Fifteen Sermons, Sermon 14
SERMON XIV.
THE METHOD OF GRACE.
JEREMIAH vi. 14.
They have healed alſo the hurt of the daughter of my people ſlightly, ſaying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.
AS God can ſend a nation or people no greater bleſſing, than to give them faithful, ſincere, and upright miniſters; ſo the greateſt curſe that God can poſſibly ſend upon a people in this world, is to give them over to blind, unregenerate, carnal, lukewarm, and unſkilful guides. And yet, in all ages, we find that there have been many wolves in ſheep's clothing, many that daubed with untempered morter, that prophecied ſmoother things than God did allow. As it was formerly, ſo it is now, there are many that corrupt the word of God, and deal deceitfully with it. It was ſo in a ſpecial manner in the prophet Jeremiah's time; and he, faithful to his Lord, faithful to that God that employed him, did not fail, from time to time, to open his mouth againſt them, and to bear a noble teſtimony to the honour of that God, in whoſe name he from time to time ſpake. If ye will read his prophecy, ye will find, that none ſpake more againſt ſuch miniſters than Jeremiah: and here eſpecially, in the chapter out of which the text is taken, he ſpeaks very ſeverely againſt them; he charges them with ſeveral crimes, particularly, he charges them with covetouſneſs: For, ſays he in the 13th verſe, from the leaſt of them even to the greateſt of them, every one is given to covetouſneſs: and from the prophet even unto the prieſt, every one dealeth falſely. And then in the words of the text, in a more ſpecial manaer, he exemplifies how they had dealt falſely, how they had behaved treacherouſly to poor ſouls, ſays he, They have healed alſo the hurt of the daughter of my people ſlightly, ſaying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. The prophet, in the name of God, had been denouncing war againſt the people, he had been telling them, that their houſe ſhould be left deſolate, and the Lord would certainly viſit the land with war, "Therefore," ſays he, in the 11th verſe, I am full of the fury of the Lord: I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the aſſembly of young men together: For even the huſband with the wiſe ſhall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houſes ſhall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will ſtretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, ſaith the Lord. The prophet gives a thundering meſſage, that they might be terrified, and have ſome convictions and inclinations to repent: but it ſeems that the falſe prophets, the falſe prieſts, went about ſtifling people's convictions, and when they were hurt or a little terrified, they were for daubing over the wound, telling them, that Jeremiah was but an enthuſiaſtic preacher; that there could be no ſuch thing as a war among them; and bidding people peace, peace, be ſtill, when the prophet told them there was no peace. The words then refer primarily unto outward things; but I verily believe have alſo a further reference to the ſoul; and are to be referred to thoſe falſe teachers, when people were under conviction of ſin, when people were beginning to look towards heaven, they were for ſtifling their convictions, and telling them they were good enough before. And indeed people generally love to have it ſo: our hearts are exceedingly deceitful and deſperately wicked; none but the eternal God knows how treacherous they are. How many of us cry, peace, peace to our ſouls, when there is no peace. How many are there that are now ſettled upon their lees, that now think they are Chriſtians, that now flatter themſelves that they have an intereſt in Jeſus Chriſt; whereas, if we come to examine their experiences, we will find that their peace is but a peace of the devil's making; it is not a peace of God's giving; it is not a peace that paſſeth human underſtanding. It is matter therefore of great importance, my dear hearers, to know whether we may ſpeak peace to our hearts: We are all deſirous of peace, peace is an unſpeakable bleſſing: How can we live without peace? And therefore people, from time to time, muſt be taught how far they muſt go, and what muſt be wrought in them before they can ſpeak peace to their hearts. This is what I deſign at preſent, that I may deliver my ſoul, that I may be free from the blood of all thoſe to whom I preach, that I may not fail to declare the whole counſel of God. I ſhall, from the words of the text, endeavour to ſhew you what ye muſt undergo, and what muſt be wrought in you, before ye can ſpeak peace to your hearts.
