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perhaps you for one) have successfully laboured to preserve frond this damnable sin of schism? Whom you have kept from hearing these men, and separating from the church? Is not the drunkard that was, a drunkard still? Inquire of his poor wife and family. Is not the common swearer still horribly crying to God for damnation upon his own soul? Is not the sinner in every other kind, exactly the same man still? Not better at least, if he be not worse than he was ten years ago.

Now consider, 1. Does the Church of England gain either honour, or strength, or blessing, by such wretches as these calling themselves her members? By ten thousand drunkards, or whoremongers, or common swearers? Nay, ought she not immediately to spew them out? To renounce all fellowship with them? Would she not be far better without them than with them? Let any man of reason judge.

2. Is this drunkard's calling himself of the Church of England, of any more use to him, than to the church? Will this save him from hell, if he die in his sin ? Will it not rather increase his damnation ?

3. Is not a drunkard of any other church, just as good as a drunkard of the Church of England? Yea, is not a drunken Papist as much in the favour of God, as a drunken Protestant ?

4. Is not a cursing, swearing Turk, (if there be such an one to be found) full as acceptable to God, as a cursing, swearing Christian? Nay, 5. If there be any advantage, does it not lie on the side of the former? Is he not the less inexcusable of the two? As sinning against less light? O why will you sink these poor souls deeper into perdition, than they are sunk already? Why will you prophesy unto them, Peace, Peace; when there is no Peace? Why, if you do it not yourself (whether you cannot, or will not; God knoweth) should you hinder us from guiding them into the way of Peace ?

33. Will you endeavour to excuse yourself by saying, "There are not many who are the better for your preaching: and these by and by will be as bad as ever; as such and such an one is already ?"

I would to God I could set this in a just light! But I cannot. All language fails.

God begins a glorious work in our land. You set yourself against it with all your might to prevent its beginning where it does not yet appear, and to destroy it wherever it does. In part you prevail. You keep many from hearing the word that is able to save their souls. Others who had heard it you induce to turn back from God, and to list under the Devil's banner again. Then you make the success of your own wickedness an excuse for not acknowledging the work of God! You urge "that not many sinners were reformed! And that some of those are now as bad as ever !"

Whose fault is this? Is it ours? Or your own? Why have not thousands more been reformed? Yea, for every one who is now turned to God, why are there not ten thousand? Because you and your associates laboured so heartily in the cause of hell; because you and they spared no pains, either to prevent or to destroy the work of God! By using all the power and wisdom you had, you hindered thousands from hearing the Gospel, which they might have found to be the power of God unto salvation. Their blood is upon your heads. By inventing, or countenancing, or retailing lies, some refined, some gross and palpable, you hindered others from profiting by what they did hear. You are answerable to God for these souls also. Many who began to taste the good word, and run the way of God's commandments, you, by various methods, prevailed on to hear it no more. So they soon drew back to perdition. But know, that for every one of these also, God will require an account of you in the day of judgment.

34. And yet, in spite of all the malice, and wisdom, and strength, not only of men, but of "Principalities and powers, of the rulers of the darkness of this world, of the wicked spirits in high places;" there are thousands found, who are turned from "dumb idols, to serve the living and true God." What a harvest then might we have seen before now, if all who say, they are on the Lord's side, had come, as in all reason they ought, to the help of the Lord against the mighty ? Yea, had they only not opposed the work of God, had they only refrained from his messengers; might not the trumpet of God have been heard long since in every corner of our land? And thousands of sinners in every county been brought to fear God and honour the King.

Judge of what immense service we might have been, even in this single point, both to our King and Country. All who hear and regard the word we preach, " honour the King" for God's sake. They "render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsars," as well as "unto God the things that are God's."-They have no conception of piety without loyalty; knowing "the powers that be, are ordained of God." I pray God to strengthen all that are of this mind, how many soever they be! But might there not have been at this day, a hundred thousand in England, thus minded more than are now? Yea, verily; even by our Ministry, had not they who should have strengthened us, weakened our hands.

