A Call from Heaven to the Unconverted.  
A SERMON Preached at the F●●ERAL OF Mr. JOHN GASPINE.  
〈…〉  
IF these weighty Considerations are not worth your R●ading, keep it clean, and return it when called for.  
LONDON: Printed by John Williams.   

REV. two. v. 
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.   
IN these Words there is a severe threatening; I will come u●to thee quickly, and I will remove thy candlestick out of his place.  
A Candlestick signifies the Church of God, or a Company, or a Society of People met together to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. As if he should say, I will smite thy Shepherd's and scatter thy Flocks; I will take away thy Lights, and I will leave ●hee in Egyptian darkness; I will cut off my Ordinances, which are my golden Pipes to convey the Water of Life unto you.  
But you will say, Why is the Lord so angry with Ephesus?  
It is, because of the Church's sins; it is, because thou hast not loved me as once thou didst. Want of love to Christ is a Sin that deserveth to be unchurched; that deserveth that God should take away your Ministers For, what is our preaching for, but to gain your Lo●● 〈◊〉 Christ, and to hate the Devil▪  
Secondly, In the second Place, the Works o●●●is Church of Ephesus were; they had been very laborious in the external Principles of Religion, in promoting the Salvation of Souls; but yet notwithstanding they had gone so far, yet they had not done what they did out of a right Principle, that is, out of pure Love to Christ; this makes the Lord so angry, tha● he threatened to unchurch them.  
Well, but is there no remedy to prevent this heavy Judgement? He that holds forth the Rod tells you a Remedy. As if he should say, Oh you Ephesians, if you will love me better, and if you will be more painful in the great Work of your Salvation, if you will but repent of your sins, I will not bring those heavy Judgements upon you, which I threatened to bring upon you.  
When the Gospel goes God goes; and when God goes, Christ goes; and when Christ goes, the ministering Angels of the Covenant go; the Candlestick goes, and the Lights they go along with it.  
What then follows, when God goes? Then the Devil he comes, yea legions of Devils come; and then there follow the Plague, Pestilence, Famine, Sword, and all other manner of evils. God doth not go alone, neither doth God remove his Candlestick alone. I do not tell you that God threatens you to pull down all your Lights▪ I would not terrify you by telling you that God is a departing from you, when he puts out some of your Lights: But yet I must needs tell you, that when God doth deprive you of so many hundreds, of as Pious, and as Laborious, and as Learned (some of them) as any are in the Vineyard, I say, when God deals thus by you, I cannot think that it is in mercy to you, but in Judgement.  
The Church of England is a great People, and there are many poor Souls in it that are as Firebrands in the Fire, that have great need to be plucked out; and as there are, blessed be God, many eminent Ministers at this Day in England, to snatch such poor Souls, as Firebrands out of the Fire; yet, I say, that where there is one, we have need of ten.  
But though our disease is dangerous, yet it is not desperate; there is one way for us to prevent those he●vy Judgements that the Lord doth threaten to inflict upon us; and that is by repentance, by a serious repenting of the Sins passed of our lives, and to amend what hath been amiss in us.  
I shall now come to make some Application.  
Use 1. In the first Place, is this a Truth, that Repentance is the only Way and Means to prevent the Judgements of God that are threatened against a People by God for sin. Then first of all, 〈◊〉 would have you to observe the cursed nature of this cursed thing, called sin: Sin must be repent of or it will destroy us, it will destroy our Bodies, it will destroy our Souls, it will destroy our Kingdom; this is the cursed nature of this thing called sin.  
My beloved, I think it is one of the hardest that is, to understand the exceeding sinfulness of sin, to understand that deadly Poison that is in it; it is for want of the true Knowledge of it, that causeth that deadness of Heart that you so much groan under. Thus you see that sin (that thing we so much slight) what a terrible thing it is. Alas, what think many of us of a vain Word or an idle thought, or swearing an Oath: what a trifling thing it is to neglect Prayer.  
But let me ask, you that think sin to be so slight a matter, what is the reason that God is so angry that he made Man? what is the reason that many a sinful Church hath made God repent that ever he made a Church? I say therefore, consider the exceeding Venom that there is in sin: Oh! take heed of sin, it is a Child, that although it be conceived in joy, yet it shall bring forth sorrow in the End. Cursed be the Day that ever sin was born into the World. Sin, it is so vile a thing, that it makes God for to cry out at it, and Jesus Christ for to cry out at it, and makes them to say, they will be gone: If you continue in your sins, I will take away my Ministers, and leave you in darkness.  
