Eighteen Sermons, Sermon 14
SERMON XIV.
Neglect of Chriſt the killing Sin.
JOHN v. ver. 40.
And ye will not come to me that ye may have life.
THE great apoſtle of the Gentiles, after he had ſet before the Hebrews the great cloud of witneſſes of Old Teſtament believers, exhorts them to look higher, even to Jeſus the common Saviour, and that not tranſiently, but earneſtly and conſtantly, in his mediatorial character of humiliation, as enduring unheard of, unparallelled contradiction of ſinners againſt himſelf; leaſt, ſays he, ye be weary, and faint in your minds. If we had not ſuch an example ſet before us, and brought to us by the Holy Ghoſt in a ſuffering hour, we ſhould never hold out to the end: this was not the contradiction of the openly profane and ſcandalous, thoſe that were without, ſo much as from thoſe that were within the pale of the church, even thoſe to whom were committed the lively oracles of God, who had not only the very bible in their own hands, but were ſet apart to explain it to others. That the words of our text were ſpoken to them, appears from the preceding verſe, in which he bids them ſearch the ſcriptures; as a perſon digs for a mine, or ſearches for ſome hidden treaſure. The word bible, or book which I have in my hand, is well applied to the holy ſcriptures, becauſe it is the book of God, written by him, that is, by his order, and by thoſe who were inſpired by him for that end; and yet, of all writings in the world, theſe are moſt neglected! God has condeſcended to become an author, and yet people will not read his writings. There are very few that ever gave this book of God, the grand charter of ſalvation, one fair reading through: though we profeſs to have aſſented to the truth of ſcripture, as our Lord ſaid, in them we think we have eternal life, yet moſt read them as they would a proclamation, a romance, a play, or novels, that help only to bring them to the devil, but chuſe not to read God's book, which is to be our guide to glory; they are they, ſays Chriſt, which teſtify of me: Lord God convert and change our hearts.
However, this was ſpoken in reference to the Old Teſtament, and certainly ſhows us, that Chriſt is the treaſure hid in that field, yet as there are equal proofs of the divinity of the New Teſtament, the word Holy Scriptures include both, eſpecially as Chriſt is the antitype of all the types, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all divine revelation: would to God he was your Alpha and Omega too! Now, ſaith Chriſt, you pretend to reverence the ſcriptures; you that are ſet apart as perſons learned in the ſcriptures, ye Scribes, ye lawyers, ſuch as were mentioned in the goſpel to-day. I fancy ſome people think, that when we read of lawyers in the ſcriptures, that we mean ſuch lawyers as ours, who deal only in the civil and common law, but they were thoſe that opened and explained the law to the people; theſe were the perſons who thought and profeſſed, that in them they had eternal life, that they teſtify of Chriſt the great Prophet that was promiſed in the ſcriptures to come into the world; yet ſaith our divine maſter, to theſe very profeſſors theſe maſters in Iſrael, ye will not come to me that ye may have life: though I am now preſent with you, though I am now come to explain the ſcriptures, and fulfil them, am now come to proclaim to you that life, that eternal life, which the ſcriptures declare were to be publiſhed and proclaimed by me, yet ye will not come unto me that ye may have life.
By eternal life we are to underſtand, all the bleſſings of a converted ſtate, particularly the pardon of ſins, not only before converſion but after. It is impoſſible but there ſhould be ſin every day and every hour in every profeſſing perſon. My dear hearers, as I ſhall not have an opportunity for ſometime to ſpeak to you, I don't chuſe, eſpecially when I am about to take my leave of you, to ſpeak any thing that is ſevere, but I aſſure you without attempting to offend, with a broken heart I aſſure you, that this was the treatment Jeſus Chriſt met with of old, and God knows, this is the treatment Jeſus Chriſt meets with now: ye will not come to me that ye may have eternal life.
