The SECOND PART: Evincing the Possibility
The Possibility and Necessity of Conversion.
ground or colour; but if you cannot, (as you know you cannot) then never blame your own reasons nor mine, for dealing rigorously or injuriously with you.
I am willing to hope, and persuade myself, that I shall at least obtain are formation of life from many of you.
I have strove hard for it with you here: I will strive harder with God in prayer, to obtain it for you.
But yet, gentlemen, I must tell you in the close,that though an external reformation of these evilcoursesmaymakeyour lives more healthy, happy, and durable in this world, and will greatlyconduce to the public as well as your personal and private interest ; yet if you expect complete and perfect happiness intheworldtocome, you must advance one step further beyond reformation, unto sound conversion. The first makes you comparatively happy here; but thefecondwillmake you perfectly happy and blessed for
ever hereafter.
The first frees you frommanytemporal miseriesuponearth; but the second,from eternal miseries in hell.
And this brings you to the other blessed step, by conversion; which isthesecondpart.
THE SECOND PART :
EVINCING THE
POSSIBILITY, NECESSITY, and EXCELLENCY
CONVERSION TO GOD ;
TheonlyThing that makes Men truly happy, and perfectly blessed, in the World to come.
§ I. Conviction supposed, and grace admired.
EASON and conscience having been shamingmenoutof R their profaneness, in the former part of this discourse, free grace invites them to the life of holiness, and thereby to thelifeofblessedness,inthissecondpart.
There you fee what it is to live like beasts; here you may fee what it is to live like Christians.
The Possibility and Necessity of Conversion.
My charity commands me to suppose, that some readers stand, by this time, convicted in their own consciences, both of the extreme wickedness, and the immediate danger of that. profane course they have hitherto pursued, and persisted in; and that by this time they begin to interrogate them in the apostle's clofeand cutting language, Rom. vi. 21. "What fruit- " hadyethen in those things, whereof ye are now ashamed?
" For the end ofthesethings is death."
It is hard to imagine, that so many close debates and reasonings, as you have heard. in the former part, should not leave many of you under convi-s
Etion and trouble of spirit.
You see, your own reasons and consciences have condemned you: "And if our heart con- " demn us, (faith the apostle) God is greater than our heart,
" and knoweth all things ;" I John iii. 20. It is folly to imagine, you shall be acquitted at God's immediate bar,who are already cast and condemned at your own privy sessions.
If this be the happy effect, as I hope it is, of all the former closeandfolemndebates with yourconfciences, it will naturally and immediately cast thy soul, reader, into great admiration of, and astonishment at, the patience and long-suffering of God, that hath borne with thee, under a life of prodigious and reiterated provocations until this day. And his goodness will be as admirable to thee, as his patience ; in that he hath not onlyfuffered thee to live till this day,but made itthedayofthy conviction, the first necessary step towards thy conversion ;and the very first things he entertains thy convinced and troubled foul with, to be the possibility and probability of thy conversion to God.
The greatness of his patience shews his almighty power, Rom. ix. 22. Nahum i. 3. but his willingness to pass by all the wrongs you have done him, and to be at peace with you, difcoverstheimmense riches of his grace, Tit. iii. 3, 4.
That God should be so quick in the executions of his wrath upon your companions in fin, and so patient and long-suffering towards you, that have out-finned them all ; is such a comparative consideration of his bounty, as should even overwhelm the man that beholds it. Rom. xi. 22. " Behold the " goodness and feverityof God! on them that fell, severity;
"but towards thee, goodness ."
If thou be that very man, who in the past course of thy life hast been a profane swearer, a beastly drunkard, a lascivious person, an hater and perfecutor of good men ; and after all this, the Lord hath brought an offer of mercy to thy soul, and
shall convince thee it is not come too late,but that the door of.
The Possibility and Necessity of Conversion.
hope stands yet open to thee ; my advice to thee is, that thou caftthyselfdownat the feet of mercy, and after this manner pour forth thy laments and desires before the Lord.
And is there yet a possibility of mercy, O Lord God, for ' such a vile wretch as I have been! can the arms of free grace yetopenthemselves to embrace such a monsterofwickedness
، as I am ? Who then is a God like unto thee ? And what patience, mercy, and goodness, is like thine ? I have farexceededothers in sin ; I have lived the life ofa beast, yea, of a devil.
I have dared thy dreadful, and glorious name, with ' thousands of horrid blafphemies ; trampled all thy glorious
، ' attributes under my feet, challenged thee, to thy very face, ' to do thy worst, even to damn me to the pit of hell : I have yielded up this foul, with all its noble faculties and powers, as instruments off in unto the devil ; and made this body,
• which should have been the hallowed temple of thy Spirit, to be the noisome fink (or common-sewer) for all unclean
' and abominable lusts, to run and settle in.