Tush, say you, what is sin? I say it is the Venom and Poison of our Natures, it is that which is, as the Hand to unsheathe the Sword, and to thrust it into our own Bowels, Sin, it is as a Millstone that is tied about our Necks, that will pull us both Soul and Body into the bottom of that Sea of the wrath of God from whence there will be no recovery; sin is a Plague that will follow our Posterity after we are gone out of this World; sin it is a worm upon the Tree of Life that eats up the fruit of it; sin it is which makes the Lord to take away the Gospel from amongst us; sin it is a Devilish Charm within us, that drives away God, and Christ, and the Gospel from amongst us: This is the Evil of that cursed thing called sin. Oh! do not you make a little matter of it: Do not you say, when you have been drunk, what harm is there that I have drunk a Cup too much? do not say, when harm is there in my telling a lie, or swearing, an Oath? Oh my beloved, what a sad thing is this sin, that it should cause God for to throw Angels out of Heaven into Hell! Pride cast Angels into Hell, take heed it doth not so by you. Sin made God to destroy all the Old World; sin made God to repent that he had made the World; sin made God for to burn Sodom and Gomorrah; sin made God for to threaten Ephesus, to remove his Candlestick from among them.  
Therefore I say, do not think sin to be a small matter, make Conscience of the least of sins; believe God that it is a vile thing; consider with thyself what a vain labour this labour of sin is, it is a vain troublesome work; when you commit it, you must resolve for to die the Death, or to undo it again. Sin it may well be called the labour in vain. When thou art a doing any thing that is Evil, thou must repent of it, or else it will undo thee. Sin is a long thread of the sinners spinning, that when he hath spun it out he must sit down in sorrow, and labour to undo his work again.  
While thou art a sinning, I can compare it to nothing better, than to the journey that Joseph and Mary made to Jerusalem, and left Jesus Christ behind them.  
My beloved, it is a sad journeying without Christ in your Company: when you go on in your sin, you must return again, or else you will lose your Souls. This I say is the labour in vain of sinners, they are doing a work that they undo again; they are running a race that they must run back again, or else it will undo them. You are gathering up of sticks that will help to burn you; you are whetting a knife that must cut your own throats, you are spinning a thread that must hang you.  
Oh my beloved, little do you think that you are doing this, when you are sinning! Do not you say therefore; that sin is a little matter, for God will damn the Soul and Body for it: He that will damn thee for lying, he that will damn thee for neglect of praying, he doth think that these sins are great matters: Will you lay these things to heart.  
I say take heed of sin, and do not you go away with light thoughts of it.  
Use 2. Is repentance the only way and means for to prevent the Judgements of God, which are threatened by God for sin? Then from hence you may learn the excellency and the usefulness of that grace of Repentance.  
Oh what an Omnipotent grace is this! it is a grace that can do any thing with God: Why, what can this grace do? what can it not do! This grace of Redemption it can redeem your mortgaged Blessings, it can repossess you of those Blessings that you have foolishly played away. Repentance can make God to stay here in our Kingdom when he is a departing. Repentance it is a heart-breaking for sin, and it breaks the heart of God likewise; when thy heart yearns for sin, his heart yearns towards thee; as thou mayest see in the yearning of God's Bowels towards Ephraim, Jer. xxxi. 18, 19, 20. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned I repent; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is ●phraim my dear Son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spoke against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.  
Ephraim, that was a Tribe, one of the Tribes of Israel, you here have the Voice of a penitent Sinner; he smites upon his thigh, which is a Sign of great anguish of Spirit; here you have the ●enitent, here you have the weeping shamefaced Sinner: But in the Verse following, you have God standing and looking on: saith God, Is Ephraim my dear Son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spoke against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him.  
If thy Heart breaks, thou seest that God's Heart will turn towards thee. Oh the excellency of Repentance, that doth so much prevail with the God of Heaven! It is these Dews and heavenly Showers that must revive your almost dying withering Blessings. Repentance, it is that holy Oil that must recover our Lamps that are going out: Oh the excellency of Repentance!  