But before I come directly to this, give me leave to premiſe a caution or two. And the firſt is, that I take it for granted ye believe religion to be an inward thing; ye believe it to be a work in the heart, a work wrought in the ſoul by the power of the ſpirit of God. If you do not believe this, ye do not believe your bible: If ye do not believe this, though ye have got your bible in your hands, ye hate the Lord Jeſus Chriſt in your heart: for religion is every where repreſented in ſcripture, as the work of God in the heart; the kingdom of God is within us, ſays our Lord; and, he is not a Chriſtian that is one outwardly, but he is a Chriſtian who is one inwardly. If any of you place religion in outward things, I ſhall not perhaps pleaſe you this morning; ye will underſtand me no more when I ſpeak of the work of God upon a poor ſinner's heart, than if I were talking in an unknown tongue. I would further premiſe a caution, that I would by no means confine God to one way of acting; I would by no means ſay, that all perſons before they come to have a ſettled peace in their hearts, are obliged to undergo the ſame degrees of conviction. No; God has various ways of bringing his children home; his ſacred ſpirit bloweth when, and where and how, it liſteth. But however, I will venture to affirm this, that before ever ye can ſpeak peace to your hearts, whether by ſhorter or longer continuance of your convictions, whether in a more pungent or in a more gentle way, ye muſt undergo what I ſhall hereafter lay down in the following diſcourſe.
Firſt, Then, before ye can ſpeak peace to your hearts, ye muſt be made to ſee, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail your actual tranſgreſſions againſt the law of God. According to the covenant of works, the ſoul that ſinneth it ſhall die; curſed is that man, be what he will, be who he will, that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them. We are not only to do ſome things, but we are to do all things, and we are to continue ſo to do; ſo that the leaſt deviation from the moral law, according to the covenant of works, whether in thought, word, or deed, deſerves eternal death at the hand of God. And if one evil thought, if one evil word, if one evil action, deſerves eternal damnation; how many hells, my friends, do every one of us deſerve, whoſe whole lives have been one continual rebellion againſt God. Before ever therefore ye can ſpeak peace to your hearts, ye muſt be brought to ſee, brought to believe, what a dreadful thing it is to depart from the living God. And now, my dear friends, examine your hearts, for I hope you come hither with a deſign to have your ſouls made better; give me leave to aſk you, in the preſence of God, whether you know the time, and if ye do not know exactly the time, do you know there was a time when God wrote bitter things againſt you, when the arrows of the Almighty were within you? Was ever the remembrance of your ſins grievous to you? Was the burden of your ſins intolerable to your thoughts? Did you ever ſee that God's wrath might juſtly fall upon you, upon account of your actual tranſgreſſions againſt God? Were ye ever in all your life ſorry for your ſins? Could ye ever ſay, my ſins are gone over my head as a burden too heavy for me to bear? Did ye ever experience any ſuch thing as this? Did ever any ſuch thing as this paſs between God and your ſoul; if not, for Jeſus Chriſt's ſake do not call yourſelves Chriſtians; ye may ſpeak peace to your hearts, but there is no peace. May the Lord awaken you, may the Lord convert you, may the Lord give you peace, if it be his will, before ye go home.
But further, ye may be convinced of your actual ſins, ſo as to be made to tremble, and yet ye may be ſtrangers to Jeſus Chriſt, ye may have no true work of grace upon your hearts. Before ever, therefore, ye can ſpeak peace to your hearts, conviction muſt go deeper; ye muſt not only be convinced of your actual tranſgreſſions againſt the law of God, but likewiſe of the foundation of all your tranſgreſſions; and what is that? I mean original ſin; that original corruption each of us brings into the world with us, which renders us liable to God's wrath and damnation. There are many poor ſouls that think themſelves fine reaſoners, yet they pretend to ſay there is no ſuch thing as original ſin? They will charge God with injuſtice in imputing Adam's ſin to us; although we have got the mark of the beaſt, and of the devil upon us, yet they tell us, we are not born in ſin. Let them look abroad into the world, and ſee the diſorders in it, and think if they can, if this is the paradiſe in which God did put man? No, every thing in the world is out of order. I have often thought, when I was abroad, that if there were no other argument to prove original ſin, but the riſing of wolves and tigers againſt man, nay, the barking of a dog againſt us, is a proof of original ſin. Tigers and lions durſt not riſe againſt us, if it were not for Adam's firſt ſin: for when the creatures riſe up againſt us, it is as much as to ſay, ye have ſinned againſt God, and we take up our Maſter's quarrel. If we look inward, we will ſee enough of luſts, and man's temper contrary to the temper of God; there is pride, malice, and revenge in all our hearts, and this temper cannot come from God; it comes from our firſt parent, Adam, who, after he fell from God, fell out of God into the devil. However, therefore, ſome people may