35. Surely you are not wise! What advantages do you throw away? What opportunities do you lose? Such as another day you may earnestly seek, and nevertheless may not find them. For if it please God to remove us, whom will you find to supply our place? We are in all things your servants for Jesus' sake; though the more we love you, the less we are loved. Let us be employed not in the highest, but in the meanest; and not in the easiest, but in the hottest service. Ease and plenty we leave to those that want them. Let us go on in toil, in weariness, in painfulness, in cold or hunger, so we may but testify the Gospel of the grace of God. The rich, the honourable, the great, we are thoroughly willing (if it be the will of our Lord) to leave to you. Only let us alone with the poor, the vulgar, the base, the outcasts of men.- Take also to yourselves the saints of the world: but suffer us to call sinners to repentance; even the most vile, the most ignorant, the most abandoned, the most fierce and savage of whom we can hear. To these we will go forth in the name of our Lord, desiring nothing, receiving nothing of any mam (save the bread we eat, while we are under his roof) and let it be seen, whether God hath sent us. Only, let not your hands, who fear the Lord, be upon us. Why should we be stricken of you any more?

IV. 1. Surely ye are without excuse, all who do not yet know the day of your visitation? The day, wherein the great God, who hath been forgotten among us, days without number, is arising at once to be avenged of his adversaries, and to visit and redeem his people. And are not his judgments and mercies both abroad? And still, will ye not learn righteousness? Is not the Lord passing by? Doth not a great and strong wind already begin to rend the mountains, and to break in pieces the rocks before the Lord ? Is not the earthquake also felt already? And a fire hath begun to burn in his anger. Who knoweth what will be the end thereof? But at the same time, he is speaking to man in a still, small voice. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear, lest he be suddenly destroyed, and that without remedy !

2. What excuse can possibly be made for those, who are regardless of such a season as this? Who are at such a crisis, stupid, senseless, unapprehensive; caring for none of these things? Who do not give themselves the pains to think about them, but are still easy and unconcerned? What! can there ever be a point, on which it more behooves you to think? And that with the coolest and deepest attention? As long as the heaven and the earth remain, can there be any thing of so vast importance, as God's Last Call to a guilty land, just perishing in its iniquity?

You, with those round about you, deserved long ago to have "drank the dregs of the cup of trembling:" yea, to have been "punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." But he hath not dealt with you according to your sins, neither rewarded you after your iniquities. And once more he is mixing mercy with judgment. Once more he is crying aloud, "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O House of Israel;" and will you not deign to give him the hearing; if you are not careful to answer him in this matter? Do you still shut your eyes, and stop your ears, and harden your stubborn heart?-Oh, beware, lest God laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh!

3. Will you plead that you have other concerns to mind? That other business engages your thoughts? It does so indeed; but this is your foolishness; this is the very thing that leaves you without excuse. For what business can be of equal moment? The mariner may have many concerns to mind, and many businesses to engage his thoughts: but not when the ship is sinking. In such a circumstance (it is your own!) you have but one thing to think of. Save the ship and your own life together! And the higher post you are in, the more deeply intent should you be on this one point. Is this a time for diversions? For eating and drinking, and rising up to play? Kеер the ship above water. Let all else go, and mind This one thing!

4. Perhaps you will say, "So I do. I do mind this one thing, how to save the sinking nation. And therefore now I must think of arms and provisions. I have no time now to think of Religion." This is exactly as if the mariner should say, "Now I must think of my guns and stores. I have no time now to think of the hold." Why man, you must think of this, or perish. It is there the leak is sprung. Stop that, or you and all your stores will go together to the bottom of the sea.

