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as if he had faid, tell me, for the Lord's fake, and tell me quickly, whether there be any way of falvation, and where it lies, for I am a lost man, aǹ undone foul. But when the Lord opened the heart of Lydia, there were no fuch terrors, the Lord fpake to her in a more mild and gentle voice; as you fee ver. 14. The fpirit of God varies his method according to the temper of the foul he worketh on. Knotty pieces need greater wedges and harder blows to rive them afunder, and as he directs his minifters, Jude 22. to make a difference, to deal tenderly and compaffionately with fome; but others, to fave with fear; fo he himself obferveth like different methods.

3. Some knocks of Christ are fuccefsful, and obtain the defired effect. He knocks, and the foul opens; but others are unfuccessful; he knocks once, and again, by conviétions, which may cause the confcience, for the prefent, to ftartle a little, but there is no opening to Chrift by faith. O friends! this is of dreadful confideration; Prov. i. 24. "I called, and you refuf"ed; I ftretched out my hand, and no man regarded." There is a call without an anfwer, a knock, and no opening; and these things are very common, especially among the unconverted, that live under a lively golpel-rouling miniftry. Of this Chrift complains, Mat. xvi. 17. "Whereunto fhall I liken this generation? They are like unto children fitting in the mar "ket-place, and calling to their fellows, faying, We have pip"ed unto you, and you have not danced; we have mourned

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unto you, but you have not lamented:" q. d. Neither the delicious airs, and melody of gofpel-grace, nor the mournful, and dreadful threats of damnation to unbeliever?, avail any thing to open your hearts to embrace me; no voices from mount Gerezim, or mount Ebal, will prevail with you. how many fad witneffes unto this truth have I now before mine eyes! but God forbid it should be thus all round: no, no, there be fome fouls who hear, and open, even every one that hath heard, and learned of the Father, John vi. 45. when the fpirit of God puts forth his power with the word, then, and not till then, it becomes fuccessful.

4. Sometimes Chrift knocks with a thick fucceffion of convictions, a quick repetition of his calls. Some men have had thousands of convictions in a few years; for in this cafe the Lord faith, as it is Exod. iv. 8." If they will not hearken to "the voice of the first fign, yet they may believe the voice of "the latter fign." And yet fometimes neither the former, nor the latter avail any thing. "How oft would I have gathered "thy children, and ye would nos?" Mat. xxiii. 37. How often?

Intimating the many calls Chrift gave Jerufalem to come unto him, yet all in vain. Obftinate finners, Chrift hath been knocking, and calling at fome of your confciences, from your very childhood; thoufands of convictions have been tried upon fome of you, and yet, to this day, your fouls are shut faft against him. The Lord hath waited, from year to year, for your answer, by this fignifying how loath he is to part with you; such a time thou wait upon a fick bed, nigh unto death; at fuch a time under fuch a fermon, and then Chrift knocked at thy foul: if all this be in vain, fo many convictions as you have ftifled, fo many faggots you carry with you to hell, to increafe your flames, and torments. Yet commonly thofe quick repetitions, and redoublings of the ftrokes of convictions end well; and it is a good fign, when one conviction revives another, and the Lord keeps the foul ftill waking. But O take heed, and try not his patience too long, left the next stroke be more dreadful than all the former; not to open your hearts, but fmite dead your hopes for heaven.

5. Sometimes Chrift knocks intermittingly, knocking and ftopping, a call and filence, and that at a confiderable time and distance: a conviction this day, and, it may be, not another in many months. There be fome aged finners that have not had more than one or two remarkable rouzings of conscience in fif ty or fixty years time, and then no more; do not think that the Lord will make his spirit always ftrive with men, Gen. vi. 3. no, there is a time when God faith to the word, convict the confcience of that man or woman no more, not a ftroke more, by way of conviction, but henceforth be thou for obduration, not to open, but to fhut him up, Ifa. vi. 10. Reader, bethink thyfelf, how long was it fince thy confcience was roufed, and awakened? O faith one, feven or ten years ago I heard fuch a fermon which tore my confcience to pieces; I fell under fuch a providence, which roufed and awakened all my fears; but fince that time all hath been ftill, and quiet; the Lord give a fecond awakening, left you awake with the flames of God's wrath about you. I obferve, it is ufual, when God works upon any very early, he knocks thus intermittingly: now the confcience is active, and full of trouble, then the vanities of youth extinguish these convictions again; but the Lord follows his defign, and at laft the conviction fettles, and ends in converfion.

6. Chrift fometimes knocks with both hands at once, with the word, and with the rod together; the latter in fubferviency

to the former; and if ever the foul be like to open, it will open then, when ordinances and afflictions work together. The word fmites the confcience with conviction, and at, or about the fame time, providence fmites the outward man with fome -affliction, to make the word work effectually; or, under fome fmart affliction, a fuitable word is feasonably directed to the confcience and thus juncta juvant, the one affisteth the other, and both together produce the defired effect. Thus the Lord wrought upon the Theffalonians, 1 Thef. i. 6. " And ye be

came followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the "word in much affliction " A child dies, an estate is loft, or a fickness seizeth, at the time when confcience is prepared by a conviction from the word, or afflictions have prepared it for the word: the rod upon the back helps the word to work upon the heart, and if both thefe working in fellowship, will not do the work, there is little hope that any thing will do it.

