TO THE READER.

THAT these churches once flourished, with much spiritual prosperity, under a glorious dispensation of the Spirit and grace of God, by the saving administrations of his word and worship, and that with full demonstration of his special grace and favor; we ought to commemorate unto his praise and glory, and our own present shame and confusion. That now we are a people in extreme danger of perishing in our own sins and under God's judgments, unless God shall please in an extraordinary way, of sovereign mercy to save us, is the most humbling consideration of our present sad condition. That all ordinary means, in that extraordinary way of improvement which God hath of late set us under, have been altogether ineffectual, unto a general and saving work of reformation, makes it at least a fearful question, whether our degeneracy and apostacy may not prove judicial, and so perpetual; a question which will not admit of a comfortable resolution, until God shall pour out his Spirit from on high upon us. That sovereign promise of the donation and effusion of the Spirit, and so of the dispensation of saving grace, as it hath been unto the churches in all ages, under their deepest defection, so it is unto us the main stay of our faith, confidence, and comfort, and that which gives some present reviving unto our languishing hope, of the resurrection of religion in these churches. That God doth at present so far suspend the accomplishment of this promise, and so far withhold his Spirit and grace, it is the just yet most dreadful punishment of that most sinful abuse of it, and general unprofitableness under the means of grace, and of that resisting his Spirit, and rejecting his Son by unbelief and disobedience unto the gospel which is found amongst us, and is sadly signal of the gradual cessation of the work of conversion, and of the further execution of God's wrath, both by external and spiritual plagues and judgments. How much that blessed work doth already fail, the decaying and dying state of religion and of these churches doth evidence by

woful instance and experience, there being little more left than a name to live, and those things which remain so ready to die. That so many sinners do seem to be given up judicially unto the still growing and prevailing sins of the times, which both in their nature and working are so utterly inconsistent with the progress of the work of conversion, doth make the consideration of our present case much the more lamentable; especially considering that such sinners do remain under a secret, sovereign influence of God's vindictive justice; whence the word in the ministry is become a savor of death unto death in them that perish. What remains then but that we do most enixly endeavor, in whatsoever we may or can possibly, to approve ourselves a people more hopeful, as to conversion, reformation, and salvation, laboring practically and savingly to understand, even we at least in this our day the great things of our temporal, spiritual, and eternal peace and welfare, lest they should be hidden from our eyes, because we know not this time of our visitation. How is it then the most important concernment of all unconverted sinners to take heed unto themselves, that they do not, as heretofore, hinder their own conversion, by abusing and losing their special day and seasons of grace, or by yielding up their souls unto the power of sin and Satan in those ways of sinning, wherein their hearts will be hardened against the power and working of the word and Spirit of God, unto positive unbelief and disobedience unto the gospel against light, and so by giving up themselves unto deep security in their unregeneracy, and unto spiritual apostacy, from that common grace which they may have received and that past ordinary hope of recovery. (Heb. vi. 4-8.) But that sinners do redeem this present time unto a constant attendance upon the ministry of the word, and a most diligent improvement of all means of grace and operations of the Spirit, crying earnestly unto God, and waiting instantly upon him for the application of Christ, and salvation in a saving work of grace; and that under a sense of their extreme necessity thereof, crying out as they when pricked in their heart, (Acts ii. 31.) what shall we do?' and as he, (Acts xvi. 30.) what must I do to be saved?' How severely also then are all such persons to be reproved and warned as the most dangerous, destructive enemies, unto both the temporal and spiritual welfare and prosperity of this people and of these churches, seeking the utter ruin and destruction both of the present and succeeding generations; who make it their business to hinder, obstruct, yea, utterly to destroy the work of conversion, by upholding the sins of the times, opposing the duties of the times, corrupting the souls of others with error, heresy, libertinism and licentiousness, weakening the hearts and hands of those who labor in the work of Christ, for the salvation of souls, by all means crossing and counter-working the whole work of