I have hated, reviled, and persecuted those that lived more strictly, soberly, • andgodly, than myself; because their convincing examples disquieted, checked, and convicted my conscience, in the eager pursuit of my lusts and pleasures.
• I have lived in the profane neglect of prayer, meditation, self-reflection, and all other spiritual Christian duties ; think- ، ing to make an atonement for all, bya few hypocritical, external formalities .
To accomodate my carnal interest in the world, I have ' come reeking hot out of an ale-house, or whore-house, to the table of the Lord ; where, with unhallowed hands, and ' a more unhallowed heart, I have crucified again the Lord
' of glory, and given the vilest affront and despite to that most sacred and precious blood, which now must save me, or I am loft for ever.
Thus have I done ; and " because thou " keepest silent,I thought thee to be altogether such an one
" as myself: but this dayhaft thoureprovedme, and set mine " abominations in order before me."
' I have tempted and seduced many others into the same • impieties with me, of whom, some are already gone down
⚫to the dead, and others so fixed, and fully engaged in the pur- • suit of their lusts, that there appear no signs of repentance,
• or recovery in them.
Thy wrath, Lord, foonbrake forth against the angels that ⚫finned in heaven; yet hitherto haft thou for born and spared me, who havebeenhighly provoking thee ever since I was
The Possibility and Necessity of Conversion.
' born, by a life of unparalleled wickedness upon earth. Vile • wretch that I am! I have despised the riches of thy goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering ; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth me to repentance. And after all, here
• I am told, that there is yet a possibilityofpardon, mercy and • salvation for me. The news is so great and so good, that ⚫that I am zealouslyconcernedto examine the grounds and • evidences of it.
And if it shall appear to be as true, as it ⚫is astonishingly strange, and ravishingly sweet ; I hope, it
• shall effectually lead me to repentance, and dissolve for ever • the strongest ties betwixt me and my lusts.'
T § II. Conversion of the vileftfinner possible.
HAT it is possible for the greatest and most infamous sinner to be recovered by repentance and conversion, andthereupon to find mercy and forgiveness with God; isa truth assure and firm as it is sweet and comfortable.
Three things will give fullevidenceof it.
} 1. That their fins do not exceed the power and sufficiency of the causes ofremiffion.
2. That such sinners are within the calls and invitations of the gospel.
3. Thatfuch sinners are found among the instances and examples of pardoning mercy, recorded in the scriptures.
And if the causes of pardon be sufficient, and able to produce it ; if the gospel-invitations do take them in, and such sinners as these, every way as vile and wicked, have not been shut out, but received to mercy; then it is beyond all doubt that there is(at least) a possibility of mercy for suchfinners as you are.
I. It is past rational doubt, that the causes of remission areeveryway sufficient, and able to produce the forgiveness of such fins as yours are. Forconfider with yourselves,
1. Theimpulsivecause.
2. The meritorious cause.
3. The applying cause.
1. The sufficiency and ability of the impulsive cause of pardon, which is noneotherbutthe free grace of God, the immense riches and treasures whereof, do infinitely exceed the accompts and computations both of angels and men. Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. "And the Lord passedbybefore him, and pro- " claimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and graci- " ous, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth :
" keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, andtraufThepowerof{
The Possibility and Necessity of Conversion.
«greffion, and fin." Mic. vii. 18, 19. "Who is a God lika "unto thee, thatpardoneth iniquity, and paffethby thetranf
" greffions of the remnant of his heritage ? He retainethno " his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He
" will turn again, he will have compaflionupon us ; he will " subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all our fins into the
" depths of the sea." Once more, Rom. v. 20. " Where fint abounded, grace did much more abound." Sothatwhate verthy fins have been, they do not, they cannot exceed the ability and power of the grace of God, the all-sufficient, impulsive cause ofremiffion. That infiniteabyss, orseaofmer cy, can swallow up, and cover such mountains of guilt, as thine have been.
2. Nor do thy sins exceed the ability and power of the me ritorious cause of remission, namely, the blood of the Lord Je fus Christ; for that blood is the blood of God, Acts xx. 28.
He is the Lamb of God, whose blood is sufficient to take a way the sins of the world, John i. 29. There is butone finin theworldexempt from remission by this blood, and if thy heart be now wounded with the sense of fin, (as I here supe pose it to be) that is none of thy fin, how heinous soeverthy other finsbe.
3. Nor do thy sins exceed the abilityandpower of the applying cause of pardon, namely, the SpiritofGod. For though
I should suppose thy mind to be clouded, and overshadowed with grossest ignorance, thy heart to be as hard as anadament, or nether-milftone, thy will stiff and obstinate, thy affections enchanted and bewitched with the pleasures of fin ; yet this
Spirit of God, in a moment, can make a convincing beam of light to dart into thy dark mind, make thy hard heart relent, thy stubborn will to bow, and all the affections of thy soul to comply, and open obediently to Christ. John xvi. 9, 10. i " The Spirit when he cometh, he shall convincetheworld of " fin," &c.