From hence you may gather, what an excellent privilege a penitent Heart hath with God: It is the mourning lamenting Sinner that is like to do England good; these hard-hearred Sinners they cannot recover an almost lost Gospel, they cannot fetch God again; but a penitent Heart can. My beloved, how can you live without such a Grace? Your Souls want it, your Families want it, three Kingdoms want it; the great want in England is broken-heartedness.  
Use 3. Is Repentance the only Way to prevent the Judgements of God? Then you may from hence gather, That when God either hath his Plagues upon a people, or continues in threatening his Judgement upon a people, it is a sign that those people are ●ery guilty of impenitency, and that this people have not yet repent of their sins.  
If God threatens you, O England, Scotland, and Ireland: If God threatens ●ou to give you up to hardness of Heart and blindness of Mind, (doth God do it at this Day?) than I say, O England, Scotland and Ireland, you are impenitent People at this Day: If you see a Kin dom groaning under the Judgements of God, it is a Sign that they have not made use of those Remedies that would have cured them.  
This is a Charge against England, we have been a stiffnecked People.  
Oh England, England, how long shall God wait on you before you repent? how often hath God threatened to remove the Gospel from among you? How often hath God visited you with great and grievous Sicknesses? How many thousands have been killed by the Sword? How many Widows and fatherless Children have there been left desolate? God hath visited you with Mercy, and yet you repent not. Oh my beloved, is not this sad? If God come to punish you after you have received so many mercies from him, take heed that God doth not rid his Hands of you.  
Why sit you as if you had no Hand in these Things, you careless Masters, that never Pray in your Families, nor never Teach your Families to Pray? It is for your Sins that God doth threaten to remove the Gospel and to take away his Ministers. Will you repent of your Sins? If you do not, sad will be your Ends; God may cut you off from the Face of the Earth, and raise up unto himself a Generation out of your Loins, that may serve him better than ever you have yet done, and God may cause you to die in a Wilderness.  
Oh the hardheartedness of the People of England! Oh the Swearing, the Wickedness, the Superstition and Profaneness that is grown up amongst us! that I may say, as the World was once drowned by Water, so it is now almost filled with Wickedness. Oh you sinful wicked Generation, is this your requital unto God for all his mercies? Deut. xxxii. 6. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?  
May I apply this to you; is this the Thanks you return to God, that hath been as a Father to you, that hath bought you, and made you? When your Sins grow so high, do you not think but that the wrath of God will grow high too.  
Ay, But you say, Why de you speak to us of these sins? speak to them that commit such sins.  
Answer. My beloved, have you repent of your Sins? Are you grown hardhearted with the rest of this Generation? Let me ask you, have you repent of those Sins that you are guilty of? Yes, say you, we hope we have. Let me try you a little with these few Things.  
First of all, Have you thought upon the Wickedness of your Ways? Have you set your Sins in order before you? Have you called to mind the Manner of your Lives and Conversations? Sin is never left until it be sound laid to Heart.  
A repenting Man is one that the World says, is a moping Man or a Woman; he is one that will look himself in the Face of the Gospel an hour to find out his Spots; and when he hath found them, he falls a Weeping.  
Secondly, If you have repent as you say you have; what hath been your mourning for Sin? You came crying into the World, your Mother said. Since the first Tears that you shed, how many Tears have you shed for your Sins? When were you alone in your Chambers? When have you done as Ephraim did? How often have your Cheeks been wet with your Tears? How many Handkerchiefs have you wet with your Ten s for your Sins? Oh my beloved, do you think that God will not humble you for your Sins? God will humble you before he exalt you, God will bring you to the brink of Hell before he brings you to Heaven.  
Thirdly, If you have repent of your Sins, as you say you have; then, what Reformation is there in your Lives? What Sin have you left? What Sins are they that you have forsaken?  
Have you observed that you are more humble than you were heretofore? Do you observe that your Hearts are more in Heaven than they were before? Do you observe that you Pray more, and delight in Prayer more than you have done? It may be you are ready to cry out, that you are Well; Well, but have you repent? Alas, you talk you have repent of your Sins, when it may be you know not of one Sin that you have left. Didst thou once swear by the Holy Name of God? and art thou afraid for to take his Name into thy Mouth, but with great reverence and adoration.  