deny this, yet when conviction comes, all carnal reaſonings are batter'd down immediately, and the poor ſoul begins to feel and ſee the fountain from which all the polluted ſtreams do flow. When the ſinner is firſt awakened, he begins to wonder how he came to be ſo wicked: the Spirit of God then ſtrikes in, and ſhows that he has no good thing in him by nature; then he ſees that he is altogether gone out of the way, that he is altogether become abominable; and the poor creature is made to lie down at the foot of the throne of God, and to acknowledge that God would be juſt to damn him, juſt to cut him off, though he never had committed one actual ſin in his life. Did ye ever feel and experience this any of you, to juſtify God in your damnation; to own that ye are by nature children of wrath, and that God may juſtly cut you off, though ye never actually had offended him in all your life. If ye were ever truly convicted, if your hearts were ever truly cut, if ſelf were truly taken out of you, ye will be made to ſee and feel this. And if ye have never felt the weight of original ſin, do not call yourſelves Chriſtians. I am verily perſuaded original ſin is the greateſt burden of a true convert; this even grieves the regenerate ſoul, the ſanctified ſoul. The indwelling of ſin in the heart is the burden of a converted perſon; it is the burden of a true Chriſtian; he continually cries out, O Who will deliver me from this body of death, this indwelling corruption in my heart; this is that which diſturbs a poor ſoul moſt. And, therefore, if ye never felt this inward corruption, if ye never ſaw that God might juſtly curſe you for it; indeed, my dear friends, ye may ſpeak peace to your heart, but I fear, nay, I know, there is no true peace.
Further, before we can ſpeak peace to your hearts, ye muſt not only be troubled for the ſins of your life, the ſin of your nature, but likewiſe for the ſins of your beſt duties and performances. When a poor ſoul is ſomewhat awakened by the terrors of the Lord, then the poor creature, being born under the covenant of works flies directly to a covenant of works again. And as Adam and Eve hid themſelves among the trees of the garden, and ſewed fig-leaves together to cover their nakedneſs; ſo the poor ſinner when awakened, flies to his duties, and to his performances, to hide himſelf from God; and goes to patch up a righteouſneſs of his own; ſays he, I will be mighty good now; I will reform, I will do all I can, and then certainly Jeſus Chriſt will have mercy on me. But before ye can ſpeak peace to your heart, ye muſt be brought to ſee that God may damn you for the beſt prayer ye ever put up in all your life: ye muſt be brought to ſee all your duties, all your righteouſneſs, as the prophet elegantly expreſſes it, put them altogether, are ſo far from recommending you to God, are ſo far from being any motive and inducement to God to have mercy on your poor ſouls, that ye will ſee them to be filthy rags, a menſtruous cloth; that God hates them, and cannot away with them, if ye bring them to him in order to recommend you to his favour. My dear friends, what is there in our performances to recommend us unto God; our perſons are in an unſanctified ſtate by nature, we deſerve to be damned ten thouſand times over; and what muſt our performances …e? We can do no good thing by nature; they that are in the fleſh cannot pleaſe God. Ye may do things materially good, but ye cannot do a thing formally and rightly good; becauſe nature cannot act above itſelf. It is impoſſible that a man that is unconverted can act for the glory of God; he cannot do any thing in faith, for whatſoever is not of faith is ſin. After we are renewed, yet we are renewed but in part; indwelling ſin continues in us; there is a mixture of corruption in every one of our duties: ſo that after we are converted, were Jeſus Chriſt only to accept us according to our works, our works would damn us; for we cannot put up a prayer but it is far from that perfection which the moral law requireth. I do not know what ye may think; but I can ſay that I cannot pray but I ſin; I cannot preach to you or any others but I ſin; I can do nothing without ſin: and, as one expreſſeth it, my repentance wants to be repented of, and my tears to be waſhed in the precious blood of my dear Redeemer; our beſt duties are as ſo many ſplendid ſins. Before ye can ſpeak peace to your hearts, ye muſt not only be ſick of your original and actual ſins; but ye muſt be made ſick of your righteouſneſs, of all your duties and performances, There muſt be a deep conviction before ye can be brought out of your ſelf-righteouſneſs; it is the laſt idol that is taken out of our heart, the pride of our heart will not let us ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of Jeſus Chriſt. But if ye never felt that ye had no righteouſneſs of your own; if ye never felt the deficiency of your own righteouſneſs, ye can never come to Jeſus Chriſt. There are a great many now that may ſay, Well, we believe all this: but there is a great difference betwixt talking and feeling. Did ye ever feel the want of a dear Redeemer? Did ye ever feel the want of Jeſus Chriſt upon the account of the deficiency of your own righteouſneſs? And can ye now ſay from your heart, Lord, thou mayeſt juſtly damn me for the beſt duties that ever I did perform: If ye are not thus brought out of ſelf, ye may ſpeak peace to yourſelves, but yet there is no peace.