Thus you fee, whateveryourguiltbe, it does not exceed theabilitiesofthecauses of remission. Owhat an encouragement is this ?
II. And there is yet further encouragement in this, that if you will openyourBibles, you may find yourselveswithin the calls and invitations of the gospel. And nomancanfay, that man is without hope, that is within a gospel-invitation. Confider Ifa. lv. 7, 8. " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the " unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto the
VOL. VIII.
Fff
The Possibility and Necessity of Conversion.
" Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, " for he will abundantly pardon ; for my thoughts are not " your thoughts," &c. Here you have the nature of conversion described negatively and positively, by forsaking your ways and thoughts, and turning to the Lord.
The way notes the external course of the conversation ; the thoughts denote the internal frame andtemperofthemind: both these must be forsaken. And turning to the Lord, denotes the sincere dedicating of the whole mantoGod ; all which is possible, and eafyfor the Spirit of God to do; and this being once done, abundant pardon is assured.
If you say, you cannot think it; God tells you, in the very next words, that his thoughts are not your thoughts ; but as far above them, as the heavens are higher than the earth. Read to the same purpose, Ha. i. 18.
Rev. iii. 20. John vii. 27.
III. And to make the possibility of remission yet clearer, know, for your encouragement, that as vile, infamous, and prodigious sinners as yourselves, are recorded, and found amongst the instances and examples of forgiven sinners in scripture.
Paul was once a fierce and cruel perfecutor and blafphemer, yetheobtained mercy, 1 Tim. i. 13,14. That sinful woman, recorded, Luke vii. 37, 38. was an infamous, and a notorious sinner ; yet her fins which were many,were forgiven her, ver.47. Manaffeh was a monster of wickedness, as you may read, 2 Chron. xxxiii. yet found mercy. And if you view that catalogueoffinners, given in 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. you will seem to find among them the very forlorn hope of desperate sinners, advanced nearest to hell of any men upon earth ; yet see, ver. 11. what is said of some of them : " And such were
" some of you ; butye are washed, butye are justified."
All these things plainly shew (I fay not the certainty that you shall be, but) the possibility that you maybe pardoned; which is a mercy and encouragement unspeakable.
§ III. The conversion of profane ones highly probable.
A ND because Satan labours to discourage them that are gone in finfo far as you are, by cutting offallhopes of mercy from them, and bringingthemto this desperate conclusion; damned we know we shall, and must be; and therefore as good be damned for more, as less.
If we had lived sober, and civil lives, we might have had some hope ; but because we have no hope, it is as good for us to take our full swing in fin, as tothinkofreturning by repentance and conversion, fo late in the day as this is.
The Possibility and Necessity of Conversion.
To obviate this deadly snare of Satan, I shall here further add, That there is not only a possibility of your recovery, but, in some respect, a stronger possibility, that such as you may be converted and saved, than there is for those who have led a moother, and more civil life in the world, and wholly trust to their own civility for their salvation, instead of the imputed righteousness of Christ.
This plainly appears, by that convictive expression of Christ to the Scribes and Pharifees, Matth. xxi. 31. " Verily,
I fay " unto you, that the publicans and harlots go into the king- "dom of heaven before you." Publicans, the most infamous among men ; and harlots, the worst of women ; yet these are sooner wrought over to Christ by faith and repentance, than the more civil, and self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees.
And indeed, it is far easier to come at the consciences of such sinners by conviction, than at the others ; they having nothing to ward off the stroke of conviction, it must fall directly, and immediately upon their consciences.
The most smooth, and civil part of the world, trust to their own righteousness ; and this self-confidence, like armour of proof, resists all attempts to bring them to Christ for righteousness.
Nothing fixesmen in a state of evil, more than a strong conceit that their condition is good.
But such as you are,whose whole liveshavebeenpollutedwith profaneness, andallimpiety,your confcienceswill more easily receive convictions of your present danger, and of the necessity ofa speedy, and thorough change. You cannot think, as others do, that you need no repentance, or reformation.
In this respect, therefore, you lie nearer the door of hope and mercy, than other sinners do.
If therefore it shall please the Lord,(whose grace is rich and free to the vilest of sinners) to pluck out such as you, as brands out of the burning, by thorough conversion to Christ ; you willnotonlybecome real Christians, (as all true converts are) but the most excellent, useful, and zealous amongst all Christians. As you will be mosteminentinstancesofhisgrace,so you will be the most eminentinstrumentsforhisglory.As you have gone beyond other sinners in wickedness, so you will strive to exceed them all in your love to Christ. Luke vii. 47. " She
" loved much, for much was forgiven her."
You will never think you can do en'ughfor him,who hath done such great things for you.
Whe more fierce, and vile, before conversion, than Paul, Fff2