Fourthly, Have you repent of your Sins as you say you have done? Then, what Reformation have you taken up for your obedience? It is your resolution for to seek God more in Prayer than ever you have yet done? Will you watch your Hearts in Prayer more than you have done? Will you take more care of your Family? Will you give them an example of a holy heavenly Life,  
Fifthly, Have you repent of your Sins, as you say you have? Then, how much are you troubled for the Sins of others? Do your Hearts mourn in secret, for the Wickedness and the Abominations of the Places where you live?  
And now, I beseech you, do not you flatter yourselves in your wicked sinful Courses; if you do, than I say, take heed that God doth not send his Judgements upon you: And if you repent not, doubtless God will bring some Plague upon England ere it be long.  
Consider this O England, and do not provoke God to departed from you; for, if you repent of your Sins, yond may expect to live quietly in the Land of your Nativity, and go to your deathbeds in Peace and Rest: but if you will not repent of your Sins, then, I say, expect nothing but Curse instead of Blessings from God: If you will repent, do it to Day; God knows how long it may be before you you have such another Day.  
The welfare of your Souls depends upon it; the welfare of the Church depends upon it; the welfare of three Kingdoms depends upon it.  
My beloved, it is no trifling now, Will you repent, I ask you? It may be hereafter God will give you up to hardness of Heart, and blindness of Mind; and if you go on in your wickedness, Hell will follow after.  
Well, I say, Will you repent? I ask you the Question, and I ask you no other Question than I have asked my own self, before I came into this Place. I ask you again, Will you repent, every Man and Woman among you? For Jesus Christ is angry with you, and he takes away many of your Lights from among you.  
That God is angry with you, it is plain, for God would never else have taken away his Ministers from among you.  
I doubt not but God hath made use of some of those that are to speak no more in the Name of Jesus, to the snatching of you as firebrands out of the Fire; and in bringing you from the Kingdom of Satan, unto the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.  
Well, will you repent? If you will not, your Sins lie at your own Doors; do not think its a hard Question, when I ask you, if you will repent? There are two Places where there is no Repentance; the one is in Hell: it were a vain Thing for me to go to the Gates of Hell, and cry to them, Repent, for their Day of Grace is past, and their doom is passed upon them; I do verily think that there is more sorrowing in Hell for Sin, than there is here upon Earth: But their sorrow is not a sanctified sorrow. If the damned in Hell were delivered out of Hell, they would Sin again: If they lived eternally, they would Sin eternally. But I am not speaking to Men in Hell nor to Women in Hell, but I speak to you that are here upon the Earth.  
Now my beloved, I beseech you in the Name and fear of God, that you will repent. The dying Words of dying Men and Women, do usually prevail with those that here. The dying Words of Fathers and Mothers, do use to prevail with their Children: My beloved, if you have any love to God, if you have any love to your Souls, I say, repent of your Sins. It may be God hath made me instrumental, to the plucking of some of you as Firebrands out of the Fire, and in building of some of you up in the most holy Faith.  
Object. But may some of you say, You bid me repent, how can I do it? I can no more repent than the dead Man can arise.  
Answ. It is true, O Sinner, that thou sayest: But though thou canst not repent when thou wilt, yet if thou wilt but endeavour to set thyself about the Work, it is probably that God may give thee a repenting Heart; therefore I say, take heed of shutting thyself out from Mercy.  
Object. But say you, Why do you then press us to such a work, when we cannot do it of ourselves?  
Answ. Mark here, when I say unto you, will you repent? That is, will you make use of the Means that God hath appointed for your Repentance? Will you reckon up all the Sins you have committed against God? Will you reckon up all the Times that you have been Drunk, or that you have sworn an Oath? Will you reckon up all the Sins that you stand guilty of between God and your own Souls? And will you go to God and beg of him, that he would be pleased to pardon them?  
But say you, What if we do not? If you do not, than you are still in your Sins, and there is no Peace to you; there is no inward Peace to your Souls, there is no true Peace to your Kingdom.  
But that I may prevail with you, I shall give you some Grounds or Motives to press this Argument more home upon your Consciences.  
First of all, Repent; because Jesus Christ hath commanded you under great Penalties if you do not.  
