A Call to the Unconverted, Application 2
Vse.
I Do now intreate thee, if thou be an Unconverted sinner that hearest these words, that thou wouldst ponder a little upon the forementioned Doctrines, and bethink thy self awhile, who it is that takes pleasure in thy sin and damnation? Certainly it is not God: he hath sworn for his part that he takes no pleasure in it. And I know it is not the pleasing of him that you intend in it. You dare not say, that you drink, and swear and neglect holy duties, and, quench the motions of the Spirit, to please God. That were as if you shou…d reproach the Prince, and break his Laws, and seek his death, and say you did all this to please him.
Who is it then that takes Pleasure in your sin and death? Not any that bear the image of God: for they must be like-manded to him. God knows its small pleasure to your faithful Teachers, to see you serve your deadly enemy, and madly venture your eternal state, and wilfully run into the flames of Hell. Its small pleasure to them to see upon your souls (in the sad effects) such blindness and hard-heartedness, and carelesness, and presumption, such wilfulness in evil, and such unteachableness, and stifness against the waies of life and peace: they know these are marks of death and of the wrath of God, and they know from the word of God, what's like to be the end of them: And therefore it is no more Pleasure to them, then to a tender Physitian to see the Plague-marks break out upon his Patient. Alas, to foresee your everlasting Torments, and know not how to prevent them! To see how near you are to hell, and we cannot make you believe it, and consider it! To see how easily, how certainly you might scape, if we knew but how to make you willing! How fair you are for everlasting salvation, if you would but Turn and do your best, and make it the care and business of your lives: but you will not do it. If our lives lay on it we cannot perswade you to it. We study day and night what to say to you, that may convince you and perswade you, and yet it is undone: we lay before you the word of God, and shew you the very Chapter and verse where it is written, that you cannot be Saved except you be Converted; and yet we leave the most of you as we find you: We hope you will believe the word of God, though you believe not us; and that you will regard it when we shew you the plain Scripture for it: but we hope in vain, and labour in vain, as to any saving change upon your hearts. And do you think that this is a pleasant thing to us? Many a time in secret prayer we are fain to complain to God with sad hearts, [Alas Lord, we have spoken to them in thy name, but they little regard us: we have told them what thou bidst us tell them concerning the danger of an unconverted state, but they do not believe us: We have told them that thou hast protested, that there is no peace to the wicked, Isaiah 48.22. and 57.21. but the worst of them all will scarce believe that they are wicked: we have shewed them thy word, where th…u hast said, that if th…y live after the flesh they shall die, Rom. 8.13. but they say they will believe in thee, when they will not believe thee: and that they will trust in thee, when they give no credit to thy word; and when they hope that the threatnings of thy word are false, they will yet call this a hoping in God: and though we shew them where thou hast said, that when a wicked man dyeth all his hopes perish, yet cannot we perswade them from their deceitful hopes, Prov. 11.7. We tell them what a base unprofitable thing sin is; but they love it, and therefore will not leave it. We tell them how dear they buy this pleasure, and what they must pay for it in everlasting torment, and they bless themselves, and will not believe it, but will do as the most do, and because God is merciful, they will not believe him, but will venture their souls, come on it what will we tel… them how ready the Lord is to receive them, and this doth but make them delay their repentance, and be bolder in their sin. Some of them say they purpose to repent, but they are still the same; and some say, they do repent already when yet they are not Converted from their sins. We exhort them, we intreat them▪ we offer them our help; but we cannot prevail with them: but they that were drunkards are drunkards still, and they that were voluptuous flesh pleasing wretches, are such still; and they that were worldlings, are wordlings still; and they that were ignorant, and proud and self-conceited, are so still. Few of them will see and confess their sin, and fewer will forsake it, but comfort themselves that all men are sinners, as if there were no difference between a Converted sinner and an Vnconverted: Some of them will not come near us, when we are willing to instruct them, but think they know enough already, and need not our instruction; and some of them will give us the hearing, and do what their list: and most of them are like dead men that cannot fe…l; so that when we tell them of the matters of everlasting consequence, we cannot get a word of it to their hearts. If we do not obey them, and humour them in baptizing the children of the most obstinately wicked, and giving them the Lords Supper, and doing all that they would have us, though never so much against the word of God, they will hate us, and rail at us: but if we beseech them but to confess and forsake their sins, and save their souls, they will not do it. We tell them, if they will but Turn, we will deny them none of the Ordinances of God, neither Baptism to their children, nor the Lords Supper to themselves: but they will not hear us: they would have us to disobey God, and damn our own souls, to please them, and yet they will not turn and save their own souls to please God. They are wiser in their own eyes then all their Teachers; they rage, and are confident in their own way; and if we would never so fain, we cannot change them. Lord, this is the case of our miserable neighbours, and we cannot help it: we see them ready to drop into hell, and we cannot help it: we know if they would unfeignedly turn they might be saved; but we cannot perswade them: if we would beg it of them on our knees, we cannot perswade them to it: if we would beg it of them with tears, we cannot perswade them; and what more can we do?
