have done to destroy them; and be merciful to some as we have been cruel to others.

10. Consider, How diligent are all the enemies of these poor souls to draw them to hell! And if nobody be diligent in helping them to heaven, what is likely to become of them? The devil is tempting them day and night. Their inward lusts are still working and withdrawing them. The flesh is still pleading for its delights and profits. Their old companions are ready to entice them to sin, and to disgrace God's ways and people to them, and to contradict the doctrine of Christ that should save them, and to increase their prejudice and dislike of holiness. Seducing teachers are exceeding diligent in sowing tares, and in drawing off the unstable from the doctrine and way of life: so that when we have done all we can, and hope we have won men, what a multitude of late have, after all, been taken in this snare! And shall a seducer be so unwearied in proselyting poor, ungrounded souls to his fancies; and shall not a sound Christian be much more unwearied in labouring to win men to Christ and life?

11. Consider, The neglect of this doth very deeply wound when conscience is awaked. When a man comes to die, conscience will ask him, What good hast thou done in thy lifetime? The saving of souls is the greatest good work; what hast thou done towards this? How many hast thou dealt faithfully with? I have oft observed that the consciences of dying men do very much wound them for this omission. For my own part, to tell you my experience, whenever I have been near death, my conscience hath accused me more for this than for any sin. It would bring every ignorant profane neighbour to my remembrance, to whom I never made known their danger: it would tell me, thou shouldst have gone to them in private, and told them plainly of their desperate danger, without bashfulness or daubing, though it had been when thou shouldst have eaten or slept, if thou hadst no other time: conscience would remember me, how, at such a time or such a time, I was in company with the ignorant, or was riding by the way with a wilful sinner, and had a fit opportunity to have dealt with them, but did not; or, at least, did it by halves, and to little purpose. The Lord grant I may better obey conscience hereafter while I live and have time, that it may have less to accuse me of at death!

12. Consider, further, It is now a very seasonable time which you have for this work. Take it therefore while you have it. There are times wherein it is not safe to speak; it may cost you your liberties, or your lives: it is not so now with us. Besides, your neighbours will be here with you but a very little while they will shortly die, and so must you. Speak to them, therefore, while you may; set upon them, and give them no rest till you have prevailed. Do it speedily, for it must be now or never. A Roman emperor, when he heard of a neighbour dead, he asked, "And what did I do for him before he died?" and it grieved him that a man should die near him; and it could not be said that he had first done him any good. Methinks you should think of this when you hear that any of your neighbours are dead; but I had far rather, while they are alive, you would ask the question: There is such and such a neighbour (alas, how many !) that are ignorant and ungodly, what have I done, or said, that might have in it any likelihood of recovering them? They will shortly be dead, and then it is too late.

13. Consider, This is a work of greatest charity, and yet such as every one of you may perform. If it were to give them monies, the poor have it not to give: if to fight for them, the weak cannot if it were to suffer, the fearful will say, they cannot: but every one hath a tongue to speak to a sinner. The poorest may be thus charitable as well as the rich.

14. Consider, also, The happy consequences of this work, where it is faithfully done. To name some:

1. You may be instrumental in that blessed work of saving souls, a work that Christ came down and died for, a work that the angels of God rejoice in; for, saith the Holy Ghost, "If any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." (James v. 19, 20.) And how can God more highly honour you, than to make you instruments in so great a work? 2. Such souls will bless you here and hereafter. They may be angry with you at first; but if your words prevail and succeed, they will bless the day that ever they knew you, and bless God that sent you to speak to them.

3. If you succeed, God will have much glory by it; he will

As it is a grievous thing to think of a place wherein God hath been truly worshipped, that afterwards the devil should be served there; so it is a comfortable thing to think of other places wherein the devil hath been served, that God is now truly worshipped there.-Burroughs on Hos. i. p. 118.

have one more to value and accept of his Son, of whom Christ's blood hath attained its end: he will have one more to love him and daily worship and fear him, and to do him service in his church.

4. The church also will have gain by it; there will be one less provoker of wrath, and one more to strive with God against sin and judgment, and to engage against the sins of the times, and to win others by doctrine and example. If thou couldst but convert one persecuting Saul, he might become a Paul, and do the church more service than ever thou didst thyself. However, the healing of sinners is the surest method for preventing or removing of judgments.

5. It is the way also to purity and flourishing of the church, and to the right erecting and executing the discipline of Christ; if men would but do what they ought with their neighbours in private, what a help would it be to the success of the public endeavours of the ministry! And what hope might we have that daily some would be added to the church! And if any be obstinate, yet this is the first course that must be taken to reclaim them. Who dare separate from them, or excommunicate them, before they have been first thoroughly admonished and instructed in private, according to Christ's rule? (Matt. xviii. 15, 16.)