If I am not miſtaken, and I think I am not, the words ſuppoſe, that they and we are all dead in ſin, for if we are not, I do not know why we need come to have life; and I mention this, becauſe for want of believing and knowing this, ſome that pretend to know Chriſt and to preach him, forget to lay the proper foundation, original ſin; and that there is no ability or inclination in the heart of a natural man, ſo much as to do any thing ſpiritual; he is ſtupid and dead. But if we have eyes to ſee, if we have ears to hear, and if our hearts are not waxed hard, doubtleſs it would appear as clear to us as the ſun ſhining in its meridian brightneſs, that man was dead till God breathed into him the breath of life, and then he became a living ſoul. I know ſome people believe that the words mean this, that God breathed into man, and he became a natural living ſoul, like other animals, but then they don't conſider what a life God did breath into the ſoul, he breathed into it the life of God, a ſpiritual life was breathed into the ſoul; it is expreſſed in the ſtrongeſt, but at the ſame time in the moſt conciſe terms that is poſſible, none but God, none but a man inſpired by God, could ſay ſo much in ſo few words; it ſhows great ſkill in men to ſay ſo much in a little; what uninſpired man ever wrote ſo as Moſes did? Now Moſes when he penned the ſcriptures ſaid, God made man after his own image, and you know ten thouſand volumes could not have ſaid more than that. How long do you think it was that man continued in his original purity? I don't know that I ever yet heard, that any one thought he continued in his bleſſed ſtate ſo long as from Saturday to Saturday. Mr. Boſton, who, perhaps, is one of the beſt writers that ever Scotland produced, ſays, that there is an alluſion in one of the Pſalms to man's ſudden fall, Man being born in honor, continued not; i. e. but a night before he fell. O much good may do thoſe that boaſt of their free-will, that think they can ſtand by a power of their own, when father Adam, who had no corruption, did not ſtand a week, perhaps not two days; and how can we pretend to ſtand, let us have what grace we will, when that grace has ſo much corruption to oppoſe it? if Jeſus Chriſt did not take care to ſecure our ſtanding, we ſhould fall to our ruin. Adam fell, and being our federal head, we fell in him. Why, ſays a Deiſt, and too many profeſſors alſo, pray what buſineſs had God Almighty to make our fall or our ſtanding depend on another? you will not object to this you church of England men, will you? then why have you god-fathers and god-mothers to promiſe for you? why have we members of parliament to be the heads of the people, and what the parliament does, the people do, you have conſtituted them your heads and repreſentatives, you muſt ſtand and fall by them; ſo if you are bound for a perſon, you muſt ſtand and fall with him, muſt not you? I remember one of the miniſters that preached the morning exerciſes, when moſt, if not all the churches in this city, were filled with goſpel-preachers, till on Bartholomew-day near 2,500 of them in the whole were turned out, and the other miniſters that did not preach the goſpel continued till the plague came, and then they ran away, and left the pulpits to thoſe that were turned out, who were willing to go into them, though they expected the plague would ſeize them in preaching Chriſt there; one of thoſe miniſters ſays, ſuppoſe God had choſe all that were to be created, and to proceed from the loins of Adam, had been preſent, and that he ſhould have ſaid to them, I have been ſeven days employed in preparing the whole creation; I have made a garden, and will have one choſe by you to dwell in it, as my vicegerent and your repreſentative here below; here is Adam, the father of you all, whom I have bleſſed with a partner, that is bone of his bone, and fleſh of his fleſh, a creature like himſelf; all that I deſire of your head and repreſentative is, that he abſtains from yonder tree, of every other tree in the garden he may freely eat except that; this I ordain as a teſt of his obedience, to ſee whether it is fulfilled, and you ſhall all ſtand or fall by this; who ſhall be the man? would they not all ſay, our firſt parent to be