Is not this your case? Then, whatever you do, stop the leak: else you go to the bottom! I do not speak against your stores. They are good in their kind; and it may be well they are laid in.-But all your stores will not save the sinking ship, unless you can stop the leak. Unless you can some way keep out these floods of ungodliness, that are still continually pouring in, you must soon be swallowed up in the great deep, in the abyss of God's judgments. This, this is the destruction of the English nation. It is vice bursting in on every side, that is just ready to sink us into slavery first, and then into the nethermost hell.-"Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you?" Let him think of this. Think of this, all that love your country, or care for your own souls. If now especially you do not think of this one thing, you have no excuse before God or man.

5. Little more excuse have you, who are still in doubt concerning this day of your visitation. For you have all the proof that you can reasonably expect or desire, all that the nature of the thing requires. That in many places, abundance of notorious sinners are totally reformed, is declared by a thousand eye and ear witnesses, both of their present and past behaviour. And you are sensible, the proof of such a point as this must, in the nature of things, rest upon testimony. And that God alone is able to work such a reformation, you know all the Scriptures testify. What would you have more? What pretence can you have, for doubting any longer? You have not the least room to expect or desire any other, or any stronger evidence.

I trust, you are not of those who fortify themselves against conviction: who are "resolved they will never believe this." They ask, "Who are these men?" We tell them plainly; but they credit us not. Another and another of their own friends is convinced, and tells them the same thing. But their answer is ready, "Are you turned Methodist too?" So their testimony likewise goes for nothing. Now how is it possible these should ever be convinced ? For they will believe none but those who speak on one side.

6. Do you delay fixing your judgment, till you see a work of God, without any stumbling-block attending it? That never was yet, nor ever will. It must needs be, that offences should come. And scarce ever was there such a work of God before, with so few as have attended this.

When the Reformation began, what mountainous offences lay in

the way, of even the sincere members of the Church of Rome! They saw such failings in those great men, Luther and Calvin ! Their vehement tenaciousness of their own opinion: their bitterness towards all who differed from them; their impatience of contradiction, and utter want of forbearance, even with their own brethren.

But the grand stumbling-block of all was, their open, avowed separation from the Church; their rejecting so many of the doctrines and practices, which the others accounted the most sacred; and their continual invectives against the Church they separated from, so much sharper than Michael's reproof of Satan.

Were there fewer stumbling-blocks attending the Reformation in England? Surely not; for what was Henry the Eighth ? Consider either his character, his motives to the work, or his manner of pursuing it! And even King Edward's ministry we cannot clear of persecuting in their turns, yea, and burning heretics. The main stumbling-block also still remained, viz. open separation from the Church.

7. Full as many were the offences that lay in the way of even the sincere members of the Church of England, when the people called Quakers first professed that they were sent of God to reform the land. Whether they were or not, is beside our question: it suffices for the present purpose to observe, that over and above their open, avowed, total separation from the Church, and their vehement invectives against many of her doctrines, and the whole frame of her discipline; they spent their main strength in disputing about Opinions and Externals, rather than in preaching faith, mercy, and the love of God.

In these respects, the case was nearly the same when the Baptists first appeared in England. They immediately commenced a warma dispute, not concerning the vitals of Christianity, but concerning the manner and time of administering one of the external ordinances of it. And as their opinion hereof totally differed from that of all the other members of the Church of England, so they soon openly declared their separation from it, not without sharp censures of those that continued therein.

8. The same occasion of offence was, in a smaller degree, given by the Presbyterians and Independents: for they also spent great part of their time and strength, in opposing the commonly received Opinions concerning some of the circumstantials of Religion; and for the sake of these, separated from the Church.

But I do not include that venerable man, Mr. Philip Henry, nor any that were of his spirit in this number. I know they abhorred contending about Externals. Neither did they separate themselves from the Church. They continued therein, till they were driven out, whether they would or not. I cannot but tenderly sympathize with these; and the more, because this is, in part, our own case. Warm men spare no pains, at this very day, to drive us out of the Church. They cry out to the people, wherever one of us comes, "A mad dog! a mad dog!" if haply we might flee for our lives, as many have done before us. And sure it is, we should have complied

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