life, in obedience to God, his word, and minifters, and in love and peace with one another. But alas! how far are our people from this courfe! Moft of them, in moft places, do fet their hearts on earthly things, and feek "not firft the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof," but look at holiness as a needless thing: Their families are prayerlefs, or elfe a few heartlefs lifelefs words muft ferve inftead of hearty fervent daily prayers [or perhaps only on the Lord's-day in the evening]; their children are not taught the knowledge of Chrift, and the covenant of grace, nor brought up in the nurture of the Lord, though they firmly promifed all this in their baptifm.

They inftruct not their fervants in the matters of falvation, but fo their work be done they care not. There are more railing fpeeches in their families than gracious words that tend to edification. How few are the families that fear the Lord, and inquire at his word and minifters how they fhould live, and what they should do, and are willing to be taught and ruled, and that heartily look after everlafting life! And those few that God hath made fo happy are commonly the by-word of their neighbours; when we fee fome live in drunkenness, and fome in pride and worldlinefs, and moft of them have little care of their falvation, though the cause be grofs and paft all controverfy, yet will they

hardly be convinced of their mifery, and more hardly recovered and reformed: but when we have done all that we are able to fave them from their fins, we leave the most of them as we find them. And if, according to the law of God, we caft them out of the communion of the church, when they have obftinately rejected all our admonitions, they rage at us as if we were their enemies, and their hearts are filled with malice against us, and they will fooner fet themselves against the Lord and his laws, and church, and minifters, than against their deadly fins. This is the doleful cafe of England: We have magiftrates that countenance the ways of godlinefs, and a happy opportunity for unity and reformation is before us, and faithful minifters long to fee the right ordering of the church and of the ordinances of God; but the power of fin in our people doth fruftrate almoft all. No where can almoft a faithful minifter fet up the unquestionable difcipline of Chrift, or put back the moft fcandalous impenitent finners from the communion of the church and participation of the facraments, but the most of the people rail at them and revile them; as if thefe ignorant carelefs fouls were wifer than their teachers, or than God himself. And thus in the day of our visitation, when God calls upon us to reform his church, though magiftrates feem willing,

and faithful minifters feem willing, yet are the multitude of the people ftill unwilling, and have fo blinded themfelves, and hardened their hearts, that, even in these days of light and grace, they are the obftinate enemies of light and grace, and will not be brought by the calls of God to fee their folly, and know what is for their good. O that the people of England "knew at leaft in this their day the things that belong unto their peace, before they are hid from their eyes! Luke xix. 42.

O foolish miferable fouls! Gal. iii. I. who hath bewitched your minds into fuch madness, and your hearts into fuch deadnefs, that you should be fuch mortal enemies to yourselves, and go on fo obstinately towards damnation, that neither the word of God, nor the perfuafions of men, can change your minds, or hold your hands, or ftop you, till you are past remedy! Well, finners! this life will not last always; this patience will not wait upon you ftill. Do not think that you fhall abufe your Maker and Redeemer, and ferve his enemies, and debafe your fouls, and trouble the world, and wrong the church, and reproach the godly, and grieve your teachers, and hinder reformation, and all this upon free coft. You know not yet what this must coft you, but you must shortly know, when the righteous God fhall take you in hand, who will handle you in another manner than the fharpeft magiftrates

or the plaineft-dealing pastors did, unless you prevent the everlafting torments by a found converfion, and a speedy obeying of the call of God. "He that hath an car to hear, let him hear," while mercy hath a voice to call.

One objection I find moft common in. the mouths of the ungodly, efpecially of late years they fay, "We can do nothing without God, we cannot have grace if God will not give it us; and, if he will, we shall quickly turn; if he have not predeftinated us, and will not turn us, how ean we turn ourselves or be faved; it is not in him that wills nor in him that runs." And thus they think they are excused.

I have anfwered this formerly, and in this book but let me now fay this much.

1. Though you cannot cure yourfelves, you can hurt and poifon yourselves. It is God that muft fanctify your hearts; but who corrupted them? Will you wilfully take poifon, becaufe you cannot cure yourfelves? Methinks you fhould the more forbear it. You fhould the more take heed of finning, if you cannot mend what fin doth mar. 2. Though you cannot be converted without the fpecial grace of God, yet you must know that God giveth his grace in the use of his holy means which he hath appointed to that end; and common grace may enable you to forbear your grofs finning (as to the outward act) and

to ufe thofe means. Can you truly fay, that you do as much as you are able to do? Are you not able to go by an alehoufedoor, or to forbear the company that hardeneth you in fin? Are you not able to hear the word, and think of what you heard when you come home, and to confider with yourselves of your own condition and of everlasting things? Are you not able to read good books from day to day, at least on the Lord's-day, and to converfe with thofe that fear the Lord? You cannot fay that you have done what you are able. 3. And therefore you must know that you can forfeit the grace and help of God by your wilful finning or negligence, though you cannot, without grace, turn to God. If you will not do what you can, it is juft with God to deny you that grace by which you might do more. 4. And, for God's decrees, you must know that they feparate not the end and means, but tie them together. God never decreed to fave any but the fanctified, nor to damn any but the unfanctified. God doth as truly decree whether your land, this year, fhall be barren or fruitful, and juft how long you shall live in the world, as he hath decreed whether you fhall be faved or not; and yet you would think that man but a fool that would forbear ploughing and sowing, and fay "If God have decreed that my ground fhall bear corn, it will bear, whether I plough and fow or not. If God have de