terruptions and over-awings by the fears of a judgment to come, and a righteous retribution from a juft and terrible God! Examine your hearts in that point, and you will foon find the cheat to be in that I here point you to: you have not studied the word impartially, nor brought your doubts and scruples with an humble, unbiaffed, teachable fpirit to those that are wife and able to refolve them, much lefs prayed for the Spirit of illumination; but willingly entertained whatever atheistical wits invent, or the devil fuggefts, as a denfenfative against the checks of conscience, and fears of hell, in the way of fin. You are loath those things fhould be true, which the fcriptures fpeak, and are glad of any colourable argument or pretence to fill your own confciences. Is not this the cafe? The Lord ftop your defperate courfe; your paths lead to hell.

The ninth way of lofing the precious foul opened.

IX. Precious fouls are daily plunged into the gulph of perdition by profaneness and debauchery. How many every where lie wallowing in this puddle? glorying in their fhame, and running into all excefs of riot? The hypocrite fteals to hell in a private close way of concealed fin; but the profane gallop along the public road at noon-day; "They declare their fin as Sodom, "and hide it not ;" Ifa. iii. 9. "The fhew of their countenance "teftifieth against them." The hypocrite hath devotion in, his countenance, and heaven in his mouth; you know not by his words and countenance, whither he is going; but the profane hide it not, they are past shame, and above blushing at the most horrid impieties. Look, as God hath fome fervants more eminent, forward, and couragious in the ways of godliness than o thers, men that will not hide their principles, or be ashamed of the ways of godlinefs in the face of danger; fo the devil hath fome fervants as eminent for wickednefs, who scorn to sneak to hell by concealment of their wickedness, but avow and own it, without fear or fhame, in the open fight of heaven and earth. Wherever they come, they defile the air they breathe in with horrid blafphemies and obfcene discourses not to be named, and leave a strong scent of hell behind them.

This age hath brought forth multitudes of these monfters, the reproach and shame of the nation that bred them. I have little hope to ftop any of them in their career and full speed to hell. They have loft the fenfe of fin, the restraints of shame and fear; and then what is left to check them in their courfe? I cannot hope that such a discourse as this fhall ever come into their hands, except it be to facrifice it to the flames; yet not knowing the ways of providence, which are unfearchable, and VOL. III. Naa

what ufe God may make upon one occafion or another of these following confiderations, I will adventure to drop a few words upon thefe forlorn finners, as far as they feem to be gone beyond recovery; befeeching the Lord to make way for these things to their hands and hearts, and make them the inftruments of pulfing fome of them as brands out of the burning.

The ninth way to hell, by profaneness, flopt.

1. And first, let it be laid to heart, that though the cafe and ftate of many thousand fouls be doubtful and uncertain, so that neither themselves, nor any other know what they are, or to whom they belong! yet thy condition, O profane finner, is without controverfy, miferable and forlorn; all men know whofe you are, and whither you are going. The apostle appeals, in this cafe, to the bar of every man's reafon and confcience, as a thing allowed and yielded by all, Eph, v. 5. "For this ye know (faith "he,) that no whoremonger, nor unclean perfon, nor covetous # man, who is an idolator, hath any inheritance in the kingdom " of Chrift and of God." This is a clear cafe, there is no controverfy about it. Many there be in a doubtful case, but no doubt of thefe, they are faft and fure in the power of Satan; and as fure as God is a God of truth, they that die in this condition fhall never fee his face. And to the fame purpofe again, 1 Cor. vi. 9. "Know ye not that the unrighteous fhall not inherit the "kingdom of God? be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor "idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abufers of them"felves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, "nor revilers, nor extortioners, fhall inherit the kingdom " of God." Know ye not? faith he, q. d. "Sure you cannot "be fo ignorant and blind to think that there is any room in "heaven for fuch wretches as these. If the righteous be fcarce

ly faved, where fhall the finner and ungodly appear? If all "ftrictness, holiness, felf-denial, diligence, be all little enough "to win heaven, what hope can there be of those that not only "caft off all duties of religion, but also caft themselves into all

the oppofite ways and courfes which directly lead to damna"tion?" He that refufeth his food endangers his life; but he that drinks poifon, certainly and speedily deftroys it.

2. As far as you are gone in a course of profaneness, you are not yet gone beyond the reach of mercy and all hopes of falvation; if now at last, after all your debaucheries and profanenefs, the Lord touch your hearts with the fenfe of your finful and miferable eftate, and turn your feet to his teftimonies. When the apostle, in 1 Cor vi. 9, 10. had told us the doom of fuch men, upon the fuppofition of their perfeverance in that course,

yet presently he adds, as a motive to their repentance, an example of mercy upon fuch wretches as thefe, "And fuch were "fome of you, but ye are washed," ver. 11. The golden fceptre of free grace hath been held forth to many, as pro phane, and notorious finners as you, to blafpheming Saul, to a Mary Magdalen, to a Manaffeh. 'Tis not the greatnefs of the fin, but the impenitence, and infidelity of the finner, that ruins him. Well, then, there is a certainty of damnation, if you go on, and yet a poffibility of forgiveness, and mercy before you; a mercy invaluable.

