By the breath of his noftrils we are confumed, and by the blast of him we perish, Job iv. 9. Now, if ye be not able to ftand against his look, his breath, the blast of his noftrils, far less against his finger, which ruined Egypt by divers plagues; and yet much lefs against his fift, Ezek. xxii. 13. Whofe heart can endure? Whofe hands can be strong, in the day when these hands that measure the waters in the hollow of them, that span the heavens, comprehend the duft of the earth, and take up the ifles as a very little thing, fhall begin to crush, and fqueeze, and grip him? far lefs is any able to withstand, when God lays on the weight of his wrath, which preffeth them hard, as it did Heman; or when he runs upon them like a mighty giant, with his full force, as a man doth upon his ene ny, Job xvi. 14. In this cafe, neither ye yourselves nor any creature can help you; therefore your mifery is inevitable.

6. As your mifery is inevitable, fo it is eternal. It is not for a day, or a year, or a month, or an age, nay, nor for millions of ages; but for ever. It is everlasting deftruction, everlasting burnings ye are to dwell with; the worm dies not, the fire goeth not out; the fmoke of your torment fhall afcend for ever and ever. If one ever will not do it, ye fhall have more of them. Here indeed is mifery, exquifite mifery; and ye would do well to think on your escape.

We have now, for eight Lord's days, infifted upon this fubject: and may we not conclude with the prophet, Who hath believed our report? Who among you all, who have been our close hearers upon this fubject, are yet convinced of fin? I fear very few, if any. If there be but one foul among you all that is awakened to fee its fin and mifery, K

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the news we are next to bring, will be welcome to fuch, and we hope the Lord will grant them that which they long for.

But to the generality, who are yet faft afleep, and who are as infenfible as ever, we fhall fay a few words: And, (r.) we fay to you, Have ye not heard what we have charged you with? And what answer ye to all? I am fure ye can answer nothing that is of weight. And if ye be not able to answer a man like yourselves, think how mute ye will be, when ye come before our great Lord and Master, seated upon the great white throne. (2.) What mean ye, O fleepers? Is it now time to be fleeping, when ye cannot tell but the next moment ye fhall fink irrecoverably into the immenfe ocean of the eternal and intolerable wrath of God? (3.) We cannot tell but this your ftupi dity may provoke God to that degree against you, that ye fhall never have a warning more. How terrible will your cafe be, if he shall fay, Never fruit grow upon thefe barren and unfruitful finners any more; or if this day he fhall give death a commiffion, Go to yonder obftinate finners, whom I by my fervants have long been dealing with, in order to bring them to a conviction of their danger, arreft them, bring them immediately to me, and I fhall awaken them, but not to their advantage. How will your hearts ake, your ears tingle, and your fpirits fail, when ye hear the dreadful sentence pronounced, Mat.xxv. 41. Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels? Now, if ye would evite this, awake in time, and flee to Jefus Chrift: haften your escape, before the decree bring forth, before the day pafs as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you.

MAN'S

MAN'S RECOVERY

BY

FAITH in CHRIST;

OR,

The convinced Sinner's Cafe and Cure.

PART II.

ACTS xvi.

29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 And brought them out, and faid, Sirs, what must I do to be faved?

31 And they faid, Believe on the Lord Je fus Chrift, and thou shalt be faved, and thy house.

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HEN we began to difcourfe to you from Rom. iii. 23. we obferved, that there are three queftions in which man is principally concerned, What have I done? What fhall I do to be faved? What shall I render to the Lord? He who knows how to answer these fatisfyingly, cannot mifs happiness, if he practife according to knowlege.

To the first we have returned answer at fome length. We have fhewn you what ye have done, K 2

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and what are the confequents of it; ye have finned, and fo come short of the glory of God. Now we fhall proceed to the fecond question, What Shall we do to be faved? And as the ground of what we are to fay upon this head, we have chofen the words read, in which both the question and anfwer are distinctly laid down.

In the text and context, we have the account of the conversion of the keeper of the prison at Philippi, a city in Macedonia. In which there occur feveral things very confiderable.

1. The perfon who was converted deferves to have a special remark put upon him. He is a heathen, one of the ruder fort, who was taught blindly to obey what he was put to, without ever enquiring whether right or wrong. He had, but the night before, put the apoftles feet in the stocks, and laid them in chains. When God defigns to erect trophies to his grace, he is not wont to fingle out the moral, the wife and polifht fort of finners, left they should glory in themfelves: but he pitches upon a Mary Magdalen that has feven devils dwelling in her; a perfecuting Saul, a rude Jaylor, that no flesh may glory in his presence, 1 Cor. i. 26, 27, 28, 29.

2. The place where he is converted, is a pri fon, a place where minifters were not wont to come, but when they were brought there, that they might be kept from endeavouring the converfion of finners. When God has a mind to have a finner, he will not want means to accomplih his defign. He can make a place, that is defigned to be a mean of fuppreffing the gospel, fubfervient to its propagation.

3. The exercife of the apoftles under their confinement, deferves a remark. A prifon is not

able

149 able to keep them from praifing God. Sometimes they have been made to fing in a prifon, who have been mourning when at liberty. God difpenfes the largest, the richeft comforts, when his people need them moft. He can fweeten a ftinking dungeon with the favour of his sweet ointments. He can foften hard chains, by lining them, as it were, with rich fupplies of grace. He can relax the clofenefs of a prifon, with his free fpirit, who brings liberty where-ever he is. Their hearts are thankful for mercies that they enjoy; and God chooses that time to give them new ones: A ftrong proof that it is indeed a good thing to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. Praife for old mercies brings new mercy with it. The liberal man lives by liberal devices.

4. The occafion of the jaylor's converfion is an earthquake which fhook the prifon, opened the doors, and made the chains fall off. A ftrange fort of earthquake indeed, that loofed the prifoners bonds. When the Lord defigns to awaken a finner, if lefs will not do it, a miracle fhall be wrought.

5. It is worthy our obfervation, that the firft influence of this providence was like to have proven fatal and ruining to the man whose falvation was defigned. The first appearances of God for the falvation of finners may have a very strange influence. They may be fo far from bringing the finners, whofe falvation is defigned, nearer, that they may feem to put them further off. The jaylor would have killed himself.

6. Their frame and deportment under this dif penfation is no lefs remarkable. Though the earth be fhaken, their hearts are not fo, but are in a bleffed reft and repofe. They know that God

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who