The Soul's Preparation for Christ

Now why did these fall away? Why were they never Justified and Sanctified? and why did they never come to believe in the Lord Jesus? The reason is, because their hearts were never pierced for their sin, they were never kindly loosened from it; this is the meaning of that place in Jer. Plough up the fallow grounds of your hearts,¹ and sow not among thorns, it is nothing else, but with sound saving sorrow to have the heart pierced with the terrors of the Law seizing upon it, and the vileness of sin wounding the conscience for it. The heart of a man is compared to fallow ground that is unfruitful; you must not sow amongst thorns and thistles, first plough it, and lay ⟨p. 163⟩it bare and naked, and then cast in your seed. If a man plough here a furrow, and there a furrow, & leave here and there a balk, he is never like to have a good crop, there will grow so many thistles and so much grass, that it will choke the seed: our hearts are this ground, and our corruptions are these thorns and thistles: Now if a man be content to find some sin hateful, because it is shameful, but will keep here a lust & there a lust, he will never make any good husbandry of his heart: though a faithful minister should sow all the grace of the promises in his soul, he would never get any good by them, but the corruptions that remain in the heart will hinder the saving work thereof.

Now why did these fal away? Why were they never Justified and Sanctified? and why did they never come to beleeve in the Lord Jesus? The reason is, because their hearts were never pierced for their sinne, they were never kindly loosened from it; this is the meaning of that place in Ier. Plow up the fallow grounds of your hearts,¹ and sow not among thornes, it is nothing else, but with sound saving sorrow to have the heart pierced with the terrours of the Law seising upon it, and the vilenesse of sinne wounding the conscience for it. The heart of a man is compared to fallow ground that is unfruitfull; you must not sow amongst thornes and thistles, first plow it, and lay ⟨p. 163⟩it bare and naked, and then cast in your seed. If a man plow here a furrow, and there a furrow, & leave here and there a bawke, he is never like to have a good croppe, there will grow so many thistles and so much grasse, that it will choake the seed: our hearts are this ground, and our corruptions are these thornes and thistles: Now if a man be content to finde some sinne hatefull, because it is shamefull, but will keepe here a lust & there a lust, he will never make any good husbandry of his heart: though a faithfull minister should sow all the grace of the promises in his soule, he would never get any good by them, but the corruptions that remaine in the heart wil hinder the saving worke thereof.