ſure. O there is not a ſingle man but would have choſen Adam to be their repreſentative, they would rather ſtand and fall by him than by any body elſe; now pray why ſhould we quarrel with him for acting in the manner we ourſelves ſhould have done, had we been in his ſituation? God, faith the apoſtle, included all under ſin. What is ſin but a breach, that is, a tranſgreſſion of the law; the wages of ſin is death; every tranſgreſſion of the law incurs damnation. Have we eaten of the forbidden fruit? We muſt die, we are legally dead; and there is not a little child in the world that is not. It is enough to make the parents pray night and day for their children; there is not a child born but, to uſe the words of our own church, brings in with it corruption, which renders it liable to the wrath of God forever. Then, ſay ſome, it is true what I have heard ſay of you, that there are little children in hell a ſpan long; I never had ſuch a thought in my life; I never believed that any infants, black or white, were damned in hell. I think a poor child though it is born in a ſtate of original ſin, and I have often thought that is the reaſon why little children are ſeized with ſuch terrible diſorders as often carry them out of the world, with ten times more agony than parents feel: a great proof of man's offence. We ſee a poor little infant ſoon after it is born, in two or three months taken with fits, lie ſcreaming and ſtruggling, while the diſtreſſed parents are breaking their hearts, and wiſhing, though they love it dearly, that God would take it out of its pain. Is not this a ſtrong proof that man is fallen from God? elſe who can tell what God deſigns hereby: however, I verily believe that by his grace be fits them for heaven. We have broken God's law, and are liable to eternal condemnation, we are therefore legally dead, every one of us without diſtinction; we are all upon a level, from the greateſt king in the world, who has it in his power to write death or life upon the poor condemned malefactors; bring him to the bar of God's holy law, and it will tell him there, thou art the malefactor in the ſight of God, thou thyſelf, and thus God is glorified. It is not greatneſs of ſtation, nor external differences, that make a difference in the internal ſtate of the ſoul. A nobleman may come with his ſtar and garter to the king's bar, and be tried by his peers at Weſtminſter-hall, and may be attended from the Tower by ſome of the king's officer's, but whether a nobleman be tried at Weſtminſter hall, or a criminal in rags at the Old-Bailey, the law muſt be executed upon both: this is our ſtate towards God, we have lived in treſpaſſes and ſins, are legally dead now; is that all? Dr. Taylor, of Norwich, ſays, that all the loſs we have had by the fall is, that our miſery is temporary. Alas! alas! when Arminians talk of the fall, you will find very few of them have courage enough to ſtab themſelves. Conſcience makes them cowards; they have loſt all by Adam's fall. What death have we ſuffered, not only legally but ſpiritually dead; what do I mean by that? why, that we are deprived of that life of God in which we originally ſtood. Have you ever ſeen any body die? I have. Have you ever ſeen one of your friends die? have you ever ſtole into the room, and looked but once at the dear object of your love, the partner of your life, but wait till the next day, and eſpecially in the ſummer ſeaſon, and ſee how changed! the laſt object I ſaw, put me in mind of the fall I ſaw nature in. O what a change! the glory is departed!
But beſides this legal death, there is a ſpiritual death, and the conſequence of that is eternal death; if I die in that ſtate I muſt die forever; that is, I muſt be a creature living eternally baniſhed from God: if I be annihilated when I die, then, indeed, temporal death is all; but it is not ſo, I am to live in another world; the wiſeſt man upon earth tells us, that there is a future ſtate; and therefore by legal and ſpiritual death, I am liable to death eternal. I have the longer inſiſted on this, becauſe it is impoſſible to know, or to value that life that Jeſus Chriſt came into the world to impart to us and procure for us, without conſidering the nature of the death he delivers us from.
