106 Pity now leads to pray for such. Chap. 11. sands of despairing Wretches, trembling and confounded. There shall I hear thy Cries among the rest, rending the very Heavens in vain. The Judge will rise from His Tribunal with Majestic Composure, and leave thee to be hurried down to those everlasting Burnings, to which His righteous Vengeance hath doomed thee, be cause thou wouldst not be saved from them. Hell shall' shut its Mouth upon thee for ever, and the sad Echo of thy Groans and Outcries shall be lost amidst the Halle. lujahs of Heaven to all that find Mercy of the Lord in that Day. §. 11. This will most assuredly be the End of these Things: And thou, as a Christian, professest to know, and to believe it. It moves my Heart at least, if it moves not thine. I firmly believe, that every one, who himself obtains Salvation and Glory, will bear so much of his Saviour's Image in Wisdom and Goodness, in Zeal for God, and a steady Regard to the Happiness of the whole Creation, that he will behold this sad Scene with calm Approbation, and without any painful Commotion of Mind. But as yet I am Flesh and Blood; and therefore my Bowels are troubled, and mine Eyes often overflow with Grief, to think that wretched Sinners will have no more Compassion upon their own Souls; to think, that in Spite of all Admonition, they will obstinately run upon final Everlasting Destruction. It would signify nothing here to add a Prayer or a Meditation for your Use. Poor Creature, you will not meditate! you will not pray! Yet as I have often poured out my Heart in Prayer over a dying Friend, when the Force of his Distemper has rendered him incapable of joining with me; so I will now apply myself to Gon for you, O unhappy Creature! And if you disdain so much as to read what any Compassion dictates; yet I hope, they who have felt the Power of the Gospel on their own Souls, as they cannot but pity such as you, will join with me in such cordial, though broken Petitions, as these. A PRAYER Chap. 11. A Prayer for the Impenitent Sinner. 107 4 PRAYER in Behalf of an Impenitent Sinner, in the Case described above. 3 LMIGHTY GOD! with Thee all Things are "possible (a): To Thee therefore do I humbly "apply myself in Behalf of this dear Immortal Soul, "which Thou here seest perishing in its Sins, and hard "ening itself against that everlasting Gospel, which has "been the Power of GOD to the Salvation of so many "Thousands and Millions. Thou art Witness, O Bles "sed GoD, Thou art Witness to the Plainness and Se "riousness, with which the Message has been delivered. "It is in Thy Presence that these awful Words have "been written; and in Thy Presence have they been read. Be pleased therefore to record it in the Book "of Thy Remembrance, that so, if this wicked Man dieth in his Iniquity, after the Wurning has been so plainly " and solemnly given him, his Blood may not be required "at my Hand (b), nor at the Hand of that Christian "Friend, whoever he is, by whom this Book has been "put into his, with a sincere Desire for the Salvation "of his Soul. Be Witness, O blessed Jesus, in the Day "in which Thou shalt judge the Secrets of all Hearts "(c), that Thy Gospel hath been preached to this "hardened Wretch, and Salvation by Thy Blood hath "been offered him, though he continue to despise it. "And may Thy unworthy Messenger be unto GOD à "sweet Savour in Christ, in this very Soul, even though "it should at last perish (d)! "But, Oh that, after all his Hardness and Impeni. "tence, Thou wouldst still be pleased, by the Sovereign "Power of Thine efficacious Grace, to awaken and con vert him! Well do we know, Oh, Thou LORD of uni"versal Nature, that He who made the Soul, can cause "the Sword of Conviction to come near and enter into ❝ it. Oh that, in Thine Infinite Wisdom and Love, "Thou wouldst find out a Way to interpose, and save this Sinner from Death, from eternal Death! Oh that, if it be Thy blessed Will, Thou wouldst imme diately (a) Matt. xix. 26. (b) Ezek. xxxiii. 