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their ways; when we plainly fee the evil day hafting to wards them apace, and deftruction coming upon them like a whirlwind; heaven above threatening them, and hell beneath moving herself to meet them at their coming: can we poffibly do lefs, than to warn fuch perfons to flee from the wrath which is to come; and, out of a fad apprehenfion of the danger that hangs over them, to caution them against it, and endeavour with all our might to rescue them from the mifery which is ready to fwallow them up? Indeed one would be apt to think it a very vain thing to diffuade men from being miserable; to use great vehemency of argument, to hinder a man from leaping into a pit, or from running into the fire; to take great pains to argue a fick man into a defire of health, and to make a prifoner contented to have his fhackles knocked off, and to be fet at liberty; one would think all this were perfectly needlefs: but yet we fee in experience, fin is a thing of fo ftupifying a nature, as to make them infenfible of their danger, although it be fo near, and fo terrible. It is not fo with men in other cafes. When we labour of any bodily diftemper, it is much to find a man that is patient of his disease: but when our fouls are mortally fick, that we fhould be contented with our condition, and fond of our disease; that we fhould fight with our phyfician, and fpurn at our remedy; this furely is the height of diftraction, for men to be thus abfolutely bent upon their own ruin, and to refolve to make away themfelves for ever. And we who are the meffengers of God to men, must be born of the rocks, and have hearts harder than the nether millftone, if we can patiently look on, and endure to fee men perifh, without ufing our utmost endeavour to fave them. Therefore I fhall,

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Third and laft place, apply myself to this work of exhortation, the duty commanded here in the text. And here I fhall addrefs myself to two forts of perfons.

1. To perfuade thofe who are yet innocent of great crimes, to refift the beginnings of fin, left it gain upon them by degrees.

2. To prefs and urge those who are already entered upon a wicked courfe, that they would make haste out of this dangerous ftate, left at last they be hardened through the deceitfulness of fin.

1. To perfuade those who are yet in fome measure innocent, to refift the beginnings of fin, left it gain upon them by degrees. Vice may eafily be difcouraged at firft. It is like a flight disease, which is eafy to be cured, but dangerous to be neglected. The first approaches of fin and temptation are ufually very modeft; but if they be not difcountenanced, they will foon grow upon us, and make bolder attempts. Every inclination to fin, every compliance with temptation, is a going down the hill: while we keep our standing, we may command ourselves; but if we once put ourfelves into violent motion downwards, we cannot stop when we please..

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Omne in præcipiti vitium ftetit.

"All vice ftands upon a precipice;" and to engage in any finful courfe, is to run down the hill. And if we once let loose the propenfions of our nature, we cannot gather in the reins, and govern them as we please. If we give way to prefumptuous fins, they will quickly get dominion over us. It is much easier not to begin a bad courfe, than to put a stop to ourselves after we have begun it. Stulta res eft nequitia modus, Seneca: "It is a fond thing for a man to think to fet bounds to him"felf in any thing that is bad;" to refolve to fin in number, weight, and meafure, with great temperance and difcretion, and government of himself; that he will commit this fin, and then give over; entertain but this one temptation, and after that he will fhut the door, and admit of no more. Our corrupt hearts, when they are once in motion, are like the raging fea, to which we can fet no bounds, nor fay to it, Hitherto halt thou go, and no further. Sin is very cunning and deceitful, and does strangely gain upon men when they once give way to it. It is of a very bewitching nature, and hath ftrange arts of addrefs and infinuation. The giving way to a small fin does marvellously prepare and difpofe a man for a greater. By giving way to one little vice af ter another, the strongest refolution may be broken: for though it be not to be fnapt in funder at once, yet by this means it is untwisted by degrees, and then it is eafy to break it, one thread after another. It is fcarce imaginable of what force one finful action is to produce more for fin is very teeming and fruitful; and though

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there be no bleffing annexed to it, yet it does ftrangely increase and multiply. As there is a connection of one virtue with another, fo vices are linked together, and one fin draws many after it. When the devil tempts a man to commit any wickednefs, he does, as it were, lay a long train of fins; and, if the firft temptation take, they give fire to one another. Let us then refift the beginnings of fin; because then we have most power, and fin hath leaft. This is the first..

