may see that it is not only because of the wicked designs that they may have in it, the Spirit of God speaketh of both. "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind"." Yea, the very prayer of wicked men is abominable. Yet do not say that God is a respecter of persons, and will take that well from one, which he hateth from another without any just cause. For there is just cause. If you will not do the main things that God requireth, he careth not for the rest. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination"." The law of God commandeth you to take another course, and condemneth your wicked life, and if you will turn away your ear from this law, that would turn away your heart from sin, God will not accept your prayer. "If I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear my prayer b." name of the Lord,

"He that calleth on the must depart from iniquity c." Yea, the

* Prov. xxi. 4.

y Prov. xv. 18.

a Prov. xxviii. 9.

h Psal. lxvi. 18.

z Prov. xxi. 27.

c 2 Tim. ii. 19.