The Soul's Preparation for Christ

If thou goest to a Physician thou wilt lay open all thy soars & all thy pains to him, or else thou ⟨p. 232⟩expectest no help from him; and canst thou look for any comfort from a minister, and never discover thy sins, whereby thou art hindered in a good course; men would be comforted, and yet never knew why they were afflicted;

If thou goest to a Physitian thou wilt lay opē all thy soares & all thy paines to him, or else thou ⟨p. 232⟩expectest no help from him; and canst thou looke for any comfort from a minister, and never discover thy sinnes, whereby thou art hindered in a good course; men would be comforted, and yet never knew why they were afflicted;

You that keep your sins so close, and maintain them so tenderly, the God of heaven will pluck those sweet morsels from your mouths, and lay them upon you, when you would be rid of them; As a man that is sick, he will not send to the Physician, because he thinks he is able to bear it out, till at last the disease begins to fester inwardly, & all the Physicians under heaven cannot cure him; if he had sent in time, he might have been eased; so it is with many sinful creatures, out of a sturdy stoutness of heart, they scorn to confess their corruptions; well, now God opens their eyes, and they begin to say, this is not well, and that is not well; but you will not send for the minister all this while, if it be horror of conscience, you will bear it; well, at last you come to your death beds, and the Lord lays his heavy hand upon you, and then you cry for the minister and all; oh saith one, woe to me because of this adulterous heart, this drunkenness, and this malice, and this madness against God and his people; I was a cunning persecutor, and with such a woman I committed adultery, and at last, when he hath ended his confession, he sinks and dies. Now the minister comes too late; ye will bear the check of conscience, & in time the wound grows sore, and your soul sinks into irrecoverable misery;