ther an unsanctified estate be safe for you to abide in one day longer; and when you have found out which is best, resolve accordingly, and make your choice without any more ado. If you will be true to your own souls, and do not love everlasting torments, I beseech you, as from the Lord, that you will but take this reasonable advice. O what happy towns and countries, and what a happy nation might we have, if we could but persuade our neighbours to agree to such a necessary motion! What joyful men would all faithful ministers be, if they could but see their people truly heavenly and holy! This would be the unity, the peace, the safety, the glory of our churches, the happiness of our neighbours, and the comfort of our souls. Then how comfortable should we preach absolution and peace to you, and deliver the sacraments, which are the seals of peace to you. And with what love and joy might we live among you; at your death-bed, how boldly might we comfort and encourage your departing souls; and at your burial, how comfortably might we leave you in the grave, in expectation to meet your soul in heaven, and to see your bodies raised to that glory.

But if still the most of you will go on in a careless, ignorant, fleshly, worldly, or unholy life; and all our desires and labours cannot so far prevail, as to keep you from the wilful damning of yourselves, we must then imitate our Lord, who delighteth himself in those few that are his jewels, and the little flock that shall receive the kingdom, when the most shall reap the misery which they sowed. In nature excellent things are few. The world hath not many suns or moons; it is but a little of the earth that is gold or silver; princes and nobles are but a small part of the sons of men. And it is no great number that are learned, judicious or wise, here in this world. And therefore the gate being strait, and the way narrow, there be but few that find salvation; yet God will have his glory and pleasure in those few. And when Christ" shall come with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, his coming will be glorified in his saints, and admired in all true believers "."

u 2 Thess. i. 7-10.

And for the rest, as God the Father vouchsafed to create them, and God the Son disdained not to bear the penalty of their sins upon the cross; and did not judge such sufferings vain, though he knew that by refusing the sanctification of the Holy Ghost, they would finally destroy themselves; so we that are his ministers, though these be not gathered, judge not our labour wholly lost. See Isa. xlix. 5.

Reader, I have done with thee, (when thou hast perused this book); but sin hath not yet done with thee (even those that thou thoughtest had been forgotten long ago), and satan hath not yet done with thee (though now he be out of sight); and God hath not yet done with thee, because thou wilt not be persuaded to have done with deadly, reigning sin. I have written thee this persuasive, as one that is going into another world, where the things are seen that I here speak of, and as one that knoweth thou must shortly be there thyself. As ever thou wouldst meet me with comfort before the Lord that made us; as ever thou wilt escape the everlasting plagues prepared for the final neglecters of salvation, and for all that are not sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and love not the communion of the saints, as members of the holy catholic church; and as ever thou hopest to see the face of Christ the Judge, and of the majesty of the Father, with peace and comfort, to be received into glory, when thou art turned naked out of this world: I beseech thee, I charge thee, to hear and obey the call of God, and resolvedly to turn, that thou mayst live. But if thou wilt not, even when thou hast no true reason for it, but because thou wilt not; I summon thee, answer for it before the Lord, and require thee there to bear me witness I gave thee warning, and that thou wert not condemned for want of a call to turn and live, but because thou wouldst not believe it, and obey it; which also must be the testimony of thy serious monitor,

RICHARD BAXTER.

December 11, 1657.

VOL. VII.

A A

A CALL

TO THE

UNCONVERTED.

EZEKIEL XXXIII. 11.

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

IT hath been the astonishing wonder of many a man, as well as me, to read in the holy Scripture, how few will be saved, and that the greatest part even of those that are called, will be everlastingly shut out of the kingdom of heaven, and tormented with the devils in eternal fire. Infidels believe not this when they read it, and therefore must feel it. Those that do believe it, are forced to cry out with Paul, “ O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out"." But nature itself doth teach us all, to lay the blame of evil works upon the doers, and therefore when we see any heinous thing done, a principle of justice doth provoke us to inquire after him that did it, that the evil of the work may return the evil of shame upon the author. If we saw a man killed and cut in pieces by the way, we should presently ask, Oh! who did this cruel deed?' If the town were wilfully set on fire, you would ask, "What wicked wretch did this?' So when we read that the most will be firebrands of hell for ever, we must needs think with our

a Rom. xi. 13.

selves, how comes this to pass? And, who is it long of? Who is it that is so cruel as to be the cause of such a thing as this? And we can meet with few that will own the guilt. It is indeed confessed by all, that satan is the cause, but that doth not resolve the doubt, because he is not the principal cause. He doth not force men to sin, but tempt them to it, and leaves it to their own wills, whether they will do it or not. He doth not carry men to an alehouse, and force open their mouths, and pour in the drink; nor doth he hold them that they cannot go to God's service, nor doth he force their hearts from holy thoughts. It lieth, therefore, between God himself, and the sinner, one of them must needs be the principal cause of all this misery, which ever it is: for there is no other to cast it upon. And God disclaimeth it. He will not take it upon him. And the wicked disclaim it usually, and they will not take it upon them, and this is the controversy that is here managed in the text.

The Lord complaineth of the people, and the people think it is long of God: the same controversy is handled in chap. xviii. where, (ver. 25.) they plainly say, "That the way of the Lord is not equal." And God saith, "It is their ways that are not equal." So here they say, (ver. 19.) " If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how shall we then live?" As if they should say, If we must die and be miserable, how can we help it? As if it were not long of them but God. But God, in my text, doth clear himself of it, and telleth them how they may help it if they will, and persuadeth them to use the means and if they will not be persuaded, he lets them know that it is long of themselves; and if this will not satisfy them, he will not, therefore, forbear to punish them. It is he that will be their Judge, and he will judge them according to their ways; they are no judges of him, or of themselves, as wanting authority, wisdom, and impartiality, nor is it their cavilling and quarrelling with God, that shall serve their turn, or save them from the execution of justice which they murmur at.

The words of this verse contain, 1. God's purgation or clearing himself from the blame of their destruction. This he doth, not by disowning his law, that the "wicked shall die;" nor by disowning his judgments and execution according to that law, or giving them any hope that the law