But then before ye can ſpeak peace to your ſouls there is one particular ſin ye muſt be greatly troubled for; and yet I fear there are few of you think what it is: it is the reigning, the damning ſin of the Chriſtian world; and yet the Chriſtian world ſeldom or never think of it; and pray what is that? It is what moſt of you think ye are not guilty of, and that is the ſin of unbelief; before we can ſpeak peace to your heart, ye muſt be troubled for the unbelief of your heart; but can it be ſuppoſed that any of you are unbelievers here in this church-yard, that are born in Scotland, in a reformed country, that go to church every Sabbath … Can any of you that receive the ſacrament once a year? (O that it were adminiſtered oftener.) Can it be ſuppoſed that you that had tokens for the ſacrament; that you that keep up family-prayer, that any of you do not believe on the Lord Jeſus Chriſt? I appeal to your own hearts, if ye would not think me uncharitable, if I doubted whether any of you believed in Chriſt; and yet I fear, upon examination, we ſhould find that moſt of you have not ſo much faith in the Lord Jeſus Chriſt as the devil himſelf. I am perſuaded the devil believes more of the bible than moſt of us do; he believes the divinity of Jeſus Chriſt, that is more than many that call themſelves Chriſtians do; nay, he believes and trembles, and that is more than thouſands amongſt us do. My friends, we miſtake an hiſtorical faith for a true faith wrought in the heart by the Spirit of God. Ye fancy ye believe, becauſe ye believe there is ſuch a book we call the bible, becauſe ye go to church; all this ye may do, and have no true faith in Chriſt. Merely to believe there was once ſuch a perſon as Chriſt, merely to believe there is ſuch a book called the bible, will do you no good, more than to believe there was ſuch a man as Caeſar or Alexander the Great. The bible is a ſacred depoſitory; what thanks have we to give to God for theſe lively oracles! But yet we may have theſe, and not believe in the Lord Jeſus Chriſt. My dear friends, there muſt be a principle wrought in the heart by the Spirit of the living God. Did I aſk you how long it is ſince ye believed in Jeſus Chriſt, I ſuppoſe moſt of you would tell me, ye believed in the Lord Jeſus Chriſt as long as ever ye remember; ye never did diſbelieve: then ye could not give me a better proof that ye never yet believed in Jeſus Chriſt, unleſs ye were ſanctified early from the womb; for they that believe in Chriſt, know there was a time when they did not believe in Jeſus Chriſt. You ſay you love God with all your heart, ſoul, and ſtrength; if I were to aſk you, how long it is ſince ye loved God, ye would ſay, as long as ye can remember ye never hated God; ye know no time when there was enmity in your heart againſt God: then unleſs ye were ſanctified very early, ye never loved God in your life. My dear friends, I am more particular in this, becauſe it is a moſt deceitful deluſion, whereby ſo many people are carried away, that they believe already. Therefore it is remarkable of Mr. Marſhall giving account of his experiences, he had been working for life, he had ranged all his ſins under the ten commandments, and then coming to a miniſter, aſked him the reaſon why he could not get peace: the miniſter looked to the catalogue, Away, ſays he, I do not find one word of the ſin of unbelief in all your catalogue. It is the peculiar work of the Spirit of God to convince us of our unbelief, that we have got no faith. Says Jeſus Chriſt, I will ſend the Comforter; and when he is come, he will reprove the world of the ſin of unbelief: Of ſin, ſays Chriſt, becauſe they believe not on me. Now, my dear friends, did God does ſhew you that ye had no faith? Was you ever made to be wail a hard heart of …unbelief? Was it ever the… language of your heart, Lord, give me …? Lord, enable me to lay hold on thee? Lord, enable me to call thee my Lord and my God? Did Jeſus Chriſt ever convince you in this manner? Did he ever convince you of your inability to choſe with Chriſt, and make you cry out to God to give you faith? If not, do not ſpeak peace to your heart: may the Lord awaken you and give you true ſolid peace before ye go hence and be no more!