3. Nay, this is not all; but in fome respect, there is more probability, and hope of your return, and repentance, than there is of many others who have led a more sober, smooth, and civil life, than you have done. Your profaneness hath more difhonoured God, but the morality, and civility of fome men, fecures them fafter in the fnare of the devil: They have many things in themselves, to build up their prefumptuous hopes upon, but you have nothing. It is hard for conviction to reach that man's conscience that hath righteousness of his own to truft in; but methinks it fhould have an easier access to yours, whose notorious courfes lay your confciences naked, and bare before the word, to be wounded by it. Chrift's miniftry had little fuccefs among the Pharifees, who were righteous in their own eyes, but it wrought effectually upon Publicans and finners. Hence Christ told them, Matth. xxi. 31. that "Publicans, and Har"lots, go into the kingdom of God before them." Publicans were esteemd the worst of men, and Harlots the worst of women; yet the one, and the other, as vile as they were, stood fairer for conviction, and confequently for falvation, than those that thought they needed no repentance. All this is matter of hope, and runs into a powerful motive, and loud call to repentance. "He that "hath an ear to hear, let him hear."

The tenth way leading to deftruction, marked.

X. Deep, and fixed prejudices against godliness, and the fincere profeffors thereof, precipitate thousands of fouls into their own ruin, and damnation.

It was not without a weighty reafon, that Chrift denounced that wo upon the world, Matth. xviii. 7. "Wo unto the "world, because of offences," The poor world will be ruined by scandals, and prejudices; they will take fuch offences at the ways of godliness, that they will never have good thoughts of them any more. "This fect is every where fpoken against," Acts xxviii. 22. and fo Chriftians are condemned, die Tv On

because of the common reproach, as Juftin Martyr complained. All the fcandals which fall out in the church, are so many fwords, and daggers, put into the hands of the wicked world to murder their own fouls withal. Some have fucked in fuch opinions of the ways of godliness, as make them irreconcileable enemies to them, and fierce oppofers of them. And from hence are most of the perfecutions that befal the people of God. When you fee fhowers of flanders, and reproaches, going before, expect ftorms of perfecutions coming after. Slanders beget prejudices, and thefe prepare for perfecutions. O how keen, and fierce, are the minds of many, against the upright, and innocent fervants of God, whom they have firft reprefented to themselves in fuch an odious drefs, and character, as the devil hath drawn them in, upon their fancies, and imaginations! So the primitive Christians were reprefented to the Heathens as monsters, and their conven tions in the night, occafioned by the fury of perfecutors, were reported to be for lafcivious, and barbarous ends, to deflower virgins, and murder innocent children: And by this artifice the Heathens were fecured against converfion to Chrift. This hath been the policy of hell from the beginning, and it hath profpered fo much in the world, that Satan hath no reafon to change his hand. But how may this plot of hell be defeated, and the ruin of fouls prevented?

The tenth way of deftroying fouls shut up, by two counfels.

1. It will be impoffible to prevent the ruin of a great part of the world by prejudices against the ways of godliness, except those who profefs them, walk more holily, and conformably to the rule, and pattern of Chrift, whofe name is called upon by them. I fhall therefore firft addrefs my difcourfe to the profeffors of religion, befeeching them, in the bowels of Chrift, to take pity upon the multitudes of fouls which are daily ruined, and destroyed by their fcandals, and mifcarriages. Did you live according to the rules you profefs," your well-doing "would put to filence the ignorance of foolish men," 1 Pet. ii. 15. and confequently the ruin of many might be prevented. I remember * Bernard, speaking of the lewd, and loofe life of the priests of his time, fighs out this juft, and bitter complaint to God about it; Mifera eorum converfatio plebis tuae miferabilis fubverfio eft: O Lord! faid he, their miferable conversation is the miferable fubverfion of thy people. O! of how many, who glory in the title of fons of the church, may Chrift fay, as Jacob did of his two lewd fons, Simeon and Levi, "You have

* Bern. in Converf, Pauli, Ser. I,

"troubled me, to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the "land," Gen. xxxiv. 30.

And how many profeffors, who pretend to more than ordi. nary reformation, and holiness, do fhed foul blood, by their fcandalous converfations. Salvian brings in the wicked of his age upbraiding the looseness of Chriftians, in this manner; "Behold, thofe men who boast themselves redeemed from the " tyranny of Satan, and profefs themfelves dead to the world, yet are conquered by the lufts of it." And † Cyprian, long before his day, brings in the Heathens thus infulting over loofer Christians: "Where is that catholic law which they believe? "Where are the examples of piety, and chastity, which they “fhould learn? They read the gospel, yet are immodeft; they "hear the apoftles, yet are drunk." O profeffors! where are your bowels to the poor fouls of finners? If your neighbour's ox, or ass fall into the pit, you are bound to deliver him, if you can; and will you not do as much for a precious foul, as you would do for a beast? Nay, you dig pits, by your fcandalous lives, to deftroy them. If you fin, there are inftruments enough to fpread it, and multitudes of fouls ready prepared to take the infection. Say not, if they do, the fault is theirs; for though they are principals in the murder of their own fouls, by taking the fcandal, yet you are acceffories in giving it: He is a mad man that will kill himself with a sword, and he no better that will put it into his hand.

O therefore, if you have any regard to the precious fouls of men, live up to the rules of your profeffion! O be blame lefs, and harmless, the fons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a perverfe, and froward generation! let the heavenliness of your converfation ftop thofe mouths that accufe you as men of a worldly fpirit; let them fee, by your moderation in feeking it, your patience in lofing it, your readiness in distributing it, that it is a groundless calumny, under which your names fuffer. Let them fee, by your apparel, company, and difcourses, you are not fuch proud, lofty fpirits, as you are reprefented to be. Convince them, by your flexibleness to all things that are lawful, and expedient, by manifefting, as much

* Ecce qui jactant fe redemptos a tyrannide Satanae, qui praedicant fe mortuos mundo, nihilominus a cupiditatibus fuis vincunSalvian.

tur.

+ Ubi eft catholica lex quam credunt? Ubi pietatis et caftitatis exempla quae difcant? Evangelia legunt, et impudici funt ; Apoftolos audiunt, et inebriantur. Cyp.