to jeer him out of his new way ; or if that take not, by turning their old love into bitter wrath against him for ])hiying tiie apostate, and heaving him so. Or if yet he will not be stopped in his way, then he hatli his daubing preachers, still like Job's messengers, the last the worst, who with their sold flattering or rather murdering doctrine shall go about to heal his wound slightly. Now as ever you desire to get out of Satan's bondage, have a care of all these : harden thyself against the entreaties of carnal friends and relations ; resolve that if tliy cliildren should hang about thy knees to keep thee from Christ, tliou wilt throw them away ; if thy father and mother should lie prostrate at thy foot, rather than not go to Christ, to go over their very backs to him. Never can we part with their love upon such advantageous terms as these. And for thy brethren in iniquity I hope thou dost not mean to stay until thou hast their good will, then even ask the devil's also. Heaven is but little worth if thou liast not a heart to despise a little shame, and bear a few taunts from profane Ishmaels for thy hopes of it. Let them spit on thy face, Christ will wipe it off; let them laugh, so thou winnest. If tliey follow not thy example before they die, the shame will be their own ; (Jod himself shall spit it on their face before men and angels, and then kick them into hell. And lastly, escape but the snare of those flatterers, who use their tongues only to lick sinners' consciences whole with their j)Jace»tkis, soothing doctrine, and thou art fair for a Christ : ask not coimsel of them ; they may go about to give you ease, but all those stitches with which they sew up thy wounds, must be ripped open, or thou diest for it.
Thirdly, Satan laboui's to put off the sinner with delays. Floating, flitting thoughts of repenting he fears not ; he can give sinners leave to talk what they will do, so he can beg time, and by his art keep such thoughts from coming to a head, and ripening into a perfect resolution ; few are in hell but thought of repenting ; but Satan so handled the matter, that they could never pitch upon the time in earnest when to do it. If ever thou meanest to get out of his clutches, fly out of his doors, and run for thy life ; wherever this warning finds thee, stay not, though in the midst of thy joys, with which thy lusts entertain thee : as the paper which came to Brentius, from that senator his dear friend, took him at supper with his w'lfe and children, and bade him flee, cito, cliius, citissime; which he did, leaving his dear company and sweet cheer; so do thou, or else thou mayest repent thy stay when it is too late. A vision charged the ' wise men' to go back another way, and not so much as see Herod, though he had charged them otherwise. O go not back, drunkard, to thy good fellows; adulterer, to thy queans ; covetous wretch, to thy usury and unlawful gain : turn another way, and gratify not the devil a moment. The conmiand saith, Now repent. The imperative hath no future tense. God saith, ' To-day, while it is to-day :' the devil saith. To-morrow. Which wilt thou obey, God or him? Thou sayest thou meanest at last to do it ; then why not now ? Wilt thou stand with God for a day or two, buckle with him for a penny ! Heaven is not such a hard pennyworth, but thou mayest come up to his terms. And which is the morrow thou meanest ? thou hast but a day in thy life, for aught thouknowest; where then canst thou find a morrow for repentance? But shouldst thou have as many days to come as Methuselah lived, yet know, sin is hereditary, and such sort-of diseases grow more upon us with our years. It is witli long-accustomed sinners, as with those who have sat long mider a govern- ment, they rather like to be as they are, though but ill off", than think of a change ; or like those who in a journey have gone out of the way all the day, will rather take any new way, over hedge or ditch, than think of going so far back to be set right.
Fourthly, Satan labours to compromise the business, and bring it to a com- position between him and Christ : when conscience will not be pacified, then Satan, for quiet's sake, will yield to something, as Pharaoh with Moses ; after much ado he is willing they shoidd go : Exod. viii. 28, ' And Pliaraoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wiklern-ss.' But then comes in this caution, 'Only you shall not go very far away.' Thus Satan will yield the sinner may pray, and hear the word, and make a goodly
112 AGAINST THK RULERS OF THE