7. Every knock of Chrift difturbs the finful reft of the foul; it roufeth guilt in the confcience, and puts the inner man into great diftrefs, and trouble. Before Chrift comes, and knocks at the door of the heart, all is ftill and quiet within; the foul is in a quiet fleep of finful fecurity, no fears or troubles moleft its reft. Luke xi. 21. "When a strong man armed keepeth his

palace, his goods are in peace; but when a ftronger than he "fhall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from

him all his armour wherein he trufted." The armour which Satan puts into the hands of finners, to defend themselves against the convictive ftrokes of the word, are the general mercy of God, the outward duties of religion, partial reformations, &c. But when Chrift comes by effectual conviction, he difarms the finner of all these pleas, and then the foul fees what broken reeds it leaned upon. "When the commandment came, (faith

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Paul) fin revived, and I died," Rom. vii. 9. i. e. all my vain hopes expired; no artifice of Satan can any longer quiet the finner's confcience; he apprehends himself in a miferable condition, meditates an efcape; farewel now to found and quiet fleep no peace, till out of danger.

8. Every effectual knock of Chrift gives an alarm to hell, and puts Satan to all his fhifts, and arts, to fecure the poffeffion of the convinced finner. The devil is a jealous fpirit, and when his interest is in danger, he beftirs himself to purpose; the time of conviction is an hour of temptation. "We wrestle not with flesh and blood, (faith the apoftle) but against principalities, a gainft powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this "world, against fpiritual wickedness, (or wicked fpirits) in

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"high-places," or about heavenlies, Eph. vi. 12. The ftrife betwixt fatan and the foul, is now for no lefs than the prize of eter nal life; it is now for all, or none; for life or death, for heaven or hell: The powers of hell are now all in arms to deftroy convictions, and fecure the poffeffion of the foul against Chrift; as when a granado falls into a garrifon, the firft care of the defendants is, to ftifle, and choak it before it break. Whilft Chrift is fpeaking by his Spirit in one ear, the devil is whispering in the other; and the things he whispers to quench convictions, are ufually fuch as thefe: It is time enough yet, what need fuch hafte? Enjoy thy pleafures a little longer, thou mayeft come to Chrift, and be faved at laft. If that will not do, then he changeth his voice: To what purpose wilt thou go to Chrift? It is now too late, the time of grace is over; hadft thou come to him in thy youth, and obeyed his first call, it had been fomewhat, but now it is to no purpofe. If this will not quiet the foul, then he faith, Thy fins are too great to be pardoned, there is no hope for fuch a prodigious finner as thou art. If the Lord help the foul to overcome this, by difcovering to it the riches of mercy, pardoning the greatest of finners; then he reprefents the multitudes which are in the fame cafe with the convinced finner; Come, fear not, if it go ill with thee, it will be as bad for millions of men and women; if thou go to hell, thousands will go with thee: But if the foul be loath to be damned for company, then he bids it look upon the train of troubles and afflictions that come along with Chrift, and will certainly follow him, if the door be open to let him in: If Christ come in, reproaches, loffes, and fufferings, will certainly come in with him; troops of miferies and calamities follow him; himfelf hath told thee fo, and art thou mad, to ruin all thy comforts in the world, and plunge thyfelf into a fea of trouble for what thine eyes never faw? But if the foul reply, thefe are more tolerable than damnation, better my flesh fuffer for a time, than my foul be caft away for ever; then he represents the infuperable difficulties of religion, what a hard thing it is to be faved, how many painful duties and acts of mortification the foul muft pafs through. Thus you fee what an alarm conviction gives to the powers of hell.

9. Every effectual knock of Chrift is followed on, and new convictions revive old and former ones, and the Lord never leaves knocking till the door be opened; if one fermon will not do, another shall; if one wound be plantered and healed by the art of fatan, a fresh wound fhall be made; if a former conviction vanish, the next fhall be fealed upon the foul; and

when the Spirit of the Lord fealeth a conviction upon the confcience, raze it out who can ? And here is the difference betwixt special and common convictions; common convictions come and go, they put the foul in a fright for a day or a month, and then trouble it no more for ever; but special convictions will be continued, one thing backs another; for Christ is in pursuit of the foul, and will give it chase, till at last he overtake, and come up with it.

10. Lastly, All the knocks of Chrift ceafe and end, when the finner's day of grace is ended; this is of dreadful confideration; when the time of mercy is over, no more strivings of the Spirit with a man, after that. Chrift faith to the drowsy finner, as he spake to the drowsy difciples in the garden, Sleep on now, and take your reft. So here, I called thee in fuch a fermon, but thou heardest not; by fuch a providence, but thou obeyedit not; fleep on now and take thy reft: "My

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people would not hearken to my voice, and Ifrael would none of me; fo I gave them up to their own hearts luft, to "walk in their own counsels," Pfal. lxxxi. 11, 12. q. d. I have done with them, the treaty is ended, I will make no more effays towards their converfion and falvation. So I gave them up. Methinks it founds as much as this, take them fin, take them devil, I will have no more to do with him. So Hosea iv. 17. * Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.". His heart is glued faft to fin, he is enamoured upon other lovers, let him alone. O beloved, it is a dreadful thing for God to fay, let this man alone in his formality, and that man in his carnal fecurity. Let not this be mifapplied by poor, trembling fouls under conviction: I know the fear of this judgment is upon their hearts, nothing makes them tremble more than left the day of grace be ended with them. But there is no ground for this fear, whilst the Spirit continues convincing, and the foul trembling left his convictions should prove ineffectual. Thus much of the nature, inftruments, and manner of Chrift's knocking at the door of a finner's heart. Our way is now opened to a fruitful application of this point, which I will wind up in divers neceffary uses. I. Ufe, for Information.

And firft, The point before us will be useful for information, in the following inferences, and deductions.

Infer. 1. Into how deep a fleep hath fin caft the fouls of finners, that Chrift must stand so long, and give fuch loud repeated knocks, before it will awake and open to him? There is the fpirit of a deep fleep fallen upon men, like that into which God caft Adam; God fpeaks once, yea, twice, but man re

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