Dirca• 6, The plague of Hard,/,earteduef. at them? Shall we ttll them of Death, and Judgement, and Eternity ? Why we fpeak w the pofis or men afleep: They hear us as if they heard us not. Shall we tell them of cndkfs J•y and Tor– mems: They feel not, and therefore fear not, nor xegard not; They have heard of all thefe, till they arc aweary of hearing them, and our words feem to them, but as the noifc of the ·wind or \Va– ter, which is of ne;> fignification. If Miracles were wrought among them by a Preacher, that healed the fick, and raifed the dead, they would wonder at him, but would not be converted. For Chrifi dip thus, and yet prevailed hut wid1 few, Jolm 1 z, 48. 53• And the Apofl:les wrought Miracles and yet wue rejected by the moll, Alll 7· 57· 6.. 22· 22. Nay, if one of their old companions 010uld. be. fent from the dead to give them warning, he might affright them, but not convert them; for Chrill hath ·.told us fo himfelf, L"~' 1.6. 31· Or if an Angel from Heaven 010uld preach to , t}Jem, they would be ~ardned Hill, as Balaam and others have been. Chrifl rofe from the dead, and yet, was aft~r that rejected. We read not of ·rhe Converfion Of the Souldicrs that warcht his Sepulchre, though they were alfrighted with the fight of the Angels; but they were after that hired for a little money., to lye, and fay that Chrifls Difciples ftok him away. If Magifirates that have power on their bodies, {hould endeavour to bring them to Godlinefr, they would not ·obey them, nor b e perfwaded. King Hezef,Jabs mdfengers were but mocked by the people. 1J3vid and Solomon could not convert their hardned fubjects. Punifh them and hang them, and they will be wicked to the death : Witncfs the impenitent Thief that dyed with Chrifi , and dyed reproaching him. Though God affiilt them with rod after rod, yet Hill they fin and are the fame : Pfol. 78. Ho[. 7· '4· Amos4-9· ]er. 5· 3· I[a. r. 5· Let death come near and look them in the face, and let them fee that they mufl: prefeutly go to judgement, it will affright them, but not convert them. Let them know and confefs that fin is bad, that Holinefs is bell, that death o.nd eternity are at hand, yet are they rhe lame, and al1 will not win their hearts to God : Till Grace rake away their fiony hearts, .~nd give them tender fldby hearts, Ezel{,. 36. 26. . §.·8. OireCl:. 6. Tak.! notice of the doleful ejftlls of hard hemednt{r in the world. This fills the world with wickedndS and confufion; with Wars and bloodfhed, and leaveth it under that lamenta– ble defertion and dd~fioi1, which we behold in the far greatefi part of the Earth. How many Kingdoms are left in the blindnefs of Heathenifm and Mahometanifin , for hartining their hearts againft the Lord I How many Chrifiian Nations are given up to the moll grofs deceits of Popery, and Princes and people a~e enemies to Reformation ; becaufe they hardned their hearts againft the light of truth. /What vice fo odious, even beafily tilthinefs, and bittercfi hatred and perfecution of the wayes ofP?d, which men of all degrees and rancks, do not fecurely wallow in thro~gh the hardneJi. .of their hearts. This is the thing that grieves the godly, that wcarieth good M~gitirates, and breaks the hearts of faithful Minifiers : when they have done their bell, they are fain, as Chrifi himfelf before them, to grieve for the hardnefs of mens hearts. Alas, we live among the dead; Our Towns and Countreys are in a fadder cafe than .iEgypt, when every houfe had a dead man. Even inour Chmches it were well if the dead were only under ground, and moll of our feats had not a dead man, that fitteth as if he heard, and knecleth as if he prayed, when nothing ever pier'.(d to the qui.ck. We have ftudied the moll quickning words! we have preached with tears in the moft earnefi manner, and yet we cannot make them fed : As if we cryed like BaalJ worflt;p– pers, 0 Baal hear "' ; or like thelrijh to theit dead [ Why wouldfi thou dye, and leavt rhy houfe, and lands, and friends?] So we talk to them about the death of their fouls, and their wilful ini– fery, who never feel the weight of any thing we fay: we are left to ring them a peal of la· mentation, and weep over them as the dead that are not moved by our reus : we cafi the feed into fiony ground, MattiJ. I)·), 20• It flops in the furface, and it is not in our power to open their hearts, and get withinth~m. I confefs that we are much too blame our felves, thlt ev~r we did fpeak to fuch miferable fouls without more importunate earnefinefs and tears: ( and it is becaufi: the fione of the heart is,much uncured iq our felves; for which God now jufily layeth fo many ofusby): But yet we mull fay our tmpartunity is fuch, as leavcth them without cxfufe : we fpeak to thdn of the greatel\ matters in all · the world : we fpeak it to them .in the name of God : we fhew them his own word for it : and plead with them the Arguments which he hath put into our mouths : and yet we fpeak. as to polls and fiones, to men pafl f<eling: what a pittiful fight was it to fee Ghrifl lland weeping over Jcrufalrm, for the hardmfi of their hearts, an~ the nearnefs and greatnefs of their mi· fery ? while they themfelves were fa far from wteping for it, that they raged againll the life of him that fo much pityed them ? We blefs God that it is not thus with all : He hath encouraged fome of us w.irh the heart·yielding obedient attention of many great Congugations : But among the)>eH, alas, how many of thefe hard~ed finners are mixed ? and in many pi<lces how d9 th<y abound >tfJ,nce it ls that fuch odious abominations are committed ; fuch filthinefs, and lying, and perjury, and acts of malicious enmity againfl the fetvants of the Lord; and that fo many arehaters ofGod and Godlinefs. IfSatan had not fiill hardntd their hearts, he could never have Drought them to fuch odi– ous:crimes, as now with impudency are committ-ed in the Lartd. As Lot.r daughccrs were fain to make their Father drunk, that he might cotr1_mit the fin of incefl, fo the Devil doth firfi deprive men bOth of re•foH and feeling, that he may bring them to fuch.heinous wic~ednefs as this, and make them lau~h at ·their own dcfiru&ion, and abhor.thofe mofi;. that fain would fave them: And they are not only pajf fltlint., but fo hate any qmcknmg M1mflry , or Truth, or Means wb1ch would recover thdr feeling , that they fecm to go to Hell as fome condemned Malefactors to the· Gallows, that make themfelves drunk befiire they go, as if it were·all t)ley had to care for to keep thcmfelves hoodwinkt, from l{,nowing or feeling whither they go, till thl>y are there. · 1· ~- See
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