The souls vocation or effectual calling to Christ. By T.HThe soules vocation or effectual calling to Christ. By T.H

The second is this, a grounded hope is ever of great power and strength, to hold the soul to the ⟨p. 138⟩truth of the promise: the Spirit you know, we showed, stirreth the heart to hope: now he turneth hope so to God, that the eye of the soul goeth that way and cannot be taken from it, but it will go promise-ward, and God-ward. Hence take a poor sinner, when he is at the weakest under water; when all temptations, oppositions, corruptions, grow strong against them, the Lord letteth them loose against the soul, nay letteth the poor soul come to join side with Satan against himself, and the goodness of the Lord; and he saith, the truth of it is, I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul: this proud foolish filthy heart of mine, it will be my bane; it had better for me never to have been, I shall never get power, strength and grace against these sins; here is the lowest under of a poor soul. If a man should now reply, why then cast off all hope and confidence, reject the means, and turn to your sins; Mark how hope steppeth in and saith, it is true, what ever I am and do, what ever my condition is, I will use the means, I am sure all my help is in Christ, all my hope is in the Lord Jesus, and if I must perish, I will perish seeking him, and waiting upon him. Why, this is hope now, and I warrant that soul shall never go to hell. Psal. 119.81. My heart fainted, and my hope was in thy salvation: Isay 8.7. I will wait for the Lord, who hath hid himself from the house of Jacob: the Lord hideth himself, he doth not show himself, he hath not manifested himself, yet I will hope in the Lord, that hideth his face: Psal. 69.3. But the hope of the ⟨p. 139⟩wicked is not so: 2 King. 6. and the last verse, this evil cometh of the Lord, and why should I wait any longer? Prov. 14.32. The hope of the wicked is driven away; that though a man stood upon his bottom, and all the world could not persuade him to the contrary, but that he should be saved, and he should go to heaven, though proud still, though vain still, but his hope shall be driven away, but the righteous shall have hope in his death: friends fail, life fail, and wealth fail, but yet he hath hope in his death.