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of life. God's promise is, 'Return and Live ;' the devil's is, Thou shalt live whether thou turn or not.' The words of God are, as I have shewed you, " Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven *." "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God "." Without holiness none shall see God." The devil's word is, 'You may be saved without being born again, and converted; you may go to heaven well enough, without being holy; God doth but frighten you; he is more merciful than to do as he saith; he will be better to you than his word.' And, alas! the greatest part of the world believe this word of the devil before the word of God, just as our first sin and misery came into the world. God saith to our first parents, 'If ye eat ye shall die;' the devil contradicts him, and saith, Ye shall not die;' and the woman believed the devil before God. So now the Lord saith, Turn or Die;' and the devil saith, 'You shall not die if you do but cry mercy at last, and give over the acts of sin, when you can practise it no longer.' And this is the word that the world believes.

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wickedness, to believe the devil before God!

O heinous

And yet that is not the worst, but blasphemously they call this a believing and trusting in God, when they put him in the shape of satan, who was a liar from the beginning; and when they believe that the word of God is a lie, they call this a trusting God, and say they believe in him, and trust on him for salvation. Where did ever God say, that the unregenerate, unconverted, unsanctified, shall be saved? Shew such a word in Scripture, I challenge you if you can. Why, this is the devil's word, and to believe it, is to believe the devil, and is the sin that is commonly called presumption. And do you call this a believing and trusting God? There is enough in the word of God to comfort and strengthen the hearts of the sanctified. But not a word to strengthen the hands of wickedness, nor to give men the least hope of being saved, though they be never sanctified.

But if you will turn, and come into the way of mercy, the mercy of the Lord is ready to entertain you. Then trust God for salvation boldly and confidently, for he is engaged by his word to save you.

Matt. xviii. 3.

" John iii. 3. 5.

* Heb. xii. 14..

He will be a father to none but his children, and he will save none but those that forsake the world, the devil, and the flesh, and come into his family, to be members of his Son, and have communion with the saints. But if they will not come in, it is long of themselves; his doors are open; he keeps none back; he never sent such a message as this to any of you, 'It is now too late, I will not receive thee, though thou be converted.' He might have done so, and done you no wrong, but he did not, he doth not to this day, he is still ready to receive you, if you were but ready unfeignedly, and with all your hearts, to turn. And the fulness of this truth will yet more appear in the two following doctrines, which I shall, therefore, next proceed to, before I make a farther application of this.

Doct. III. God taketh pleasure in men's conversion and salvation, but not in their death and damnation. He had rather they would return and live, than go on and die.

I shall first teach you how to understand this; and then clear up the truth of it to you.

And for the first, you must observe these following things: 1. A simple willingness and complacency is the first act of the will, following the simple apprehension of the understanding, before it proceedeth to compare things together. But the choosing act of the will is a following act, and supposeth the comparing practical act of the understanding; and these two acts may often be carried to contrary objects, without any fault at all in the person.

2. An unfeigned willingness may have divers degrees. Some things I am so far willing of, as that I will do all that lieth in my power to accomplish them. And some things I am truly willing another should do, when yet I will not do all that ever I am able to procure it, having many reasons to dissuade me therefrom: though yet I will do all that belongs to me to do.

3. The will of a ruler, as such, is manifest in making and executing laws; but the will of a man in his simple natural capacity, or as absolute Lord of his own, is manifested in desiring or resolving of events.

4. A ruler's will, as law-giver, is, first and principally, that his law be obeyed, and not at all that the penalty be executed on any, but only on supposition that they will not

obey his laws. But a ruler's will, as judge, supposeth the law already either kept or broken. And, therefore, he resolveth on reward or punishment accordingly.

Having given you these necessary distinctions, I shall next apply them to the case in hand, in these following propositions :

1. It is in the glass of the word and creatures that in this life we must know God. And so, according to the nature of man, we ascribe to him understanding and will, removing all the imperfections that we can, because we are capable of no higher positive conceptions of him.

2. And on the same grounds we do (with the Scriptures) distinguish between the acts of God's will, as diversified from the respects, or the objects, though as to God's essence they are all one.

3. And the bolder, because that when we speak of Christ, we have the more ground for it from his human nature.

4. And thus we say, that the simple complacency, will, or love of God, is to all that is naturally or morally good, according to the nature and degree of its goodness. And so he hath pleasure in the conversion and salvation of all, which yet will never come to pass.