Now let us attend to what our Lord ſays, Ye will not come to me that ye may have live: in the tenth chapter he ſays, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly: now what life is that? to be ſure, the life which a malefactor wants, who is tried by a jury; why, he wants to have the chain taken off; what do you and I want? for we may want to eternity if we plead our innocence; there is not one of us but muſt plead guilty before God; well, what muſt I do? why, if ever I have life, I muſt be acquitted, ſomething muſt pronounce me not guilty; my conſcience ſays, guilty; why, then Jeſus Chriſt came that we might have a legal life, that we might be acquitted from all that condemnation which we are under by our breaking his law; ſo far the remedy anſwers to the diſeaſe; but the remedy would not be extenſive enough if that was all; therefore, it was an excellent anſwer a poor woman made at the Old-Bailey, I heard of it twenty years ago: ſhe was brought ſick to the bar to receive a pardon; the judge ſaid, Woman, his majeſty has given you a pardon: My lord, ſays ſhe, I thank his majeſty for a pardon, and you for pronouncing it, but that is not all I want; what my poor ſoul wants is, a pardon from Jeſus Chriſt; what ſignifies a pardon from a judge, if I have a diſeaſe in me that will kill me? whether I am pardoned or not, I muſt have my diſeaſe cured, that the pardon may do me good. I thought it a ſtrange plea of a man, a captain of a ſhip, that I heard tried ſome years ago for throwing a poor negro overboard; he aſked the ſurgeon, do you think that the child will die? Sir, ſaid he, it will not live above an hour; then, ſays he, you may let it down now: O, ſays the judge, you have murdered the child. I muſt have a pardon from my God, or I am damned; and if I have loſt the divine image, which was the original dignity of man, I ſhall never get to glory without the reſtoration of that image I have loſt by my ſin. Spiritual life in the heart, is that which comes from Jeſus Chriſt, and this is the life of God in the ſoul of man; it is not a metaphorical but a real thing, a reſurrection to life by the power of Chriſt, who is the reſurrection and the life, ſo there is a connection between a legal and a ſpiritual life; the type and antitype anſwers as face anſwers to face in water: thus as all in Adam have died, ſo all in Jeſus Chriſt, the ſecond Adam, are made alive. We are apt to think that ſuch a one, and ſuch a one, were ſound chriſtians and gone to heaven, but there is a great deal of falſe charity in the world; without this life we are all undone.
Now, my brethren, if this is the caſe, how muſt I have my life in glory; how muſt a dead creature be a Chriſtian? how muſt a ſinner that is ſpiritually dead have divine life? and how muſt a creature, every moment liable to death eternal, be made eternally alive? can any body anſwer that queſtion? will reaſon tell me? no; will philoſophy help me? no; for if the world by wiſdom knew not God, ſurely, the world by wiſdom knows not how to turn to God; therefore, you will find the greateſt ſcholars the greateſt fools, proudeſt deiſts, and moſt ſcornful atheiſts; for knowledge puffeth up; and if bare knowledge makes a chriſtian, the devil muſt be very good, he is the moſt knowing, and yet the moſt wicked. The only way to get this life reſtored, is to come to Jeſus Chriſt; ye will not come unto me, ſaith our text, that ye may have life; implying, that without coming to him they cannot have life: there is no other name given under heaven whereby we can be ſaved, but that of Jeſus Chriſt. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the reſurrection and the life, ſaith the Lord. In order to have this life, we muſt come to Chriſt for it: I hope you don't think coming to Chriſt, means coming to ſee his perſon, that can never be; for our Lord talks of coming to him when he himſelf was the preacher, and they were all about him; though ſo many round him, yet there was but one that touched him. A great many people ſay, dear, if Chriſt was here, how would I careſs him! I would let him in! when, perhaps, at the ſame time turn out one of his members. Would you like to ſee Jeſus Chriſt with a parcel of boys and girls running before him, a parcel of poor fiſhermen with him, and Mary Magdalen, with a mob of poor people and publicans following him? we have got the ſame ſpirit the people had then, we ſhould hoot at him and deſpiſe him, as the Phariſees did. A great many people think coming to Chriſt is to come to the ſacrament; you know very well I love that privilege; and one of the greateſt afflictions I have is, that my health will not permit me to attend all the ordinances; but thouſands come to ordinances that have no view of the God of ordinances in them, therefore you will find, that in all our public places it is as much the faſhion to go to public worſhip about eleven o'clock, as any where elſe. They are not up time enough to their mattins; they go and ſay, we