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repentance, that God will give them space and grace to repent and believe before they die. is they have peace for the present.

These must give me leave to tell them, that they put themselves upon a desperate hazard and adventure.

1. Who can promise unto himself one minute of time more than the present, since every man's breath is in his nostrils, ready to expire every moment? Besides, the Spirit saith, God doth bring wicked men to desolation as in a moment. And again, "He that being often warned, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy."

2. Suppose they may have time, yet whether they shall have grace to believe and repent, is much to be doubted.

For the longer repentance is delayed, the heart is more hardened, and indisposed to repentance, through the deceitfulness of sin. And it is a judgment of God upon such, as are not led to repentance by the riches of God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, that he should leave them to their impenitent hearts, that cannot repent; so treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath. Custom in sin doth so root and habituate it in man, that it will be as hard for him by his own will and power to repent hereafter, he neglecting God's present call and offer of grace, as it is for the Ethiopian to change his skin, or the leopard his spots.

It cannot be denied, but that God is free, and if he please, may open a door of hope and gate of mercy unto the most obstinate sinner, who hath deferred his repentance to his old age; wherefore, if such a one find his heart to be broken with remorse

for his former sins, and is troubled in conscience for this his sin of not accepting of God's grace when it was offered, I wish him to humble himself before God, and entertain hope. For God hath promised pardon to the penitent, whensoever they repent. And though no man can repent when he will, yet such a one may hope that God is now giving him repentance, in that he hath touched his heart, and made it to be burdened with sin.

Yet for all this hope which I give to such a man, know, that it is very seldom to be found, that those who continued to despise grace until old age, did ever repent: but God left them justly to perish in their impenitency, because they despised the means of grace, and the season in which he did call them to repentance, and offered to them his grace, whereby they might repent. God dealeth with all sinners usually, as he said he would do, and as he did to Judah: "Because I would have purged thee," said he, that is, I took the only course to purge thee, and bring thee to repentance," and thou wast not purged, therefore thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest on thee."

Thus I have endeavoured to discover and remove the false grounds, and misapplication of true grounds, whereby the conscience is deluded, and brought into a dangerous and false peace.

To conclude, he that would not be deceived with a false peace instead of a true, must beware of obstinacy, delight in, and senselessness of sin. For this sears the conscience as with a hot iron. Now a seared conscience is quiet with a false peace, not

because there is no danger; but because it doth not feel it. Great care must be taken, therefore, lest the conscience be seared, being made senseless and hard; for then it doth altogether, or for the most. part, forbear to check or accuse for sin, be it never so heinous.

This searedness is caused by a wilful customary living in any sin; but especially by living in any gross sin, or in the allowance of, and delight in any known sin; also by allowed hypocrisy, and dissimulation in any thing, and by doing any thing contrary to the clear light of nature, planted in a man's own head or heart; or contrary to the clear light of grace, shining in the motions of the Spirit, in the checks of conscience, and in the instructions of the word.

Keep therefore the conscience tender by all means; (1.) By hearkening readily to the voice of the word; (2.) By a careful survey of your ways daily. (3.) By keeping the conscience soft with godly sorrow for sin. (4.) By hearkening to the voice of conscience admonishing and checking for sin.

Either of these three kinds of conscience, namely, the blind, presumptuous, and seared conscience, will admit of a kind of peace, or truce rather, for a while, while it sleepeth; but what God said of Cain's sin, must be conceived of all sin: " If thou dost not well, sin lieth at the door." And upon what terms soever it lies still, and troubles not the conscience for a time, yet it will awake in its time, and then by as much as it did admit of some peace and quiet, it will grow more turbulent, mad, and furious; and, if God give not repentance, this false peace endeth for the most part either in a reprobate mind, or a desperate

end, even in this life, besides the hellish horrors in that which is to come.

Now to the end that no man should quiet his heart in this false and dangerous peace, whether it proceed from the aforementioned causes, or any other, I would advise him to try his peace, whether it be not false, by these infallible marks:

1. Is any man at peace with God's enemies, allowing himself in the love of those things or persons which hate God and which are hated of God, such as are the world and the things of the world, whereby he denieth the power of godliness: delighting in any evil company, or living in any wilful or gross sin, as vain or false swearing, open profanation of the Sabbath, malice, adultery, theft, lying, or in any of those mentioned, or in any known sin with allowance? The Holy Ghost saith of such, that the love of God is not in them, therefore the peace of God is not in them, and whosoever maketh himself a friend to his lusts and to the world, maketh himself an enemy of God. If any man be at peace with the flesh, the world, and the devil, he is not at true peace with God, nor God with him. If If any such expect peace, and should ask, “Is it peace?" answer may be made like to that which Jehu made, "What have you to do with peace?" What peace, so long as your notorious sins and rebellions, wherein you delight, are so many? For he that careth not to keep a good conscience towards God and towards men, cannot have true peace of conscience. For there is no true peace but in a good conscience.

2. Is any man not at peace, but at war rather, with God's friends, and with the things which God

loveth; being out of love with spiritual and devout prayer, hearing the word, the company of God's people, and the like? If any man despise the things that God commandeth and loveth, certainly, God and he are not reconciled; and whatsoever his form of godliness be, God esteemeth him to be yet in a state of perdition. For whosoever saith he knoweth God, but yet loveth not, and "keepeth not his commandments, he is a liar.” And if any man love not his brother, whatsoever show of peace and friendship is between God and him, I am sure God saith, "he that doth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother;" he is a child of the devil, and therefore hath no true peace with God.

3. He whose quiet of heart and conscience is from false peace, is willing to take it for granted, that his peace is sound and good; and cannot abide to look into, or to inquire into his peace, to try whether it be true, or whether it be false or not; being, as it seemeth, afraid lest stirring the mud and filth that lieth in the bottom of his heart, he should disquiet it. And for this cause it is that such a one cannot endure a searching ministry, nor will like that minister who will dive into the conscience, by laying the heart and conscience open to the light and purity of God's word.

Thus I have showed you what is a first and chief impediment to be removed, namely, presumption and false hope, if you would have true peace; for false hopes breed only false peace.

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