Once more then, before ye can ſpeak… peace to your heart, ye muſt not only be … of your actual and original ſin, the ſin of … own righteouſneſs, the ſin of unbelief but ye muſt be enabled to lay hold upon the perfect righteouſneſs the all-ſufficient righteouſneſs of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; you muſt lay hold by faith on the righteouſneſs of Jeſus Chriſt, and then ye ſhall have peace … Come ſays? Jeſus, unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I … give you reſt. This ſpeaks encourage… … all that are weary and heavy laden; but the promiſe … only upon their coming, and …, and taking him to be their God, and their … Before ever woman have peace with God, we muſt be juſtified by faith; thro… our Lord Jeſus Chriſts, we muſt be enabled to apply Chriſt to our heart; we muſt have Chriſt brought home to our ſoul, ſo as his righteouſneſs, may be made our righteouſneſs, ſo as his merits may be imputed to our ſouls. My dear friends, were ye ever married to Jeſus Chriſt? Did Jeſus Chriſt ever give himſelf to you? Did ye ever cloſe with Chriſt by a lively faith, ſo as to feel Chriſt in your heart, ſo as to hear him ſpeaking peace to your ſouls? Did peace ever flow in upon your heart like a river? Did ye ever feel that peace that Chriſt ſpoke to his diſciples? I pray God he may come, and ſpeak peace to you. Theſe things ye muſt experience. I am now talking of the inviſible realities of another world, of inward religion, of the work of God upon a poor ſinner's heart: I am now talking of a matter of great importance; my dear bearers, ye are all concerned in it; your ſouls are concerned in it; your eternal ſalvation is concerned in it. You may all be at peace, but perhaps the devil has lulled you aſleep into a carnal lethargy and ſecurity, and will endeavour to keep you there, till he get you to hell, and there ye will be awakened; but it will be dreadful to be awakened, and find yourſelves ſo fearfully miſtaken, when the great gulf is fixed when ye will be calling to all eternity for a drop of water to cool your tongue, and ſhall not obtain it.
Give me leave then to addreſs myſelf to ſeveral …orts of perſons; and O may God, of his infinite mercy, bleſs the application. There are ſome of you perhaps can ſay, through grace we can go along with you; bleſſed be God we have been convinced of our actual ſins; we have been convinced of original ſin; we have been convinced of ſelf-righteouſneſs; we have felt the bitterneſs of unbelief, and, through grace, we have cloſed with Jeſus Chriſt; we can ſpeak peace to our hearts, becauſe God hath ſpoken peace to us. Can ye ſay ſo? Then I will ſalute you as the angels did the women the firſt day of the week, All hail, fear not ye, my dear brethren; ye are happy ſouls; ye may lie down and be at peace indeed, for God has given you peace; ye may be content under all the diſpenſations of providence; for nothing can happen to you now, but what ſhall be the effect of God's love to your ſoul; ye need not fear what fightings may be without, ſeeing there is peace within. Have ye cloſed with Chriſt? Is God your friend? Is Chriſt your friend? Then look up with comfort; all is yours, and ye are Chriſt's, and Chriſt is God's; every thing ſhall work together for your good; the very hairs of your head are numbered; he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of God's eye. But then, my dear friends, take care of reſting on your firſt converſion: ye that are young believers in Chriſt, ye ſhould be looking out for freſh diſcoveries of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt every moment: ye muſt not build upon your paſt experiences; ye muſt not build upon a work within you, but always come out of yourſelves to the righteouſneſs of Jeſus Chriſt without you: ye muſt be always coming as poor ſinners to draw water out of the wells of ſalvation; ye muſt be