thank God, who has brought us to the beginning of this day, and that when perhaps the clock ſtrikes twelve, and they juſt up; thus people go to church as to a play, to ſee and be ſeen, and as ſoon as they go out of church, they aſk where they are to go to next, and what party? Thouſands go to church, or to meeting, and ſacrament, and don't come to Chriſt: come and like this preaching, and numbers who are called fools for following us, eat the fragments that are left, that hear preaching, eat the fiſh and the loaves, and are only feaſting upon ſhadows and not upon Chriſt: this would make us extremely careful to examine whether we ever came to Chriſt or no. A great moral preacher ſays of our preaching, when all their ſtock is out, then they cry come, come, come, and that is the burden of their ſong, ſay they; and I hope that will be the burden of ur ſong till Chriſt ſays, Come ye bleſſed of my Father; what would you have us ſay? O, ſay you, bid a man do and live, ſo we will; and in the ſame ſenſe Chriſt in the goſpel ſays, thou art dead; what ſhall I do, ſays the man, to inherit eternal life? thou knoweſt our Lord ſaid to him, Keep the law. Our Lord always ſpoke to the people in their own language; that is, thou ſhalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart; he began with morality at the right place, we begin at the fifth commandment. The great morality, ſays Dr. Young, is beginning with the love of God. Thou ſhalt love thy neighbour as thyſelf: thou haſt anſwered right, ſays he, do this, and thou ſhalt live. Whoever loves the Lord God as he ought to do, with all his ſoul and ſtrength, ſhall certainly live; but our Lord takes pains to convince him of his ignorance and folly; ſays he, who is my neighbour? as to the love of God, he had no thought of that. Thus we deceive our own ſouls, till Jeſus Chriſt opens our eyes. What muſt we come to Chriſt for? to be acquitted; come to his blood to be pardoned; you muſt believe on him, not only with a bare ſpeculative belief, that the devil has, and all the damned in hell, but to have his blood applied and brought home to the ſoul; we muſt come to him as the author and finiſher of our faith. Did not you juſt now ſay, I believe in the Holy Ghoſt, the Lord and giver of life; and the form of baptiſm is in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt; it means, baptize them into the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt: and I remember about three or four and thirty years ago, a friend mentioned that word in private converſation to me, we tranſlate it, we believe in God; ſaid he, we ſhould tranſlate it, we believe it in God, for we never do till God has put his faith in us, then we have in our ſouls a new life in Chriſt, then we live a life of faith; the life I now live, is by faith in the Son of God. I live, yet not I, but Chriſt liveth in me. In order to this I muſt come to Jeſus Chriſt, and believe on him for life eternal, the earneſt of which eternal life I muſt have in my heart before I can be aſſured I do believe on him. O, my dear hearers, do we think of this, this is no new doctrine; I ſet out, bleſſed be God, with this doctrine. The ſecond ſermon I ever made, the ſecond ſermon I ever preached, was on theſe words, He that is in Chriſt is a new creature: I was then about twenty years and a half old. The next ſermon I preached was upon, Ye are juſtified; the next ſermon, Ye are glorified; which ſhows, that though I am near fifty-five years old, yet, I thank my God, I am ſo far from changing my principles, which I am ſure I was taught by God's word and Spirit, that I am more and more confirmed, that if I was to die this moment, I hope I ſhould have ſtrength and courage given me to ſay, I am more convinced of the efficacy and the power of thoſe truths which I preached when I was twenty years old, when I firſt preached them.
Now, my dear hearers, what could enter into the heart of any perſon in the world, to reject ſuch a ſalvation as this? can you think that when a king ſaith to a priſoner, let him go, he would refuſe it? there are ſome perſons that refuſe Chriſt. I remember when, by the bounty of the people here, we begged for the poor, one man went to the turnpike and ſaid, this is Dr. Whitefield's bread and be damned. Human nature, what is it without Chriſt, the bread of life! We will not come to him that we may have life, though we may have it for aſking; no, not for life eternal, as a free gift: we will not come to Chriſt and accept it at his hand; we will not: it is not ſaid, we ſhall not, but we will not. Pray why will not people come to Chriſt to have life? becauſe they do not think that they are dead, and do not want it; remember when you ſay, you are rich and increaſed in goods, that you know not, ſaith Chriſt, that ye are poor and miſerable, and blind and naked. We do not ſee ourſelves fallen creatures, we do not know that; God give thee to know and feel, that there is no name given under heaven whereby we can