SOVEREIGNTY OF CHRIST. 313 yet art thou like astock, that neither hears nor feels ? Nay, dost thou not murmur and strive against-him, as if he were about to do .thee a mischief, and would rather cut thy throat than cure thee, and were going to destroy thee, and not to save thee ? I appeal to any that bath not renounced his reason, whether this be not no- torious, brutish unreasonableness; and whether thou be not like a beast, that must be cast or held while you dress his sores, than to aman that should help on his own recovery. Foolish sinner! It is thy sin that hurts thee, and not thy Savior : why dost thou not rather strive against that ? It is the devil that would destroy thee; and thou dost not grudge at thy obedience to him. Be judge thy- self whether this be *wise or equal dealing. Sinner, I beseech thee, in the behalf of thy poor soul, if thou have such a mind to renounce thy Savior, do it not till thou hast found a better mister: say as Peter,." Whither shall we go, Lord? thou hast the-words of eternal life:" and when thou knowest once whereto be better, then go thy way; part with Christ, and spare not. If thy merry company, or thy honor, or thy wealth, or- all the friends and delights in the world, will do that for thee which Christ hath done , and which, at last, he will do, if thou stick to him, then take themfer thy gods, and let Christ go. In the mean time, let me prevail with thee,. as thou art a man of reason, sell not thy Savior till thou know for what ; sell not thy soul till thou know why; sell not thy hopes of heaven for nothing. God forbid that thy willful folly should bring ,thee to hell, and there thou shouldst lie roaring and crying out forever, ' This is the reward of my neglecting Christ; he would have léd-me to glory, and I would not follow him ; I sold heaven for a fewmerry hours, for a little honer, and 'ease, and delight, to my flesh : here I lie in - torment, because I would not be ruled Eby- Christ, but chose my lusts and pleasures before him.' Sinner, do not think I speak harshly or uncharitably to call this neglect of Christ thy folly; as true as thou littest and Kearest me this day,, exbept thy timely submission do prevent it, which God' grant it may, thou wilt, one of these days, befool thyself a thousand times more than I now befool thee, and call thyselfmad, and a thousand tittles mad, when thou think- est how fair thou wash for heaven, and how ready Christ was to have been thy Savior and thy Lord, and how light thou madest of his offers: -either this will prove true, to thy cost, or else am I a false prophet, and a cursed deceiver. Bé wise, therefore, be learned, and kiss the Son. The former considerations were drawn from the aggravations of the sin:. the following are drawn from the aggravations of the pun- ishment, and from the.words-of the text too : I. God will be angry if you kiss not the Son. His wrath is as VOL. II. 40 1
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