him; and to have his Holy Spirit, the only fountain of any real good, taken from him; in fhort, to be reduced to fo very vile a ftate, as to be fit for nothing better than to be configned hereafter to eternal torment! And greater mifery furely cannot be conceived, than for a creature to whom it is impoffible any effential happiness can be derived, but from God, to be fhut out for ever from any communication or knowledge of the Deity, but what the recollection of his wickednefs continually reprefents, to aggravate his wretched fentence. These paffages, tranfcribed from David's lamentations, do most affectingly exprefs the mifery of being forfaken of God, and the deplorable confequence of it to men's fouls; that they are then without all power of doing right, and wholly deftitute of any remedy. And equally alarming is the latter part of the prophet's intimation in the parable, where God doth not only reproach the neglect of his plantation, by fuffering it to abound in all manner of weeds, moft natural to the uncultivated foil, but to punish its unfruitfulness ftill more, he declares he will not return to take any care of it, nor fuffer even the clouds to rain upon it, and refresh it. By this figure, he reprefents the wholefome dew of his bleffed word, which St. Paul alfo likens to planting and watering. Doubtless they from whom this gracious aid is taken away, can no longer be accounted of his kingdom; for they can be no longer governed by his Holy Spirit. By thus withdrawing himself, they are deprived of the grace and benefit which they once enjoyed, and might for ever have poffeffed through Chrift. These were the means by which they were to continue in Chrift, and having wilfully forfeited fuch favor, they must confequently lose that heavenly light and life, fuch bleffings were calculated to convey. They will become as they were before this light of the Gofpel fhone upon them; as men without God in the world, in

fhort,

fhort, they fhall be delivered to the power of Satan, who governs all who are forfaken of God, as the defperate examples of Saul and Judas, and many others, do fatally prove. Indeed, he may be faid to have fet up his kingdom in the hearts of all, who are generally devoted to their own depraved and carnal will, and who continue to be the children of unbelief, and difobedience. Surely then we cannot be too careful left we neglect or refufe the great advantages of God's word, by which we obtain and preferve our true faith in God, left we be ourselves fo far caft off, as to deferve the title of the children just now mentioned. Concerning these, it may be neceffary to be more explicit, as they are of two forts, and very different in defcription, though both of them in very great danger of not returning to God's favor. The firft, in confequence of their carnal and wicked lives, being continually difpofed to compare their finful nature with the ftrictnefs of God's righteousness or perfection, are reduced to a condition void of confolation, and a right way of acting, as indeed must be the cafe of all who have provoked the fpirit of godly wifdom and comfort to defert them: being left to themselves, they cannot be perfuaded in their hearts, that God either can or will ever take them to his mercy any more. The other defcription of those who are void of a true belief do err on the contrary fide. Thefe, catching at the great and comfortable promises of God's extenfive mercy to mankind, and not poffeffing a proper notion of it, are too much inclined to fuppofe thofe promises more generally the lot of all, than ever God defigned, or has revealed; depending therefore on this vain hope, they continue in the indulgence of their finful habits, and defperately truft, that though they live ever fo long in wicked courses, yet God at last, and when they draw near their end, will certainly look with mercy on them, and that then they may reform, and experience favor.

K 2

favor. Now both these defcriptions of people must evidently appear in a most dangerous ftate, And yet it is most true, that God who hath declared, Ezek. xviii. 32. that he hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, hath graciously pointed out a method, and afforded means, whereby both of them may happily efcape, provided they accept and follow the fame in due feafon. As for the firft, as they do dread the effects of God's juftice in punishing finners, (which naturally muft fill them with fear, and lead them to defpair indeed, for their own cafe) they fhould therefore conftantly pray for grace, stedfaftly to believe that God's mercy is the remedy appointed against all fuch defpair and diftruft, not only for them, but generally for all that are truly forry for the provocation they have given God, and who earnestly repent, and ftrive to engage God's mercy in fuch a manner as affords fair hope of obtaining it, and of reaching that harbor of fecurity, into which whofoever doth gain admiffion, let him have been in paft time ever fo wicked, he fhall be free from the danger of eternal condemnation. If they do this, they may fecurely rest upon the promife made by God himfelf, in the words of the prophet Ezekiel, chap. xviii. 27, 28. If the wicked turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, he fall fave his foul alive; because he confidereth, that is, he repenteth and turneth away from all his tranfgref

fions.

Now in regard to the other fort, as they are willing to believe God's promifes, fo they fhould be equally ready to fear his threatenings. They fhould cherish the fame faith in the Law as the Gospel. They fhould confider that there is a bell, a place of everlafting punishment, as well as a heaven of endless joy and happiness. They fhould have no lefs regard to the condemnation that is declared to be the portion of the wicked and ungodly, than to the falva

tion that is promised to the faithful in word and deed. They fhould conclude, that God is as true in one refpect as in the other. This would guard them from a prefumptuous way of judging of their future expectations; for finners who carelefly or wilfully continue in a wicked course of life, may affure themselves, that the promises of God's mercy in his Gospel, can never poffibly belong to them while thus offending, and that only the fentence of the law, and the fulfilling thofe fcriptures which contain the denunciation of God's difpleafure, and various threatenings, will be their portion. And they have alfo every reafon to fear, that in proportion as they prefumptuously build upon God's mercy, while they live in open contradiction to his laws, the farther is his mercy removed from them, fince he is many times fo highly provoked by fuch bold tranfgreffion, as to deftroy them fuddenly. It is the cafe of thofe St. Paul defcribes, 1 Thef. v. 3. For when they fhall fay, peace and fafety, then fudden deftruction cometh upon them. Let us therefore, above all things, beware of fuch rafh and dangerous perfuafions, nor dare to fin upon the ftrength of them; for though God hath promifed his mercy to them who truly repent, and mend their lives, (even at a later season than could be wifhed they had deferred it) yet hath he no where promised to the prefumptuous finner, either that he fhall have a long life, or the gift of true repentance*; and for this reafon he has made every man's death uncertain, in order that he should not raise a vain hope of what will never be granted,

This is a circumftance moft highly neceffary for people to confider; for fince repentance is the gift of God, and that he is longfuffering, in order to lead men to repentance, fo if they will not liften to him in the appointed time, and accept the ordinary means of grace to strengthen them in faith, and exercife them in the practice of Christian duties, there can be no valuable affurance given, that he will hear fuch men, or bestow his faving mercy on them at the very laft moment of their lives, when no time is left them to work out their falvation.

and defer his repentance to the laft (in the mean time paffing all his days to God's difhonor). Let us not therefore be betrayed through the deceitfulness of fin, but rather follow the wife man's counfel, to make no tarrying in turning to the Lord. Let us not putoff repentance from day to day, for fuddenly fhall God's anger be poured upon the ungodly, (upon all who will not hear or fear him) and in the time of vengeance will he destroy the wicked. Let us therefore now improve our day of visitation; let us repent in time, and when we turn to God, let us pray to Him as the prophet Hofhea teacheth us in chap. xiv. ver. 2. faying, Take away all iniquity, O Lord, and receive us graciously. And this is a comfort all may reft affured of, that if they turn to God with a truly bumble penitent heart, he will certainly receive them to his favor, and afford us grace to help us forward in the work; and that for his holy name's fake, for his promise fake, for his truth and mercy's fake, delivered unto every true believer in Jefus Chrift, his only Son, our Lord. To whom, the only Savior of the world, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all honor, glory, and power, world without end. Amen.