be ſaved, but Jeſus Chriſt. What ſaith one, muſt I have inward feeling? what would the polite world do without feeling? do you think they would go to the play-houſe and places of public diverſion without feeling? if I can feel other things that do not concern religion, how can I come to God till I feel a need o… him. We don't chuſe to come to … as a free gift; we don't like to come to him as poor and needy. I remember I heard an excellent miniſter of Chriſt in Scotland, one Mr. Wallis, of Dundee, preaching upon theſe words, Behold I ſtand at the door and knock, ſays he. Chriſt comes knocking at the door to come into your houſes, but you will not come down to accept of his mercy. When the prodigal ſaid, I will ariſe and go to my Father, and will ſay unto him, I have ſinned againſt heaven and in thy ſight, and am no more worthy to be called thy ſon, make me as one of thy hired ſervants: now you think that it was very humble in him, he who was a ſon of the head of the houſe, to be willing to be a ſervant. 'Tis true he ſays, I will go to my father's houſe, but at the ſame time he ſays, I will work for my living, he ſhall not maintain me for nothing; but when he comes to his father, he is quite brought down, he ſays, I have ſinned againſt heaven and in thy ſight; the joyful father claſps him in his withered arms, and takes the poor ragged wanderer home. The lawyers and other Jews thought they were righteous, and therefore they would not come to Jeſus Chriſt. Our Lord ſpoke of the Phariſees, who truſted in themſelves that they were righteous, and would not come to him that they might have life; and if we truſt in ourſelves, neither ſhall we. Our Lord ſays, I receive not honor from men. How can you come to him, that receive honor one of another? Honor to whom honor is due. To ſuch as are in power, whether in church or ſtate, reſpect is due to their outward ſituation. I am for no levelling principles at all; but, my brethren, at the ſame time there is a fault, that we love to be applauded. There is no going to heaven, ſaith Mr. Gurnal, without wearing a fool's cap and a fool's coat, and there is no going to heaven without being accounted fools: you ſee many profeſſors follow the world, they have not courage enough to live in holy non-conformity to the world; and many people are frightned from Chriſt, becauſe they would not be counted Methodiſts; the fear of men has damned thouſands. You will not come to him, becauſe you cannot truſt God, and then we love the world more than Chriſt. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. If I had the management of people, their ſhops would be open three or four hours before they are now; I do not want to hinder men's buſineſs; thoſe that have moſt money and moſt power, if they acted as they ought to do, would be the greateſt ſlaves to their fellow-creatures. When I talk of loving the world, I mean an inordinate love: I may live in the world and not live upon it; my heart may be towards God: the love of the world is to be renounced, and therefore they will not come to Jeſus Chriſt they think, till they are going out of the world. If you are one of thoſe who hate Chriſt, why you are the man that will not come to him: why, ſay you, does any body hate Chriſt? pray hold your tongue, for fear of diſcovering your ignorance: O, ſay you, God forbid I ſhould hate him. But, my dear ſoul learn from this time forward, that every one of us by nature hates Jeſus Chriſt: we ſent this meſſage to him; we will not have this man to reign over us, we hate him becauſe he is deſpiſed, we hate him becauſe of the appearance of the people that are his followers, we hate him becauſe of the narrowneſs of the way we are to paſs in to him, becauſe we muſt part with our luſts; we hate him becauſe we muſt be non-conformiſts: I hate that rag of the whore of Babylon, O that form of prayer, O all that ſtuff, I thank God I was born a Diſſenter, I love to be a Puritan, I don't love rites and ceremonies, no not in the church, and yet, perhaps, are more conformed to the world than numbers of the church, and have nothing but rites and ceremonies about their houſes and families. What do we more than others? a churchman ſhould prove himſelf a churchman, by having his articles, and keeping up the practice of religion; and a Diſſenter ſhould prove himſelf one, not by diſſenting from the church, but from the luſts of the fleſh, the luſts of the eye, and the pride of life, and then we ſhall agree very well together, though one went to a place called a church, and another to a place called a meeting: would to God every ſoul now preſent would put this queſtion to himſelf, Am I come to Chriſt, or am I not? There is a great number of perſons here, you have heard of Providence calling me abroad, no doubt curioſity brings many of you here; to hear what the poor babler ſays: I tell you what I will ſay to you, that without you have an intereſt in the Son of God, you muſt be damned. Examine yourſelves whether