The unbelievers preparing for Christ. By T.HThe vnbeleevers preparing for Christ. By T.H

LUKE 19.42. If thou […] known as least in this thy day the things belonging to thy […].

LUKE 19.42. If thou 〈…〉 knowne as least in this thy day the things belonging to thy 〈…〉.

According to our purpose we have proceeded thus far in the point of preparation, we have spoken of the five general circumstances thereof; the first whereof was this, the mercy of God is free; secondly, a man must will to receive Christ and grace before he shall have Christ and grace; thirdly, he that doth will Christ truly shall have Christ and salvation by him. These three we have handled out of the 22. of the Revelations the 17. The fourth was that a man by nature cannot receive Christ and grace, and that we handled out of 1 Cor. 2.14. The fifth was, howsoever a soul by nature cannot receive Christ and salvation, yet God will bring the souls of his to prize Christ, and approve of him, and be willing to entertain him, and then he will bestow Christ and salvation upon them, this we handled out of Ezek. 11.19. and in ⟨p. 155⟩this work of God in the preparing of a soul for himself, there are two further circumstances to be considered in regard of the time when God will do this, and the first circumstance is in regard of the means, the second in regard of the men which are to be wrought upon; and so we have a trouble consideration in regard of the time when God will thus prepare the soul of a poor sinner for himself; the first is in respect of the means, and that is this, when the Gospel of life and salvation is sent and revealed to a people and continued to a people, if ever God work upon the hearts of men, if ever he means to bring people to the knowledge of the things belonging to their peace, it is then when the Lord is pleased to send his faithful Ministers among them, & discover the means of life and salvation nto them. The second circumstance is in regard of the men that God will work upon; some sooner some later, some in their young and tender age, some in their middle age and in their ripe years, and some though very few in their old age, few are called when they are old, God calls some such but very few, as we shall hear hereafter. We will handle now the circumstance of time in regard of the means, when God doth purpose good into a man, or town, or a country, or a kingdom, namely when the Lord sends his Gospel among them & his faithful Ministers to discover the means of […] unto them; and for this purpose I have this […] Text.