forgetting the things that are behind, and be continually preſſing forward to the things that are before. My dear friends, ye muſt keep up a tender cloſe walk with the Lord Jeſus Chriſt. Many of us loſe our peace by our untender walk. Something or other gets in betwixt Chriſt and us, and we fall into darkneſs; ſomething or other ſteals our heart from God, and this grieves the Holy Ghoſt, and the Holy Ghoſt leaves us to ourſelves. Let me, therefore, exhort you that have got peace with God, to take care that ye do not loſe this peace. It is true, if ye are once in Chriſt, ye cannot finally fall from God; there is no condemnation to them that are in Chriſt Jeſus; but if ye cannot fall finally, ye may full …, and may go with broken bones all your days. Take care of backſliding for Jeſus Chriſt's ſake: Do not grieve the Holy Ghoſt; ye may never recover your comfort while ye live. O take care of going a gadding and wandering from God; after ye have cloſed with Jeſus Chriſt. My dear friends, I have paid dear for backſliding. Our hearts are ſo curſedly wicked, that …word ye take not care, if ye do not keep up a conſtant watch, your wicked hearts will deceive you, and draw you aſide. It will be ſad to be under the ſcourge of a correcting father; witneſs the viſitation of Job, David, and other ſaints in ſcripture. Let me, therefore, exhort you that have got peace to keep a cloſe walk with Chriſt. I am grieved with the looſe walk of thoſe that are Chriſtians, that have had diſcoveries of Jeſus Chriſt: there is ſo little differ not betwixt them and other people, that I can ſcarce know which is the true Chriſtian. Chriſtians are afraid to ſpeak for God; they run down with the ſtream; if they come into worldly company, they will talk of the world, as if they were in their element: This ye would not do when ye had the firſt diſcoveries of Chriſt's love; ye could … then of Chriſt's love for ever, when the candle of the Lord ſhined upon your ſoul. The time has been when ye had ſomething to ſay for your dear Lord; but now ye can go into company, and hear others ſpeaking about the world bold enough, and ye are afraid of being laughed at, if ye ſpeak for Jeſus Chriſt. A great many people have grown conformiſts now in the worſt ſenſe of the word; they will cry out againſt the ceremonies of the church, as they may juſtly do; But then yet are mighty fond of ceremonies in your behaviour; ye will conform to the world, which is a great deal worſe; many will ſtay till the devil bring up new faſhions. Take care then not to be conformed to the world: What have Chriſtians to do with the world? Chriſtians ſhould be ſingularly good, bold for their Lord, that all that are with you may take notice that ye have been with Jeſus. I would exhort you to come to a ſettlement in Jeſus Chriſt, ſo as to have a continual abiding of God in your heart. We go a building on our faith of adherence, and loſe our comfort; but we ſhould be growing up to a faith of aſſurance, to know that we are God's, and ſo walk in the comfort of the Holy Ghoſt and be edified. Jeſus Chriſt is now much wounded in the houſe of his friends. Excuſe me in being particular; for, my friends, it grieves me more that Jeſus Chriſt ſhould be wounded by his friends as by his enemies. We cannot expect any thing elſe from Deiſts; but for ſuch as have felt his power to fall away, for them not to walk agreeably to the vocation wherewith they are called, by theſe means we bring our Lord's religion into contempt; to be a byword among the Heathens. For Chriſt's ſake, if ye know Chriſt keep cloſe by him; if God hath ſpoken peace, O keep that peace, by looking up to Jeſus Chriſt every moment. Such as have got peace with God if ye are under trials, fear not, all things ſhall work for your good; if ye are under temptations, fear not; if he has ſpoken peace to your heart, all theſe things ſhall be for your good.
