enter in themselves, nor fuffer those who would to enter. Like Elymas the forcerer, they seek to turn away men from the faith, Acts, xiii. 8. They no fooner difcern any beginning seriousness in others, but they fet themselves to crush it in the bud by their wicked advices, mockings, taunts, and licentious enfnaring examples. To these I may fay, as in Acts, xiii. 10. O full of all fubtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteoufnefs, wilt thou not ceafe to pervert the right ways of the Lord ?" The blood of the fouls of fuch as perish by these means will lie at the door of fuch perfons, and be required of them.

Laftly, Those are reproved, who, as their duty is, dare not go to these physicians of no value, yet do not come to Chrift, which is their fin: Pfal. Ixxvii. 2. "My foul refused to be comforted." It is unbelief which makes it fo, and Satan will do what he can to carry it on, to deter the finner from the great Physician. But has the Father accepted Chrift a phyfician for brokenhearted finners? Surely, then, they may come, and welcome; nay, they must come, or elfe they will never be healed.-We ihall now improve the fubject,

Thirdly, In an ufe of comfort to these who are truly broken-hearted for fin in a gospel-fenfe. You have an able Phyfician, who both can and will cure you, even though Satan may be ready to tell you that your cafe is past cure. There is great ground of comfort for fuch. (1.) Your name is in Chrift's commission. (2.) You know your difease, and this is a confiderable ftep to the cure. (3.) Never any died of your disease: Pfal. cxlvii. 3." He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth

up their wounds."-Here, however, may be propofed this

Objection, My heart has been long broken for fin, and yet there is no appearance of being healed: Jer, xiv. 19. " Haft thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy foul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we have looked for peace, and there is no good, and for the time of healing, and behold trouble."--To this I

Anfwer, Thy foul may be healed of the disease of fin, and thy guilt removed, even the power of fin may be broken, though thy trouble does remain. David's fin was put away, 2 Sam. xii. 13. yet he cries out of broken bones, Pfal. li. 8.-I would advise you to wait patiently on the great Physician, and in due time he will bind thee up. Limit him not to times and seasons, which are in his own hand; he best knows how to manage his patients. Some he keeps long in trouble, to prevent pride and fecurity, into which they are apt to fall others he foon cures, to prevent defpair or utter defpondency, to which they are most liable. It only remains that this fubject be improved,

Laftly, In an use of exhortation.-This fhall be addreffed to three forts of perfons.

I would exhort whole and hard hearted finners to labour to get broken hearts, hearts kindly broken for fin. To prevail with you in complying with this exhortation, I offer the following MOTIVES.

Mot. 1. Confider the evil that there is in hardnefs of heart. It is very diípleafing in the fight of God: Jefus was grieved with the hardness of men's hearts, Mark, iii. 5. It grieves his Spirit, and highly provokes him, fo that God is ever angry with the hard-hearted finner. Suppofe a man to be under never fo great guilt, but his heart is broVOL. III.

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ken on account of it, God is not fo displeased with him as with those who, whatever their guilt be, are hard-hearted under it.-It fences the heart against receiving any benefit by the means of falvation. Till this hardness be removed, it makes the heart proof against ordinances and providences: Pfal. xcv. 8. « Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wildernefs." Confider, as it is with the dead tree, even in the fpring, all labour is loft upon it; fo is it with the hard-hearted finner. God fpeaks by his word and Spirit, by mercies and judgements; but nothing makes impreffion on the hard heart, yea, the moft foftening means leave it as they found it, or most probably in a worse state. - It binds up the heart from all gracious motions: Rom. ii. 4. 5. "Or defpifeft thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-fuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasureft up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgement of God." This hardness is an iron band on the will, a ftoniness in the heart, a hard freeze on the affections, so that the finner cannot repent, mourn, ór turn from his evil courses. fo nails him down in his wicked way, that he cannot move God-ward, cannot relent of his folly, though his danger be clearly before his eyes.

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In a word, it is the highway to be given up of God. Natural and acquired hardness lead the way to judicial hardness: Rom. xi. 7. "The election hath obtained it, and the reft were blinded." When men harden their hearts against reproofs and warnings, God many a time vifits them with a curfe, fo that they shall never after

have power to relent and yield: Hof. iv. 17. Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.”

Mot. 2. Confider the excellence of a broken heart. It is very pleafing in the fight of God, and precious: Pfal. li. 17. « The facrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not defpife." He looks to fuch, while he overlooks others, Ifa. lxvi. 2. He is near to them, while far from others, Pfal. xxxiv. 18. It is the way to get good of all the means of falvation; and it is the root of gracious motions in the foul. However low they lie, God will take them up, and take them in: Pfal. cxlvii. 3. "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."

Mot. 3. The hardest heart will break at length, if not in a way of mercy, yet in a way of judgement: Prov. xxix. 1. "He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, fhall fuddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." (Heb. broken, and no healing). Thy fins are breaking to the Spirit of God, Ezek. vi. 9. Affure thyself that the stone will roll back on thyself sooner or later if it do not kindly break theer in a way of repentance, it will grind thee to powder in the way of wrath. To fuch we would give the following directions briefly.

Believe the threatenings against fin, and apply them: Jonah, iii. 5. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a faft, and put on fackcloth, from the greateft of them even to the least of them." This belief worketh fear, and fear worketh forrow. And though this be but legal humiliation, yet this is ordinarily a mean fanctified of God to bring forward the elect finner to Chrift, as it was when Noah builded the ark, Heb. xi. 7.-Ponder thy manifold fins, on the one K 2

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hand, and the rich mercies with which thou haft been visited on the other. This is a proper mean to bring the heart into a broken difpofition : Rom. ii. 4. The goodness of God leadeth to repentance." Believe and meditate on the fufferings of Chrift for fin. Look how he was broken for it in a way of fuffering, till thy heart be broken for it in a way of repentance: Zech. xii. 10. (quoted above).

We address ourselves, in the next place, to broken-hearted finners. To fuch we fay, Come to Chrift as a Phyfician for binding up and healing your broken hearts. You have fufficient encouragement to put your cafes in his hand.—It is a part of the work expressly put upon him by the Father, to bind up your wounds.-He has a most tender fympathy for fuch broken-hearted ones: Ifa. Ixiii. 9. "In all their affliction, he was afficted, and the angel of his prefence faved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them and carried them all the days of old." Therefore let us improve this fympathy: Heb. iv. 15. 16. " For we have not an highpricft, who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without fin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." He is very near to fuch, even dwelling under one roof with them for their welfare: Ifa. Ixvii. 15. "For thus faith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him alfo that is of a contrite and humble fpirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."-There is a particular relation betwixt him as the Physician,

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