5. And God, as Ruler and Law-giver of the world, had so far a practical will for their salvation, as to make them a free deed of gift of Christ and life, and an act of oblivion for all their sins, so be it they will not unthankfully reject it; and to command his messengers to offer this gift to all the world, and persuade them to accept it. And so he doth all that, as Law-giver or Promiser, belongs to him to do for their salvation.

6. But yet he resolveth, as Law-giver, that they that will not Turn, shall Die. And as Judge, when their day of grace is past, he will execute that decree.

7. So that he thus unfeignedly willeth the conversion of those that never will be converted, but not as absolute Lord, with the fullest efficacious resolution, nor as a thing which he resolveth shall undoubtedly come to pass, or would engage all his power to accomplish. It is in the power of a prince to set a guard upon a murderer, to see that he shall not murder and be hanged. But if upon good reason he

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forbear this, and do but send to his subjects, and warn and entreat them not to be murderers, I hope he may well say, that he would not have them murder and be hanged; he takes no pleasure in it, but rather that they forbear, and live. And if he do more for some, upon some special reason, he is not bound to do so by all. The king may well say to all the murderers and felons in the land, 'I have no pleasure in your death, but rather that you would obey my laws and live; but if you will not, I am resolved for all this, that you shall die.' The judge may truly say to the thief, or a murderer, Alas! man, I have no delight in thy death, I had rather thou hadst kept the law, and saved thy life, but seeing thou hast not, I must condemn thee, or else I should be unjust.' So, though God have no pleasure in your damnation, and therefore calls upon you to return and live, yet he hath pleasure in the demonstration of his own justice, and the executing his laws; and, therefore, he is for all this fully resolved, that if you will not be converted, you shall be condemned. If God were so much against the death of the wicked, as that he were resolved to do all that he can to hinder it, then no man should be condemned, whereas Christ telleth you, that few will be saved. But so far God is against your damnation, as that he will teach you and warn you, and set before you life and death, and offer you your choice, and command his ministers to entreat you not to damn yourselves, but accept his mercy, and so to leave you without excuse; but if this will not do, and if still you be unconverted, he professeth to you he is resolved of your damnation, and hath commanded us to say to you in his name, ver. 18. "O wicked man, thou shalt surely die!" And Christ hath little less than sworn it over and over, with a " Verily, verily; except ye be converted and born again, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven "." Mark that he saith, "You cannot." It is in vain to hope for it, and in vain to dream,that God is willing of it; for it is a thing that cannot be.

In a word, you see then the meaning of the text, that God, the great Law-giver of the world, doth take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn and live; though yet he be resolved that none shall live but those that turn; and as a Judge even delighteth in justice,

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and manifesteth his hatred of sin, though not in their misery which they have brought upon themselves, in itself considered. 2. And for the proofs of this point, I shall be very brief in them, because I suppose you easily believe it already.

1. The very gracious nature of God proclaimed, Exodus xxxiv. 6. xx. 6. and frequently elsewhere, may assure you of this, that he hath no pleasure in your death.

2. If God had more pleasure in thy death, than in thy conversion and life, he would not have so frequently commanded thee in his word to turn, he would not have made thee such promises of life, if thou wilt but turn; he would not have persuaded thee to it by so many reasons. The tenor of his Gospel proveth the point.

3. And his commission that he hath given to the ministers of the Gospel, doth fully prove it. If God had taken more pleasure in thy damnation, than in thy conversion and salvation, he would never have charged us to offer you mercy, and to teach you the way of life, both publicly and privately; and to entreat and beseech you to turn and live; to acquaint you of your sins, and foretel you of your danger : and to do all that possibly we can for your conversion, and to continue patiently so doing, though you should hate or abuse us for our pains. Would God have done this and appointed his ordinances for your good, if he had taken pleasure in your death?

4. It is proved also by the course of his providence. If God had rather you were damned than converted and saved, he would not second his word with his works, and entice you by his daily kindness to himself, and give you all the mercies of this life, which are his means to lead you to repentance, and bring you so often under his rod, to force you into your wits. He would not set so many examples before your eyes; no, nor wait on you so patiently as he doth from day to day, and year to year. These be not signs of one that taketh pleasure in your death; if this had been his delight, how easily could he have had thee long ago in hell? How oft, before this, could he have catched thee away in the midst of thy sins, with a curse or oath, or lie in thy mouth, in thy ignorance and pride, and sensuality; when thou wert last in thy drunkenness, or last deriding the ways of God? How easily could he have stopped thy breath,

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