God doth appoint His Ministers at First to come to you, and to make the proffer of Peace unto your Souls; then it should teach you presently to be willing to come and close with that Message. Gods Heart is so full of Mercy towards you, as at the very First He will have this offered to you; then your hearts should likewise come in as well to God, and at the very First come in and close with that blessed Offer of Grace and Mercy. O, it is a great Encouragement to a Minister, when People come in at the very First offer. We have a notable Scripture ⟨p. 155⟩for this, in Psal. 18. 44. Mark, As soon as they hear of Me, they shall obey Me. That's indeed a blessed thing, that when a People comes to hear of Christ, and of the Doctrine of Reconciliation, that as soon as they hear of it, they shall come in presently and Obey; that a Minister shall find his First Labours to be Fruitful and Effectual. I could tell you of one, as in 2 Cor. 12. the beginning: And so I could say, That I knew one Twenty Years ago, or more, that at the very First day of Preaching of the Doctrine of the Gospel of that Truth unto a People, at the First day God pleased to bring in a Soul, and continue him to this very day; and make him a Godly, Gracious, and Holy man, that was a desperate and profane wicked Wretch before. O that it might please God to Encourage the Hearts of His Ministers so, that at their First coming to People, they might find some Fruit of their Labours: For one that is Faithful, and comes among a People, he looks after his Ministry, and considers what he doth, and what Effect that hath, and so doth give account to God of what Effect that hath upon the Hearts of People. And, O what an Encouragement is this, and how Honourable to a People, if a Minister of God shall give up this account, and say, Lord, as soon as ever thou didst send me among such a People, they did begin to hearken after the Doctrine of Peace, and began to Consider what it was that was spoken: And they were exceedingly Hopeful by their Attention, and by other ways they have given exceeding good hope, that they have received the Doctrine of Peace, that Thou didst send me about. And those, certainly, are most to be Honoured, that do First come in▪ though it's true, if men come in at the last Hour, there is a possibility to get to Heaven: but those that ⟨p. 156⟩come in at the First, they are the most acceptable to God, Mich.
God doth appoint His Ministers at First to come to you, and to make the proffer of Peace unto your Souls; then it should teach you presently to be willing to come and close with that Message. Gods Heart is sofull of Mercy towards you, as at the very First He will have this offered to you; then your hearts should likewise come in as well to God, and at the very First come in and close with that blessed Offer of Grace and Mercy. O, it is a great Encouragement to a Minister, when People come in at the very First offer. We have a notable Scripture ⟨p. 155⟩for this, in Psal. 18. 44. Mark, As soon as they hear of Me, they shall obey Me. That's indeed a blessed thing, that when a People comes to hear of Christ, and of the Doctrine of Reconciliation, that as soon as they hear of it, they shall come in presently and Obey; that a Minister shall find his First Labours to be Fruitful and Effectual. I could tell you of one, as in 2 Cor. 12. the beginning: And so I could say, That I knew one Twenty Years ago, or more, that at the very First day of Preaching of the Doctrine of the Gospel of that Truth unto a People, at the First day God pleased to bring in a Soul, and continue him to this very day; and make him a Godly, Gracious, and Holy man, that was a desperate and prophane wicked Wretch before. O that it might please God to Incourage the Hearts of His Ministers so, that at their First coming to People, they might find some Fruit of their Labours: For one that is Faithful, and comes among a People, he looks after his Ministry, and considers what he doth, and what Effect that hath, and so doth give account to God of what Effect that hath upon the Hearts of People. And, O what an Incouragement is this, and how Honourable to a People, if a Minister of God shall give up this account, and say, Lord, as soon as ever thou didst send me among such a People, they did begin to hearken after the Doctrine of Peace, and began to Consider what it was that was spoken: And they were exceedingly Hopeful by their Attention, and by other wayes they have given exceeding good hope, that they have received the Doctrine of Peace, that Thou didst send me about. And those, certainly, are most to be Honoured, that do First come in▪ though it's true, if men come in at the last Hour, there is a possibility to get to Heaven: but those that ⟨p. 156⟩come in at the First, they are the most acceptable to God, Mich.