My beloved, consider a little with yourselves, who it is that speaks unto you here in my Text.  
It is not I, but it is Jesus Christ; and doubtless Christ would never have persuaded you to this work of repentance, if it were not necessary.  
This Book is the Counsel of the Physician of your Souls, and the Physician of your Church, and the Physician of your Kingdom. He that saith unto you, repent, saith, if you do not, your sins shall not be blotted out. He that saith unto you, repent, saith, if you do not, eternal Death shall follow.  
Repent, I say, or if thou dost not, woe be unto thee; woe unto that Man that ever he was born; woe unto thee, ●t had been better thou hadst never seen the Light: Thy Parents that bore thee, they may repent that ever thou were born. Oh my beloved, it is a terrible Thing to fall into the Hands of the living God Oh my beloved, if your Parents should see any of you carried in a Cart to the Gallows to be hanged, it would make them to repent that ever they brought you forth into the World! how much more than do you think it would trouble them for to see you thrown Body and Soul into Hell, there to be tormented with the Devil and all his Angels for ever. I say, repent, or else God will take away the Gospel from among you; repent, or God will take away his Ministers from among you.  
Secondly, Repent, for Christ hath encouraged you with many precious promises, if you will repent.  
Object. But say you, This is a hard work: What! shall we ever go with tears in our eyes? What will God give us for our reward?  
Answ. My beloved, your reward is great; would you know what you shall have? For your Sorrow, you shall have Crowns of Glory, you shall have Joy unspeakable; if you will but repent of your Sins, God will blot them out. Methinks it should make thy Heart for to ache, to think how God will deal with thee at the Day of Judgement; how God will say, before all the▪ holy Angels, and before thousands of righteous Persons, Look what a hypocrite stands there. God will then make known the most secret Sins, before Men and Angels, that thou wouldst not have men to know now.  
Oh repent therefore, that your Sins may be blotted out, and you shall never hear more of your Sins; repent, and you shall be saved; repent, and you shall escape Hell.  
Thirdly, Repent, because God hath waited a long while upon you; how long hath God stayed at your Doors, ask you if you would repent? How long, O thou proud Man or Woman, hath God waited upon thee? How often hath God come, and stood knocking at the Doors of your hard Hearts, you that are given to Taverns and Alehouses, and Rioting? How long will it be before I shall see you leave these Taverns and Alehouses? and let me see you upon your Knees in your Closets.  
Oh thou greyheaded Sinner, God hath waited long upon thee, it may be ever since thou wert fifteen or sixteen Years old; as I have known many eminent Christians at those Years, which hath made me much admire at it. Oh thou Sinner, God hath waited upon thee all this while, when wilt thou repent, Rom. two. 4. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-sufferings; not knowing that the goodness of God leadest thee to repentance?  
There is not a Blessing thou hast from God, but it hath this written upon it, repent of thy Sins. Wilt thou think of what I say unto thee? When God puts thy Bread into thy Hands, he saith unto thee, Sinner, take this bread, eat it, and repent: When God puts the Cup of Beer into thy Hand, he saith unto thee, Sinner, take this beer, drink it, and repent: When thou arisest in the Morning, he saith unto thee, Sinner, take this suit of , and put it on, and repent: Every Mercy that thou receivest from thy God, calls thee to come along with me. Come, wilt thou leave thy Sins and go along with me? Wilt thou leave Hell, and go along with me? My beloved, I will desire you to bear a little with me, because I am so urgent in pressing this great Work of Repentance.  
Fourthly, Consider, if you will return and repent, God will return to you; if you will leave your Sins, God will not be angry with you; if you will have the Means of Grace, God will give you the Means of Grace. My beloved, God never goes from you, until you go away from him; God hath entreated you to return, and God hath promised to return to you.  
My beloved you have heard the Parable of the prodigal Son, how he ran away from his Father, but at last when he was ready to perish with Hunger he ●●●●rns to his Father's House again.  
So, my beloved, God is your Father, but you are Prodigals; all the Sins that you have committed against God is Prodigality. But yet, let me tell you, if you are willing to come to God's Feet, he will take you about the Neck; if you are willing to forsake your Sins, God is willing and ready to pardon your Sins; if you have been a wicked, sinful, rebellious People, yet if you will turn to the Lord, he will turn to you.  
FINIS