These are the secret complaints and moans that many a poor Minister is fain to make. And do you think that he hath any Pleasure in this? Is it a Pleasure to him to see you go on in sin, and cannot stop you? to see you so miserable, and cannot so much as make you sensible of it? to see you merry, when you are not sure to be an hour out of Hell? to think what you must for ever suffer, because you will not Turn? and to think what an everlasting life of Glory you wilfully despise and cast away? What sadder thing can you bring to their hearts? and how can you devise to grieve them more?
Who is it then that you Pleasure by your sin and death? It is none of your understanding godly friends: Alas it is the grief of their souls to see your misery; and they lament you many a time when you give them little thanks for it, and when you have not hearts to lament your selves.
Who is it then that takes Pleasure in your sin? It is none but the three great enemies of God, whom you renou…ced in your Baptism, and now are turned falsly to serve.
1. The Devil indeed takes pleasure in your sin and death: For this is the very end of all his temptations For this he watcheth night and day: You cannot devise to please him better, then to go on in sin: How glad is he when he sees thee going to the Ale-house or other sin? and when he heareth thee curse, or swear, or rail? How glad is he when he heare…h thee revile the Minister that would draw thee from thy sin, and help to save thee? These are his delight.
2. The wicked also are delighted in it: For it is agreeable to their nature.
3. But I know for all this that it is not the pleasing of the Devil that you intend, even when you please him: but it is your own flesh, the greatest and most dangerous enemy, that you intend to please. It is the flesh that would be pampered, that would be pleased in meat, and drink, and cloathing, that would be pleased in your company, and pleased in applause and credit with the world, and pleased in sports, and lost, and idleness: this is the gulf that devoureth all. This is the very god that you serve, (for the Scripture saith of such, that their bellies are th…ir gods, Phil. 3.18.)
But I beseech you stay a little and consider the business.
1. Quest. Should your flesh be pleased before your Maker? Will you displease the Lord, and displease your Teachers, and your godly friends, and all to please your brutish appetites, or sensual desires? Is not God worthy to be the Ruler of your flesh? duplicate page duplicate page If he shall not Rule it, he will not save it: you cannot in reason expect that he should.
2. Qu. Your flesh is pleased with your sin: but is your conscience pleased? Doth not it grudge within you, and tell you sometimes that all is not well, and that your case is not so safe as you make it to be? and should not your soul and conscience be pleased before that corruptible flesh?
3. Quest. But is not your flesh preparing for its own displeasure also? it loves the bait, but doth it love the hook? It loves the strong drink and sweet morsels, it loves its case and sports, and merriment; it loves to be rich and well spoken of by men, and to be some body in the world: but doth it love the curse of God? Doth it love to stand trembling before his Bar, and to be judged to everlasting fire? Doth it love to be tormented with the Devils for ever? Take all together; for there is no separating sin and hell, but only by faith and true Conversion; if you will keep one, you must have the other. If Death and Hell be pleasant to you, no wonder then if you go on in sin; but if they be not (as I am sure they be not) then what if sin were never so pleasant, is it worth the loss of Life Eternal? Is a little drink, or meat, or ease, is the good words of sinners, is the riches of this world to be valued above the Joyes of heaven? Or are they worth the suffering of Eternal fire? Sirs, these questions should be considered, before you go any further, by every man that hath Reason to consider, and that believes he hath a soul to save or lose.
Well, the Lord here sweareth that he hath no Pleasure in your Death, but rather that you would Turn and Live: if yet you will go on, and Dye rather then Turn, remember it was not to Please God that you did it: it was to Please the world, and to please your selves. And if men will damn themselves to please themselves, and run into endless Torments for Delight, and have not the wit, the hearts, the grace, to hearken to God or man that would reclaim them, what remedy! but they must take what they get by it, and repent it in another manner, when it is too late! Before I proceed any further in the Application, I shall come to the next Doctrine, which giveth me a fuller ground for it.