you are in the faith, whether your religion reaches any further than the church-door, whether you are the inward court worſhippers: conſcience, conſcience, conſcience, thou faithful monitor, God help thee to give a proper verdict. When I had the honor of opening lady Huntingdon's chapel, as I turned about I obſerved over my head were theſe words, Earth, earth, earth, hear t… word of the Lord: O that every earthly ſoul may hear God's word this day. Don't be angry with me, I am now upon the decline of life, going toward threeſcore, ſurely now I may claim leave to ſpeak to you freely; after next Sunday, perhaps, you may never hear me any more, though I do not intend to live abroad, but return if pleaſe God, in a proper time, but long before that thou mayſt be in hell or heaven. As the Lord lives, in whoſe name I ſpeak, if you will not come to Chriſt to have life, you muſt come to his bar to hear him pronounce you damned to all eternity. If you come to him that you may have life, Come, ye bleſſed, will be the ſentence there, but if you refuſe now, Depart, ye curſed, will be your ſentence then from the Lord, for in a little while he that ſhall come will come, and will not tarry. Hark! hark! don't you hear him, don't you hear him, don't you hear him yonder; hark! methinks I hear him, what does he ſay? ſee yonder, don't you ſee, good people, that yonder ſun is darkened, and the moon turned into blood. O, who can abide the day of his coming? O, to think of his coming, may the ſinner ſay, when I know his coming is only to damn my ſoul! How do the murderers dread the aſſizes, but pardoned ſinners, pardoned criminals, are glad when they hear the high-ſheriff coming: O, ſay they, I long to go to the bar, becauſe I am going there only to plead the king's pardon. Happy, happy, happy you, that have come to this Jeſus Chriſt that you might have life, that you might walk becoming him in your life and converſation. O, Chriſt will come, and come to you as his children; but God grant this life may be diſplayed in you and me more and more! If we are helped to know that Chriſt came that we might have life, and might have it more abundantly, O, pray that others may come, bring your children to Chriſt. I was pleaſed one day after I had been preaching on Moſes lifting up the ſerpent in the wilderneſs, I think it was in New-England, I was taken up into a room to repoſe myſelf, there was a mantle-piece, repreſenting the children brought in the arms of their parents to look at the brazen ſerpent: O may God help you to bring your children and your relations to view Chriſt. O Lord help my mother, my father, my child, my ſervant, to come to Jeſus Chriſt that they may have life. The Lord help you to come, come young people. O I was charmed this morning, and every morning I give the ſacrament, to ſee ſo many young men there crouding to the table; may the Spirit of God keep you near to Jeſus Chriſt; and you young women, may God draw you nearer unto Chriſt. I remember when God touched my heart, and ſent me down to ſee my friends in the country, I prayed God to bleſs me to thoſe to whom I was called to dance and to play at cards, and, bleſſed be God, he bleſſed me to them all before I was twenty years of age, and after that he ſent me to a priſon, and I there preached to a murderer, and ſome others, and, bleſſed be God, they came to Jeſus Chriſt, and one of them went off moſt triumphantly. A poor creature, fourſcore years of age, who has made it a practice to go and read to poor people, and to the priſoners, ſaid, "Sir, I began late, but by the help of God, I now work the harder for Jeſus Chriſt." May he incline you to come, O young women and young men. There was a good woman who died ſometime ago, whoſe laſt word I think was, I now go to my God. Will you come and go too, you old grey-headed ſinners, that have one foot in the grave, God help you to go, God remove every obſtacle; God grant that every mountain may be brought low, and a highway made into your hearts for Jeſus Chriſt. Don't be angry with me; in a week or two I ſhall be toſſing on the ocean, while you are hearing God's word here; while I am amidſt ſtorms and tempeſts, you will be upon the earth. Paul could ſtand the whipping, but it is not a whipping, but weeping, that breaks my heart; my greateſt trial is, what if this ſermon ſhould help to ſink theſe people deeper in the pit, that makes my blood run cold. O that my ſermon may never riſe in judgment againſt you, my poor dear ſouls. I believe you find it hard when any of you are forced to be witneſſes againſt your own children, your own friends, and whoever deals with the word with diſintereſted ſpirit, muſt do it; the only way to prevent it, is to come to Chriſt; and if you cannot come, if you are ſenſible of it, God be praiſed; he will come to you if you cannot come to Chriſt, he will come and make you willing in the day of his power; that this may be the happy caſe, God grant to us all, for his name's ſake. Amen.