we preach pardon 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 comfortable might we leave you in the grave, in expectation to meet your souls 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 jewels, and in a 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 the world. And, therefore, if the gate being strait and very 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.

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 in 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 Isaiah

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 the 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 be shortly there thyself. As ever thou wilt 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, and 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 mayest live. But, if thou wilt not, even when thou hast no true reason for it, but because thou wilt not, I summon thee to answer it before the Lord, and require thee there to bear me witness that I gave thee warning, and that thou wast

not condemned for want of a call to turn and live, but because thou wouldest not believe it and obey it; which also must be the testimony of

Thy serious Monitor,

RICHARD BAXTER.

December 11, 1657.

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 Scriptures 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 be tormented with the devils in eternal fire. Infidels believe not this when they read it, and therefore they 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 would presently ask, Oh! who did this cruel deed? If the town was wilfully set on fire, you would ask, what wicked wretch did this? So when we read that the most will be fire-brands of hell for ever, we must needs think with ourselves, How comes this to pass? and whose fault is it? 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 tempts 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 lay 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 managing in my text.

The Lord complaineth of the people, and the people think it is the fault of God. The same controversy is handled, chap. xviii. verse 25. they plainly say, "that the way of the Lord is not equal." So here they say, verse 19, "If our