The divine life in three treatises

4. Your Walking with God is the necessary prosecution of your Choice and Hopes of life eternal. It is your necessary preparation to your enjoying him in Heaven. And have you fixed on those Hopes with so great reason and deliberation, and will you now draw back and be slack in the prosecution of them? Have you gone so far in the way to Heaven, and do you now begin to look behind you, as if you were about to change your mind? Paul setteth you a better example, Phil. 3. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. [Yea doubtless I account all things but loss for the excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him—If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead: Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus: Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the price of the high Calling of God in Christ Jesus.] He compareth himself to a runner in a race, that till be apprehend the price or mark, doth still make forward with all his might, and will not so much as mind or look at any thing behind him, that would turn him back, or stop him in his course. The world and the flesh are the things behind us: We turned our backs upon them at our conversion, when we turned to God: It is these that would now call back our thoughts, and corrupt our affections, when we should run on, and reach forward to the heavenly price: It is God and Heaven and the remaining duties of a holy life, that are the things before us! And shall we now look back? what we that are running and striving for a Crown of endless glory! we, that if we lose it, do lose our souls and hopes for ever! we, that have loitered in the morning of our lives, and lost so much precious time as we have done! we, that have gone so far in our way, and held out through so many difficulties and assaults! Shall we now grow weary of walking with God, and begin to look to the things behind us?

4. YOur Walking with God is the necessary prosecution of your Choice and Hopes of life eternal. It is your necessary preparation to your enjoying him in Heaven. And have you fixed on those Hopes with so great reason and deliberation, and will you now draw back and be slack in the prosecution of them? Have you gone so far in the way to Heaven, and do you now begin to look behind you, as if you were about to change your mind? Paul setteth you a better example,