6. It bringeth much advantage to yourselves: First, It will increase your graces, both as it is a course that God will bless, and as it is an acting of them in this persuading of others: he that will not let you lose a cup of water which is given for him, will not let you lose these greater works of charity; besides those that have practised this duty most conscionably, do find, by experience, that they never go on more speedily and prosperously towards heaven than when they do most to help others thither with them. It is not here as with worldly treasure, the more you give away, the less you have; but here, the more you give, the more you have. The setting forth Christ in his fulness to others, will warm your own hearts and stir up your love. The opening of the evil and danger of sin to others, will increase your hatred of it, and much engage yourselves against it. Secondly, And it seemeth that it will increase your glory as well as your grace, both as a duty which God will so reward, " for those that convert many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever;" (Dan. xii. 3, and xi. 33;) and also as we shall there behold them in heaven,

and be their associates in blessedness, whom God made us here the instruments to convert. Thirdly, However, it will give us much peace of conscience, whether we succeed or not, to think that we were faithful, and did our best to save them, and that we are clear from the blood of all men, and their perishing shall not lie upon us. Fourthly, Besides, that it is a work that, if it succeed, doth exceedingly rejoice an honest heart. He that hath a sense of God's honour, or the least affection to the soul of his brother, must needs rejoice much at his conversion, whosoever be the instrument, but especially when God maketh ourselves the means of so blessed a work. If God make us the instruments of any temporal good, it is very comfortable, but much more of eternal good. There is naturally a rejoicing followeth every good work answerable to the degree of its goodness: he that doth most good, hath usually the most happy and comfortable life. If men knew the pleasure that there is in doing good, they would not seek after their pleasure so much in evil. For my own part, it is an unspeakable comfort to me, that God hath made me an instrument for the recovering of so many from bodily diseases, and saving their natural lives; 'but all this is yet nothing to the comfort I have in the success of my labours, in the conversion and confirmation of souls; it is so great a joy to me that it drowneth the

Si itaque qui multorum corporibus sanitatem medendo perpererit, vel ad majorem hæc deduxerit valetudinem, haudquaquam id sine divino instinctu fecisse videbitur; quanto magis qui plurimorum animas curat, et ad meliora traducit; et ex Deo qui omnibus præest, ut pendeant, facit; edocetque ut ad ejus voluntatem quæcunque gesserint; ut repetant homines; declinentque vel minima quæque quæ illum factis, dictisve et cogitatione cffendunt.-Origen. cont. Celsum, lib. i.

I know many learned physicians speak very sharply against ministers practising physic. But with these conditions no wise man disalloweth it. 1. That it hinder not his main employment much. 2. That it be in case of absolute necessity, that the party must die else in the eye of reason. As 1. When no able physician is within reach. 2. Or cannot, or will not come. 3. Or the case is sudden, or the party so poor that he cannot pay physicians. 4. And if a man, being conscious of his insufficiency, resolves not to go beyond his knowledge, but rather to do too little than too much. 5. And if he take nothing for what he doth, who can blame a man that observes these conditions? Except he would have a man guilty of murder, and not help a man if he fall down by us, because we are no physicians! Et omnes has ipse conditiones observavi. If physicians may be able in divinity, as to their honour many have been-as Curæus, Vadianus, Erastus, Peucerus, Camerarius, Scaliger, Gesner, Shegkius, Zingerus, &c.-why then may not a divine as well understand physic? And Dr. Primrose (de Errorib. Vulg. c. 4. lib. i.) might have remembered more divines than Marsil. Ficinus that were physicians, as Fragus, Ingolsteterus, Lemnius, &c.

painfulness of my daily duties, and the trouble of my daily languishing, and bodily griefs; and maketh all these, with all oppositions and difficulties in my work, to be easy and as nothing. And of all the personal mercies that ever I received, next to his love in Christ and to my soul, I must most joyfully bless him for the plenteous success of my endeavours upon others. Oh, what fruit, then, might I have seen, if I had been more faithful, and plied the work in private and public as I ought! I know we have need to be very jealous of our deceitful hearts in this point, lest our rejoicing should come from our pride and self-ascribing. Naturally we would, every man, be in the place of God, and have the praise of every good work ascribed to ourselves, but yet, to imitate our Father in goodness and mercy, and to rejoice in that degree we attain to, is the part of every child of God. I tell you therefore, to persuade you from my own experience, that if you did but know what a joyful thing it is to be an instrument for the converting and saving of souls, you would set upon it presently, and follow it night and day through the greatest discouragements and resistance. Fifthly, I might also tell you of the honourableness of this work; but I will pass by that, lest I excite your pride instead of your zeal.

And thus I have showed you what should move and persuade you to this duty. Let me now conclude with a word of entreaty. First, To all the godly in general. Secondly, To some above others in particular, to set upon the conscionable performance of this most excellent work.

CHAP. XIV.

An Advice to some more specially to help others to this Rest, pressed largely on Ministers and Parents.

SECT. I. Up, then, every man that hath a tongue, and is a servant of Christ, and do something of this your Master's work. Why hath he given you a tongue but to speak in his service? And how can you serve him more eminently, than in the saving of souls? He that will pronounce you blessed at the last day, and sentence you to the kingdom prepared for you, because you fed him, and clothed him, and visited him, &c., in his members, will surely pronounce you blessed for so great a work as is the bringing over of souls to his kingdom, and helping to drive the match betwixt them and him. He that saith, "The poor you