These are the thoughts, the affections the breathing of every regenerate gracious soul. For your souls sake enquire now, Is it thus with you? or have you thus returned with self-loathing to the Lord, and firmly engaged your souls to him at your entrance into a holy life? I must be plain with you Gentlemen, or I shall be unfaithful; and I must deal closely with you, or I cannot deal honestly and truly with you. As sure as you live, yea as sure as the word of God is true, you must all be such converted men, and loath your selves for your iniquities, or be condemned as impenitent to everlasting fire. To hide this from you, is but to deceive you, and that in a matter of a thousand times greater moment then your lives. Perhaps I could have made shift, instead of such serious admonitions, to have wasted this hour in flashy oratory, and neat expressions, and ornaments of reading, and other things that are the too common matter of ostentation, with men that preach Gods word in jest, and believe not what they are persuading others to believe. Or if you think I could not, I am indifferent, as not much affecting the honour of being able, to offend the Lord, and wrong your souls, by dallying with holy things. Flattery in these things of soul concernment, is a selfish villainy, that hath but a very short reward; and those that are pleased with it to day, may curse the flatterer for ever. Again therefore let me tell you, (that which I think you will confess,) that it is not your greatness, nor your high looks, nor the gallantry of your spirits that scorns to be thus humbled, that will serve your turn when God shall deal with you, or save your carcasses from rottenness and dust, or ⟨p. 30⟩your guilty souls from the wrath of the Almighty. Nor is it your contempt of the threatenings of the Lord, and your stupid neglect, or scorning at the message, that will endure, when the sudden unresistible light shall come in upon you and convince you, or you shall see and feel what now you refused to believe! Nor is it your outside hypocritical Religion, made up of mere words or ceremonies, and giving your souls but the leavings of the flesh, and making God an underling to the world, that will do any more to save your souls, then the picture of a feast to feed your bodies.
These are the thoughts, the affections the breathing of every regenerate gracious soul. For your souls sake enquire now, Is it thus with you? or have you thus returned with self-loathing to the Lord, and firmly engaged your souls to him at your enterance into a holy life? I must be plain with you Gentlemen, or I shall be unfaithfull; and I must deal closely with you, or I cannot deal honestly and truly with you. As sure as you live, yea as sure as the word of God is true, you must all be such converted men, and loath your selves for your iniquities, or be condemned as impenitent to everlasting fire. To hide this from you, is but to deceive you, and that in a matter of a thousand times greater moment then your lives. Perhaps I could have made shift, instead of such serious admonitions, to have wasted this hour in flashy oratory, and neat expressions, and ornaments of reading, and other things that are the too common matter of ostentation, with men that preach Gods word in jeast, and believe not what they are perswading others to believe. Or if you think I could not, I am indifferent, as not much affecting the honour of being able, to offend the Lord, and wrong your souls, by dallying with holy things. Flattery in these things of soul concernment, is a selfish vilany, that hath but a very short reward; and those that are pleased with it to day, may curse the flatterer for ever. Again therefore let me tell you, (that which I think you will confess,) that it is not your greatness, nor your high looks, nor the gallantry of your spirits that scorns to be thus humbled, that will serve your turn when God shall deal with you, or save your carcasses from rottenness and dust, or ⟨p. 30⟩your guilty souls from the wrath of the Almighty. Nor is it your contempt of the threatnings of the Lord, and your stupid neglect, or scorning at the message, that will endure, when the sudden unresistible light shall come in upon you and convince you, or you shall see and feel what now you refused to believe! Nor is it your outside hypocriticall Religion, made up of meer words or ceremonies, and giving your souls but the leavings of the flesh, and making God an underling to the world, that will do any more to save your souls, then the picture of a feast to feed your bodies.
