4. In order to all this, you have now your Peace to be made ⟨p. 198⟩with God, and the pardon of all your sins to be obtained. For woe to you if then you are found under the guilt of any sin. Look back upon your lives, and remember how you have lived in the world, and what you have been doing: how you have spent your time, in youth and in your riper age; and how many sinful thoughts, and words, and deeds you have been guilty of; how oft you have sinfully pleased your appetites, and gratified your flesh, and yielded to temptations, and abused mercy, and lost your time: how oft you have neglected your duty, and betrayed your souls: how long you have lived in forgetfulness of God and your salvation; minding only the things of the flesh and of the world: how oft you have sinned ignorantly and against knowledge, through carelessness and through rashness, through negligence and through presumption, in passion, and upon deliberation; against convictions, purposes and promises: how oft you have sinned against the precepts of piety to God, and of justice and charity to men. Think how your sins are multiplied and aggravated, more in number then the hours of your lives: Aggravated by a world of mercies: by the clearest teachings, and the loudest calls, and sharpest reproofs, and seasonable warnings, and by the long and urgent importunities of grace. Think of all these, and then consider whether you have nothing now to do with God, whether it be not a business to be followed with all possible speed and diligence to procure the pardon of all these sins: you have no such businesses as these, to transact with men: you may have business with them which your estates depend upon, or which touch your credit, commodity or lives; but you have no business with men (unless in subordination to God) which your salvation doth depend upon: your eternal happiness is not in their hands: They may kill your bodies, (if God permit them) but not your souls. You need not solicit them to pardon your sins against God: It is a small matter how you are judged of by man: you have one that judgeth you, even the Lord, 1 Cor. 4. 3, 4. No man can forgive sin, but God only. O then how early, how earnestly should you cry to him for mercy! Pardon must be obtained now or never: There is no Justification for that man at the day of Judgement, that is not forgiven and justified now.
4. In order to all this, you have now your Peace to be made ⟨p. 198⟩with God, and the pardon of all your sins to be obtained. For woe to you if then you are found under the guilt of any sin. Look back upon your lives, and remember how you have lived in the world, and what you have been doing: how you have spent your time, in youth and in your riper age; and how many sinful thoughts, and words, and deeds you have been guilty of; how oft you have sinfully pleased your appetites, and gratified your flesh, and yeilded to temptations, and abused mercy, and lost your time: how oft you have neglected your duty, and betrayed your souls: how long you have lived in forgetfulness of God and your salvation; minding only the things of the flesh and of the world: how oft you have sinned ignorantly and against knowledge, through carelesness and through rashness, through negligence and through presumption, in passion, and upon deliberation; against convictions, purposes and promises: how oft you have sinned against the precepts of piety to God, and of justice and charity to men. Think how your sins are multiplied and aggravated, more in number then the hours of your lives: Aggravated by a world of mercies: by the clearest teachings, and the lowdest calls, and sharpest reproofs, and seasonable warnings, and by the long and urgent importunities of grace. Think of all these, and then consider whether you have nothing now to do with God, whether it be not a business to be followed with all possible speed and diligence to procure the pardon of all these sins: you have no such businesses as these, to transact with men: you may have business with them which your estates depend upon, or which touch your credit, commodity or lives; but you have no business with men (unless in subordination to God) which your salvation doth depend upon: your eternal happiness is not in their hands: They may kill your bodies, (if God permit them) but not your souls. You need not sollicite them to pardon your sins against God: It is a small matter how you are judged of by man: you have one that judgeth you, even the Lord, 1 Cor. 4. 3, 4. No man can forgive sin, but God only. O then how early, how earnestly should you cry to him for mercy! Pardon must be obtained now or never: There is no Justification for that man at the day of Judgement, that is not forgiven and iustified now.