reformation; such do declare themselves to be full of all mischief, children of the devil, and enemies of all righteousness, (Acts xiii. 10.) and incur that woe pronounced by our Saviour, Matt. xxiii. 19. Therefore all those who would approve themselves to be true friends to the work of Christ in the promotion of his kingdom, the propagation of religion and the salvation of souls, ought to labor most intensely in their several places, by all means with all their might to promote converting work, especially amongst the rising generations. Godly parents and masters, heads of families, by the constant exercise of the worship of God, in the life and power of it, by daily instructions, admonitions, and all kind of religious education, by the right and full improvement of family government, training up children and servants in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and this with sincere desire and fervent prayer for their conversion. Churches by upholding a powerful dispensation of the word and all ordinances, and a full supply of all provision in the house of God, especially a full and complete ministry according to Christ's appointment, that all means may be used and all duty performed toward the children of the covenant and the rising generations, which is necessary unto their conversion, that they may not perish in their unregeneracy through the neglect of that duty and want of help to discharge it fully, which is, and is yet more likely to be, the sad case of these churches. O let us pray the Lord of the harvest to thrust forth laborers into this great harvest. The ministry by travailing in birth with souls till Christ be formed in them, and by the full and faithful discharge of duty as laborers together with God in that work; wherein therefore they are to labor in a way of dependance upon Christ for assistance and success, and that both publicly and privately, in all ways and by all means to gain and bring home souls to him, as that which is the great end of their ministrations, wherein notwithstanding they are under great discouragement at present from the diminution of that grace and blessing which might make their labors more effectual unto the work of conversion. The godly and religious magistracy, by the improvement of civil authority in a way of full and direct subserviency unto the work of Christ, the progress of which is the highest and most saving good and end of government unto a religious people; who are in the most happy and prosperous estate, when the mountains bring peace and the little hills righteousness. Truly then it is high time for all orders, degrees and societies of men in New England, by faith in prayer, to seek the Lord until he come and rain righteousness upon us; until he open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of valleys, and make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water; until he pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; till he pour

out his Spirit upon our seed and his blessing upon our offspring; until he send us the great promise of his Spirit, in the accomplishment of it, by pouring out of his Spirit in a general, plentiful dispensation of converting grace upon us, our children, families, churches, this whole people, both the standing and the rising generations; which would be a blessed resurrection, and as life from the dead unto us. It is much for our encouragement that in this our perishing condition, God hath by his Spirit in the ministry of many of his servants, proposed this great promise; expressing his own gracious disposition to open and apply it in the saving grace and blessing of it, and withal pressed us, from the consideration of inevitable destruction, without a full and perfect salvation by the application of it, and furnished us with all arguments of faith to labor and prevail with him in prayer for the obtainment of it; which also is the more solemnly observable, in that God hath providentially ordered the labors of divers of his servants, in this same great and most necessary subject to be published at this time, as a testimony unto this generation what their main work and duty is, whereby he hath showed us what is good and what it is that the Lord doth require at our hands. God grant that it may not be rejected and so be left upon record, as a testimony against this generation to condemn it the more deeply under the aggravated guilt of total and final apostacy.

The reverend and worthy author of these sermons having been, through the abundant grace of God, sanctified and separated from his youth unto the ministry, he hath had a more early call into that work, wherein he hath been more happy than most of his fellow servants; and being himself coætaneous with and amongst the choicest of the first ripe fruits of this young generation, his soul hath labored and doth labor with the more fervency of holy and sincere love to, and zeal for, the salvation of their souls; modesty and humility being inherent in him as gifts, both of nature and grace, it would be too much an injury to him to give his work deserved commendation.* It shall therefore suffice to say, that the powerful, and we hope saving impression which it had in the ministration of it upon the hearts of the hearers, is a testimony of divine approbation and commendation; the suitableness and seasonableness of the subject unto this time, and the necessity of this people, the copiousness, and yet withal conciseness of the method, it being expressive of so much of the general message which God is sending unto his people, and of that which the Spirit is now speaking unto these churches in so few sermons, doth render it the more fit and useful for the public. The motion of the Spirit of God

* Note B.