But what ſhall I ſay to you that have got no peace with God; and theſe are perhaps the moſt of this congregation; it makes me weep to hear of it. Moſt of you, if you examine your heart, muſt confeſs that God never yet ſpoke peace to you; ye are children of the devil if Chriſt is not in you; if God has not ſpoken peace to your heart, poor ſoul, what a curſed condition are you in! I would not be in your caſe for ten thouſand thouſand worlds! Why? Ye are juſt hanging over hell. What peace can ye have when God is your enemy, when the wrath of God is abiding upon your poor ſoul? Awake then, ye that are ſleeping in a falſe peace; awake, ye careleſs profeſſors; ye hypocrites that go to church, receive the ſacrament, read your bibles, and never felt the power of God upon your heart: ye that are formal profeſſors, ye that are baptized heathens, awake, awake, and do not reſt on a falſe bottom. Blame me not for addreſſing myſelf to you; indeed it is out of love to your ſoul. I ſee ye are lingering in your Sodom, and wanting to ſtay there: but I come to you as the angel did to Lot, to take you by the hand. Come away, my dear brethren, fly, fly, fly for your lives to Jeſus Chriſt: fly to a bleeding God, fly to a throne of grace; and beg of God to break your heart; beg of God to convince you of your actual …ine; beg of God to convince you of your original ſin; beg of God to convince you of your ſelf-righteouſneſs: beg of God to give you faith, and to enable you to cloſe with Jeſus Chriſt. O ye that are ſecure, I muſt be a ſon of thunder to you; and O that God may awaken you, though it be with thunder. It is out of love indeed that I ſpeak to you. I know, by ſad experience, what it is to be lulled aſleep with a falſe peace. Long was I lulled aſleep; long did I think myſelf a Chriſtian, when I knew nothing of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt. I went perhaps further than many of you do; I uſed to faſt twice a week; I uſed to pray ſometimes nine times a day; I uſed to receive the ſacrament conſtantly every Lord's day; and yet I knew nothing of Jeſus Chriſt in my heart. I knew not I muſt be a new creature: I knew nothing of inward religion in my ſoul. And perhaps many of you may be deceived, as I a poor creature was; and therefore it is out of love to you indeed that I ſpeak to you. O, if ye do not take care, a form of religion will deſtroy your ſoul: ye will reſt in it, and will not come to Jeſus Chriſt at all: whereas theſe things are only the means, and not the end of religion; Chriſt is the end of the law for righteouſneſs to all that believe. O then awake, ye that are ſettled on your le…s; awake, ye church profeſſors; awake, ye that have got a name to live, that are rich and think ye want nothing, not conſidering that ye are poor and blind, and naked; I counſel you to come and buy of Jeſus Chriſt gold, white raiment and eye-ſalve. But I hope there are ſome that are a little wounded. I hope God does not intend to let me preach in vain. I hope God will reach ſome of your precious ſouls, and awaked ſome of you out of your carnal ſecurity. I hope there are ſome that are willing to come to Chriſt, and beginning to think that they have been building upon a falſe foundation. Perhaps the devil may ſtrike in, and may bid you deſpair of mercy; but fear not: what I have been ſpeaking to you, is only out of love to you, is only to awaken you, and let you ſee your danger. If any of you are willing to be reconciled to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt is willing to be reconciled to you. O then, though ye have no peace as yet, come away to Jeſus Chriſt; he is our peace; he is our peace-maker; he has made peace between God and offending man. Would you have peace with God? Away then to God, through Jeſus Chriſt, who has purchaſed peace. The Lord Jeſus hath ſhed his heart's blood for this; he died for this; he roſe again for this; he aſcended into the higheſt heavens, and is now interceding at the right hand of God. Perhaps ye think there will be no peace for you: Why ſo? Becauſe ye are ſinners; becauſe ye have crucified Chriſt, ye have put him to open ſhame, ye have trampled under foot the blood of the Son of God. What of all this? yet there is peace for you. Pray, what did Jeſus Chriſt ſay to his diſciples, when he came to them the firſt day of the week? The firſt word he ſaid was Peace be unto you. He ſhewed them his hands and his feet, and ſaid, Peace be unto you: It is as much as if he had ſaid, fear not, my diſciples; … my hands and my feet, how they have been pierced for your ſake; therefore fear not. How did Chriſt ſpeak to his diſciples? Go tell my brethren, and tell broken hearted Peter in particular, that Chriſt is riſen: that he has aſcended unto his father and your father, to his God and your God. And after Chriſt roſe from the dead, he came preaching peace with an olive-branch of peace in his mouth as Noah's dove, My peace I leave with you. Who were obey? They were the enemies of Chriſt as well as we they were deniers of Chriſt once as well as we. Perhaps ſome of you have backſlidden and loſt your peace, and ye think ye deſerve no peace; and no more ye do: but then God will heal your backſlidings, he will love