2. To perfuade those who are already engaged in a wicked course, to make haste out of this dangerous state. And there is no other way to get out of it, but by repentance; that is, by a real change and reformation of our lives; for herein the nature of true repentance does: confift. And without this all the devices which men ufe to get rid of the guilt of their fins, are vain, and to no purpose. It is not to be done by a formal confeffion and abfolution; nor by a long pilgrimage; nor by one of thofe little tickets from Rome, which they call indulgences. A wife man would much sooner perfuade himself, that God will not at all punish the fins of men, than that: he would forgive them fo eafily, and receive great offenders to favour upon fuch flight terms. Let us not de-ceive ourselves: there is one plain way to heaven, by fincere repentance, and a holy life, and there is no getting thither by tricks. And without this change of our lives, all our forrow, and fafting, and humiliation for fin, which at this season we make profeffion of, will fig nify nothing. There is an excellent paffage of the fon of Sirach to this purpose, Ecclus xxxiv. 25. 26. He that wafbeth himself after the touching of a dead body, if he touch it again, what availeth his washing? So it is with a man that fasteth for his fins, and goeth again and doth the fame things who will hear his prayer? or what doth his humbling profit him? There is this plain difference: between trouble for fin and repentance; forrow only refpects fins paft, but repentance is chiefly preventive of fins for the future: and God therefore requires, that we should be troubled for our fins, that we may refolve to leave them.

And, to oblige us to a vigorous and speedy refolu-tion in this matter, let us confider that we have enga ged too far. already in a bad courfe; and that every day

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our retreat will grow more dangerous and difficult; that by our delays we make work for a fadder and longer repentance, than that which we do now fo ftudiously decline. Let us confider likewife, that our life is concerned in the cafe; that except we repent and turn, we fhall die; and that the evil day may overtake us while we are deliberating whether we fhould avoid it or not; that vice is fo far from being mortified by age, that, by every day's continuance in it, we increase the power of it; and fo much ftrength as we add to our disease, we certainly take from ourselves: and this is a double weakening of us, when we do not only lose our own ftrength, but the enemy gets it, and employs it against us. The deceitfulness of fin appears in nothing more than in keeping men off from this neceffary work, and perfuading them to hazard all, upon the unreasonable hopes of the mercy of God, and the uncertain refolution of a future repentance. I do not think there are any here but do either believe, or at least are vehemently afraid, that there is another life after this; and that a wicked life, without repentance, muft unavoidably make them miferable in another world; and that to caft off all to a death-bed repentance, puts things upon a mighty hazard. And they have a great deal of reafon to think fo: for, alas! how unfit are most men at such a time, for fo great and ferious a work as repentance is, when they are unfit for the fmalleft matters? and how hard is it for any man then to be affured of the truth and reality of his repentance, when there is no fufficient opportunity to make trial of the fincerity of it; I deny hot the poffibility of the thing: but it is much to be feared, that the repentance of a dying finner is usually but like the forrow of a malefactor, when he is ready to be turned off: he is not troubled that he hath offended the law; but he is troubled that he muft die. For when death is ready to feize upon the finner, and he feels. himfelf dropping into deftruction, no wonder if then the man's ftomach come down, and he be contented to be faved; and, feeing he muft ftay no longer in this world, be defirous to go to heaven rather than hell; and, in order to that, be ready to give fome teftimonies of his repentance: no wonder if, when the rack is before him,

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this extort confeffion from him; and if, in hopes of a par don, he make many large promifes of amendment, and freely declare his refolution of a new and better life. But then it is the hardest thing in the world, to judge whether any thing of all this that is done under fo great a fear and force, be real. For a fick man, as he hath loft an appetite to the most pleafant meats and drinks, fo likewife his finful pleasures, and flefhly lufts, are at the fame time naufeous to him and for the very fame reafon; for fickness having altered the temper of his body, he hath not at that time any guft or relifh for thefe things. And now he is refolved againft fin, juft as a man that hath no ftomach is refolved against meat. But if the fit were over, and death would but raife his fiege, and remove his quarters a little farther from him; it is to be feared that his former appetite would foon return to him, and that he would fin with the fame eagerness he did before. Befides, how can we expect that God fhould accept of our repentance at fuch a time, when we are confcious to ourselves that we did refolve to put off our repentance till we could fin no longer? Can we think it fit for any man to fay thus to God in a dying hour: "Lord, now the world leaves me, I come to thee. I pray thee give me eternal life, who could never afford "to give thee one good day of my life. Grant that I 66: may live with thee, and enjoy thee for ever, who "could never endure to think upon thee. I must con

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fefs that I could never be perfuaded to leave my fins "out of love to thee; but now I repent of them for "fear of thee. I am confcious to myfelf that I would never do any thing for thy fake; but yet I hope thy goodness is fuch, that thou wilt forgive all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of my life, and accept

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"of this forced fubmiffion which I now make to thee. "I pray thee do not at last fruftrate and disappoint me

in this defign which I have laid, of finning while I "live, and getting to heaven when I die?" Surely no man can think it fit to fay thus to God; and yet I am afraid this is the true interpretation of many a man's repentance, who hath deferred it till he comes to die. I do not speak this to difcourage repentance, even at that time. It is always the beft thing we can do. But I would by all means difcourage men from putting off fo neceffary a

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