§. 9. Direct. 2. Be not a stranger to the condition of thy own soul, but look home till thou art acquainted 1what state it is in, and what it is in danger of, and what it wanteth, and how far thou art behind hand in thy provisions for immortality: and then be an idle Time-waster if thou canst. Could I but go down with thee into that dungeon Heart of thine, and show thee by the light of truth what is there! could I but let in one convincing beam from Heaven, which might fully show thee what a condition thou art in, and what thou hast to do with thy remaining Time, I should have no need to dispute thee out of thy childish fooleries, nor to bid thee, be up and doing for thy soul, no more than to bid thee stir if a Bear were at thy back, or the house in a flame about thy ears. Alas, our ordinary Timewasters are such, as are yet unconverted carnal wretches, and are all the while in the power of the Devil, who is the chief master of the sport, and the greatest gainer. They are such as are utter strangers to the regenerating sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost; and are yet unjustified, and under the guilt of all their sins, and certain to be with Devils in Hell for ever, if they die thus before they are converted! (This is true, sinner, and thou wilt shortly find it so, by grace or vengeance, though thy blind and hardened heart now rise against the mention of it)! And is this a case for a man to sit at cards and dice in, or to sport and swagger in? The Lord have mercy on thee, and open thy eyes before it is too late, or else thy Conscience will tell thee for ever in another manner than I am telling thee now, that thou hadst need to have better improved thy Time, and hadst greater things to have spent it in. What, for a man in thy case! in an unrenewed, unsanctified, unpardoned state, to be thus casting away that little Time, which all his hopes lie on? and in which, if ever, he must be recovered, and saved! O Lord, have mercy on such senseless souls, and bring them to themselves be fore it be too late! I tell thee man, an enlightened person that understandeth what it is, and hath escaped it, would not for all the Kingdoms of the world, be a week or a day in thy condition, for fear lest death cut off his hopes and shut him up in Hell that very day:
§. 9. Direct. 2. Be not a stranger to the condition of thy own soul, but look home till thou art acquainted 1what state it is in, and what it is in danger of, and what it wanteth, and how far thou art behind hand in thy provisions for immortality: and then be an idle Time-waster if thou canst. Could I but go down with thee into that dungeon Heart of thine, and shew thee by the light of truth what is there! could I but let in one convincing beam from Heaven, which might fully shew thee what a condition thou art in, and what thou hast to do with thy remaining Time, I should have no need to dispute thee out of thy childish fooleries, nor to bid thee, be up and doing for thy soul, no more than to bid thee stir if a Bear were at thy back, or the house in a flame about thy ears. Alas, our ordinary Timewasters are such, as are yet unconverted carnal wretches, and are all the while in the power of the Devil, who is the chief master of the sport, and the greatest gainer. They are such as are utter strangers to the regenerating sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost; and are yet unjustified, and under the guilt of all their sins, and certain to be with Devils in Hell for ever, if they die thus before they are converted! (This is true, sinner, and thou wilt shortly find it so, by grace or vengeance, though thy blind and hardened heart now rise against the mention of it)! And is this a case for a man to sit at cards and dice in, or to sport and swagger in? The Lord have mercy on thee, and open thy eyes before it is too late, or else thy Conscience will tell thee for ever in another manner than I am telling thee now, that thou hadst need to have better improved thy Time, and hadst greater things to have spent it in. What, for a man in thy case! in an unrenewed, unsanctified, unpardoned state, to be thus casting away that little Time, which all his hopes lie on? and in which, if ever, he must be recovered, and saved! O Lord, have mercy on such sensless souls, and bring them to themselves be fore it be too late! I tell thee man, an enlightened person that understandeth what it is, and hath escaped it, would not for all the Kingdoms of the world, be a week or a day in thy condition, for fear lest death cut off his hopes and shut him up in Hell that very day:
- 1Direct. 2.