you freely. As for you that are wounded, if you are made willing to come to Chriſt, come away. Perhaps ſome of you want to dreſs yourſelves in your duties, that are but rotten rags. No, ye had better come naked, as ye are; for ye muſt throw aſide your rags, and come in your blood. Some of you may ſay, we would come, but we have got a hard heart: but ye will never get it ſoft till you come to Chriſt; he will take away the heart of ſtone, and give you a heart of fleſh he will ſpeak peace to your ſoul: though ye have betrayed him, yet he will be your peace. Shall I … upon any of you this morning to come to Jeſus Chriſt. …ere is a great multitude of ſouls here; how ſhortly m…ſt ye all die, and go to judgment; even before night, or to-morrow's night, ſome of you may be buried in this church-yard. And how will ye do if ye be not at peace with God! if the Lord Jeſus Chriſt has not ſpoken peace to your heart. If God ſpeak not peace to you here, ye will be damned for ever. I muſt not flatter you; my dear friends, I will deal ſincerely with your ſouls. Some of you may think I carry things too far: but indeed when ye come to judgment, ye will find this true, either to your eternal damnation or comfort. May God influence your hearts to come to him! I am not willing to go away without perſuading you. I cannot be perſuaded but God may make uſe of me as a mean of perſuading ſome of you to come to the Lord Jeſus Chriſt. O did you but feel the peace which they have that love the Lord Jeſus Chriſt;" Great peace have they, ſays the Pſalmiſt, that love thy law, nothing …hall offend them. But there is no peace to the wicked. I know what it is to live a life of ſin. I was obliged to ſin to ſtifle conviction. And I am ſure this is the way many of you take; if ye get into company, ye drive off conviction. But ye had better go to the bottom at once; it muſt be done, your, wound muſt be ſearched, or ye muſt be damned. If it were a matter of indifferency, I would not ſpeak one word about it: but ye will be damned without Chriſt; he is the way, he is the truth, and the life. I cannot think you ſhould go to hell without Chriſt. How can ye dwell with everlaſting burnings? How can ye abide the thought of living with the devil for ever; Is it not better to have ſome ſoul trouble here, than to be ſent to hell by Jeſus Chriſt hereafter? What is hell but to be abſent from Chriſt; If there were no other hell, that would be hell enough. It will be hell to be tormented with the devil for …ver. Get acquaintance with God then, and be at peace. I beſeech you as a poor worthleſs ambaſſador of Jeſus Chriſt, that ye would be reconciled to him. My buſineſs this morning, the firſt day of the week, is to tell you that Chriſt is willing to be reconciled to you. Will any of you be reconciled to Jeſus Chriſt? Then, he will forgive you all your ſins; he will blot out all your tranſgreſſions. But if ye will go on and rebel againſt Chriſt, and ſtab him daily; if ye will go on and abuſe Jeſus Chriſt, the wrath of God, ye muſt expect, will fall upon you. God will not be mocked; that which a man ſoweth, that ſhall … alſo reap. And if ye will not be at peace with God, God will not be at peace with you. Who can ſtand before God when he is angry. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. When the people came to apprehend Chriſt, they fell to the ground when Jeſus ſaid, I am he: and if they could not bear the fight of Chriſt when clothed with the rags of mortality, how will they bear the fight of him when he is on his Father's throne? Methinks I ſee the poor wretches dragged out of their graves by the devil, methinks I ſee them trembling, crying out to the hills and rocks to cover them. But the devil will ſay, Come, I will take you away; and then they will ſtand trembling before the judgment ſeat of Chriſt. They ſhall appear before him to ſee him once, and hear him pronounce that irrevocable ſentence, "Depart from me, ye curſed." Methinks I hear the poor creatures ſaying, Lord, if we muſt be damned, let ſome angel pronounce the ſentence. No, the God of love, Jeſus Chriſt, will pronounce it. Will ye not believe this? Do not think I am talking at random, but agreeable to the ſcriptures of truth. If ye do then ſhew yourſelves men, and this morning go away with full reſolution, in the ſtrength of God, to cleave to Chriſt. And may ye have no reſt in your ſoul till ye reſt in Jeſus Chriſt. I could ſtill go on, for it is ſweet to talk of Chriſt. Do ye not long for the time when ye ſhall have new bodies, when they ſhall be immortal, and made like Chriſt's glorious body, and then they will talk of Jeſus Chriſt for evermore. But it is time perhaps for you to go and prepare for your reſpective worſhip, and I would not hinder any of you. My deſign is to bring poor ſinners to Jeſus Chriſt. O that God may bring ſome of you to himſelf. May the Lord Jeſus now diſmiſs you with his bleſſing; and may the dear Redeemer convince you that are unawakened, and turn the wicked from the evil of their way. And may the love of God that paſſeth all underſtanding fill your heart. Grant this, O Father, for Chriſt's ſake, to whom with thee and the bleſſed Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. Amen.