THE UNCONVERTED. 98 ence between a converted sinner and •an unconverted. Some of them will not come near us, when we are willing to instruct them, but think they know enough already, and need not our instruction; and some of them will give us the hearing, and do what they list; and most of them are like dead men that cannot feel; so that when we t ell them of the matters of everlasting consequence, we cannot get a word of it to their hearts. If we do not obey them, and humour them in baptizing the children of the most obstinately wicked, and giving. them the Lord's Supper, and doing all that they would have us, though never so much against the word of God, they will hate us, and rail at us; but if we beseech them to confess, and forsake their sins, and save their souls, they will not do it. We tell them, if they will but turn, we will deny them none of the ordinances of God, neither baptism to their children, nor the Lord's Supper to themselves, but they will not hear us; they would have us disobey God and damn our own souls, to please them; and yet they will not turn and save their own souls to please God. They are wiser in their own eyes than all their teachers; they rage and are confident in their own way, and if we were never so fain, we cannot change them. Lord, this is the case of our miserable neighbours, and we cannot help it; we see them ready to drop into hell, and we cannot help it; we know if they wonld unfeignedly turn, they might be saved, but we cannot persuade them; if we would beg it of them on our knees, we cannot persuade them to it; ifwewoulil beg it of them with tears, we cannot persuade them; and what more can we do? These are, the secret complaints and moans that many a poor minister is fain to make. And do you think that he bath any pleasure in this? Is it a plea- • sure to him to see you go on in sin, and cannot stop you? · to see you so miserable, and cannot so much as make you sensible of it? to see you merry, when you are 11ot sure to be an hour out of hell? to think
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