8, 9. (c) Rom. ii, 16, (4) 2 Cor, ii, 15.A 108 A Prayer in Behalf of Chap. 11. "diately do it: Thou knowest, O Gon, he is a dying Creature: Thou knowest, that if any Thing be done "for him, it must be done quickly: Thou seest, in the "Book of Thy wise and gracious Decrees, a Moment "marked, which must seal him up in an unchangeable "State: Oh that Thou wouldst lay hold on him, while "he is yet joined with the Living and hath Hope (e)! "Thy immutable Laws in the Dispensation of Grace "forbid, that a Soul should be converted and renewed * after its entrance on the Invisible World: O let Thy "Sacred Spirit work, while he is yet t as it t were within "the Sphere of its Operations! Work, O God, by "whatever Method Thou pleasest; only have Mercy. CC upon him! O Lord have Mercy upon him, that he "sink not into those Depths of Damnation and Ruin, on the very Brink of which he so evidently appears! Oh that Thou wouldst bring him, if that be neces "sary, and seem to Thee most expedient, into any Depths of Calamity and Distress! O that, with Manasseh, "he may be taken in the Thorns, and laden with the Fet "ters of Affliction, if that may but cause him to seek the "GOD of his Fathers (f). But I prescribe not to Thine Infinite Wisdom. "Thou hast displayed Thy Power in glorious and astonishing Instances; which I thank Thee, that I have so "circumstantially known, and by the Knowledge of them, have been fortified against the rash Confulence of those, who weakly and arrogantly pronounce that to be im "possible, which is actually done. Thou hast, I know,, done that by a single Thought in Retirement, when the happy Man reclaimed by it hath been far from "Means, and far from Ordinances, which neither the "most awful Admonitions, nor the most tender In❝treaties, nor the most terrible Afflictions, nor the most wonderful Deliverances had been able to effect. "Glorify Thy Name, O Lord, and glorify Thy Grace ❝ in the Method which to Thine infinite Wisdom shall' "seem most expedient! Only grant, I beseech Thee, with all humble Submission to Thy Will, that this Sinner may be saved! or if not, that the Labour of this Part may not be altogether in vain; but that if "some (e) Eccles. ix. 4. 1 (f) 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11, 12. Chap. 11. the Impenitent Sinner. 109 66 some reject it to their aggravated Ruin, others may "hearken and live! That those Thy Servants, who "have laboured for their Deliverance and Happiness, 66 may view them in the Regions of Glory, as the Spoils with which Thou hast honoured them as the Instru❝ments of recovering; and may join with them in the "Hallelujahs of Heaven to Him who hath loved us, and "washed us from our Sins in His own Blood, and hath "made us, of condemned Rebels, and accursed polluted Sinners, Kings and Priests unto GOD; to Him be "Glory and Dominion for ever and ever! Amen (g).” (g) Rev. i. 5, 6. 110 The Case of a dejected Soul, Chap. 12. 1 CHAP. XII. An Address to a Soul so overwhelmed with a Sense of the Greatness of its Sins, that it dares not apply itself to CHRIST with any Hope of Salvation. The Case described at large, §. 1-4. As it frequently occurs, §. 5. Granting all that the dejected Soul charges on itself, §. 6. The Invitations and Promises of Christ give Hope, §. 7. The Reader urged, under all his Burthens and Fears, to an humble Application to Him, §. 8. Which is accordingly exemplified in the concluding Reflection and Prayer. §. 1. I HAVE now done with those unhappy Creatures who despise the Gospel, and with those who neglect it. With Pleasure do I now turn myself to those, who will hear me with more Regard. Among the various Cases, which now present themselves to my Thoughts, and demand my tender, affectionate, respectful Care, there is none more worthy of Compassion, than that which I have mentioned in the Title of this Chapter; none which requires a more immediate Attempt of Relief. §. 2. It is very possible some afflicted Creature may be ready to cry out, "It is enough: Aggravate my "Grief and my Distress no more. The Sentence you "have been so awfully describing, as what shall be "passed and executed on the Impenitent and Unbeliev "ing, is my Sentence; and the Terrors of it are my Ter<C rors. For mine Iniquities are gone up unto the Heavens, "and my Transgressions have reached unto the Clouds (a) My (a) Rev. xviii, 5. |