have stretched out my hands all the day to a rebellious people.” O be persuaded now at last to throw yourselves into the arms of his love.

Behold, O ye sons of men, the Lord Jesus hath thrown open the prison, and-now he cometh to you by his ministers, and beseecheth you to come out. If it were from a palace or paradise that Christ did call you, it were no wonder that you were unwilling; and yet how easily was Adam beguiled thence; but it is from your prison, from your chains, from the dungeon, from the darkness, that he calleth you, and yet will you not come? He calls you unto liberty, and yet will you not hearken? His yoke is easy, his laws are liberty, his service is freedom, and, whatever prejudice you may have against his ways, if God may be believed, you shall find them all pleasure and peace, and shall taste sweetness and joy unutterable, and take infinite delight and felicity in them. Beloved, I am loath to leave you; I cannot tell how to give you over. I am now ready to close, but I would see a covenant made between Christ and you before I end. What, shall I leave you at last as I found you? Have you read hitherto, and not yet resolved to abandon all your sins and to close with Jesus Christ? Alas, what shall I say; what shall I do? Will you turn off all my importunity? Have I run in vain? Have I used so many arguments, and spent so much time to persuade you, and must I sit down at last in disappointment? But it is a small matter that you turn me off; you put a slight upon the God that made you; you reject the compassion and beseechings of _ a Saviour, and will be found resisters of the Holy Ghost, if you will not now be prevailed upon to repent and be converted.. Well, though I have called you long, and you have refused, I shall yet this once more lift up my voice like a trumpet, and cry from -the highest places of the city before I conclude, with the miserable exclamation, “All is over!” Once more I shall call after regardless sinners, that, if it be possible, I may awaken them: “” O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.” Unless you be resolved to die, lend your ears to the last calls of mercy. Behold, in the name of God, I make open proclamation unto you: ‘“Hearken unto me, O ye children; hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not.”

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everldsting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” Isa. 55:1-3.

Ho, every one that is sick of any manner of disease or torment, or is possessed with an evil spirit, whether of pride, fury, lust, or covetousness, come ye to the Physician; bring your sick; lo, here is he that healeth all manner of sicknesses, and all manner of diseases, among the people. Matt. 4: 23, 24. Ho, every one that is in distress, gather yourselves unto Christ, and he will become a Captain over you. He will be your protection from the arrests of the law; he will save you from the hand of justice. Behold, he is an open sanctuary to you; he is a known refuge. Away with your sins and come in unto him, lest the avenger of blood seize you, lest devouring wrath overtake you.

Ho, every blind and. ignorant sinner, come and buy eye-salve, that thou mayest see. Away with thy excuses; thou art for ever lost if thou continue in this state. But accept of Christ for thy Prophet, and he will be a light unto thee. Cry unto him for knowledge, study his word, take pains about religion, humble thyself before God, and he will teach thee his way, and make thee wise unto salvation. But if thou wilt not follow him, but sit down because thou hast but one talent, he will condemn thee for a wicked and slothful servant. Matthew 25: 24-26.

Ho, every profane sinner, come in and live. Return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on thee; be entreated. O return, come. Thou that hast filled thy mouth with oaths and execrations, all manner of sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven thee, if thou wilt but thoroughly turn unto Christ and come in. O unclean sinner, put away thy whoredoms out of thy sight, and thy adulteries from between thy breasts, and give up thyself unto Christ, as a vessel of holiness, alone for his use; and then, “Though thy sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Luke 7:47; Isa. 1:18; 4:17.

Hear, O ye drunkards, how long will ye be drunken? Put away your wine. Though you have rolled in the filthiness of your sin, give up yourselves unto Christ, to live soberly, righteously, and godly; embrace his righteousness; accept his government; and though you have been vile, he will wash you. Rev.-1:5.

Hear, O ye loose companions, whose delight is in. vain and wicked society, to sport away your-time in carnal mirth; come in at Wisdom’s call, and choose her and her ways, and you shall live. Prov. 9: 5, 6. Hear, O ye scorners, hear the word of the Lord. Though you make a sport at godliness and the professors thereof, though you have made a scorn of Christ and of his ways, yet even to you doth he call, to gather you under the wings of his mercy.

In a word, though you should be found among the worst of that black roll, 1 Cor. 6: 10, yet upon your thorough conversion you shall be washed, you shall be justified, you shall be sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Ho, every formal professor, thou art but a lukewarm Christian, and restest in the form of godliness. Give over thy halting; be throughout a Christian, and be zealous and repent; and then, though thou hast been an offence to Christ, thou shalt be the joy of his heart. Rev. 3:16-20.

And now bear witness that mercy hath been offered you. “I call heaven and earth to record against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that you may live.”” I can but entreat and warn you; I cannot otherwise compel you to be happy; if I could, I would. What answer will you send me with to my Master? Let me speak to you as Abraham’s servant to Nahor’s family, ‘ And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me.” O for such a happy answer as Rebecca gave them: “And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebecca, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? and she said, I will go.” O that I had but this from you. Why should I be your accuser, who agonize for your salvation? Why should the passionate pleadings of mercy be turned into horrid aggravations of your obstinacy and additions to your misery? Judge in yourselves; do you not think their condemnation will be doubly dreadful, that shall still go on in their sins, after all endeavors to recall them? Doubtless it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, yea, for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than for you!” Matthew 11:22, 24. Beloved, if you have any pity for your perishing souls, close with the present offers of mercy. If the God that made you have any authority with you, obey his command and come in. If you are not the despisers of grace, and would not shut the doors of mercy against yourselves, repent and be converted; let not heaven stand open for you in vain; let not the Lord Jesus open his stores, and bid you buy without money and without price in vain; let not his Spirit and his ministers strive with you in vain, and leave you now at last unpersuaded, lest the sentence of condemnation go forth against you-.

Farner orf spirits, take the heart in hand that is too hard for my weakness. Do not thou end, though I have done. A word from thy effectual power will. do the work. O thou, that hast the key of David, that openest and no man shutteth, open thou this heart, as thou didst Lydia’s, and let the King of glory enter in, and make this soul thy captive. Let not the tempter harden him in delays; let him not stir from this place, nor take his eyes from these lines, till he resolve to forego his sins, and accept of life on thy self-denying terms. In thy name, O Lord God, did I go forth to these labors; in thy name do I close them. Let not all the time they have cost be lost hours; let not all the thoughts of the heart, and all the pains that have been about them, be but lost labor. Lord, put thy hand upon the heart of this reader, and send thy Spirit, as once thou didst Philip to join himself to the chariot of the eunuch while he was reading the word. And though I should never know it while I live, yet I beseech thee, O Lord God, let it be found at the last day that some souls are converted by these labors; and let some be able to stand forth and say, that by these persuasions they were won unto thee. Amen, Amen. Let him that readeth say, Amen.