Gospel reconciliation, or, Christ's trumpet of peace to the world

First, If this be the great work of the Ministers that are sent amongst you to dispense the Ministry of Reconciliation to you; O! then certainly the sending of any of the ministers of the gospel among you, you are to account a glorious and a wonderful blessing of God upon you at any time; why? what is their errand? They come to treat with your souls about Reconciliation with God, and God hath appointed this the great means of bringing souls unto himself, to be reconciled unto himself, and therefore it is one of the greatest blessings in the world to have the ministry of the gospel in any congregation. Blessed be your eyes saith Christ that you see such things, and your ears that you hear such things, that God hath disposed you to live in those times wherein you have the mighty things of the ministry of the gospel showed unto you; it is a good argument that god hath many souls to be reconciled unto when he sends the ministers of the gospel unto a place, and therefore when Paul was going from a place, God appeared to him in the night, and bid him be of good courage and saith unto him, I have many souls in this City. When God in a special manner sends the preaching ⟨p. 268⟩of the gospel into a place let them bless God from their souls, and take it as an argument that sure God hath many souls in this place that he intends to be reconciled unto, for the ministry of the gospel is the ministry of reconciliation; it is the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ, and for that compare those scriptures together and it will be clear; in Isaiah. 49 8. this is quoted in Cor. 2.6.2. now what is that? that is, when Paul was preaching to them, and he makes this the fulfilling of that prophecy in