An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eleventh, twelfth, & thirteenth chapters of…

Then Secondly, Let us gather as many arguments as we ¹can to cause repentance, and lay them together, and never leave working them upon our hearts till we find them kindled: Surely there's all the reason for it in the world; Doth the Lord gather all together that may be for our good, and lay them upon his heart, and there keep them to his heart till they kindle and work powerful workings upon his heart for good to us? then, when we would repent, (for there's reason that we should repent as well as expect that God should for us) we should be gathering all arguments that possibly can be, and never leave till we find them kindled and warm at our hearts.

1. 1Obs. 2.

Oh! many of you, at some times you have one argument ¹that sticks at your hearts, and at another time there's another; at such a time there was some one truth darted in, and it took your hearts, and you would say as those that went to Emmaus, Did not we find our hearts burn within us? so you found Truths coming in at such a Sermon, and at another, and another; yea, but now could you get but all those arguments that ever God did dart into you to ways of repentance, could you but get them together, and work them upon your hearts, and never leave till they be kindled, and be crying to God as Elisha did, till he got fire to come from Heaven to consume the Sacrifice: Oh Lord, my heart hath a deal of watery stuff in it that will not kindle, till the fire of the holy Ghost come to kindle these arguments and make them to burn; Oh! if it were with us, as David in Psal. 39. 31. saith he, While I was musing, my heart was hot within ⟨p. 164⟩me, and the fire burned: so we should go into our closets and be gathering all things together that we can to work upon our hearts, and continue muffing till we find the fire burning within us. Nay, our hearts heat so, as to break forth with our tongues, and even to say from our souls, Well, the Lord is God, it is he that is worthy for ever to be feared, and honoured, and served, I have lived like a base, and sinful, wretched creature, without a God in the world, but it's the Lord that is God, that is worthy to be honoured, from my Body, and Soul, and Estate, and Name, and Liberty, and Life, and whatsoever I am, or can do; now if it would break forth in such a resolution, how excellent would it be? Oh! let us be humbled I beseech you for the coldness of our hearts, that nothing can kindle there; What a damp is there upon our spirits, that when any argument is laid it goes out presently? We have Truths laid upon us when we come to