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

We know this, that there are glorious intentions that God hath in this work, but what these are, we shall never know throughly till we come to Heaven; and that indeed will be the very work of Heaven it self to be praising of God to all eternity for that great act of his, namely his willingness to be reconciled to lost man, rather than to the fallen Angels. We shall know some Reasons of that afterward, for God doth things according to the Counsel of his will; and there is nothing he doth, but he hath a great deal of Reason for which we must adore though we cannot now fully understand. Only for the present let me hint this unto you; let the Consideration of but thus much affect your hearts. O should we be sent to preach to the Devils such a point as this is, or to the Angels in Hell; and say, the Lord hath kept this Counsel from you almost this six thousand ⟨p. 15⟩years, and his ways towards you have been •o as if he would never enter parley with you, but now God hath revealed his will towards you, that he is content to enter into a Treaty with you about the things that concern your peace, and the reconciling of you unto himself, what a message would this be to them think you? but this never was, nor never shall be preached unto them. If God should send this message to the damned in Hell, and say to them, the Lord is content to enter into a parley with you about the reconciling of himself unto you, what a message would this be to them? but this cannot be; this is only a message to those that are alive here in this world, to that part of the children of men that are living upon the earth, unto them only can this be preached, that there is a possibility of Reconciliation between God and them. Truly the consideration of a possibility is that which may satisfy the heart of man, let the terms be what they will. O! is it possible that God may be reconciled, I will never inquire about the terms out of fear that the hardness of them should discourage me; O! let the terms be what they will, this is the most acceptable news, this is the best tidings to my soul, more acceptable than it I were told, that I had a thousand worlds given unto me, even this that I hear, that there is a possibility of reconciliation betwixt God and my self.

We know this, that there are glorious intentions that God hath in this work, but what these are, we shal never know througbly til we come to Heaven; and that indeed wil be the very work of Heaven it self to be praising of God to all eternity for that great act of his, namely his willingnesse to be reconciled to lost man, rather than to the fallen Angels. We shal know some Reasons of that afterward, for God doth things according to the Counsel of his wil; and there is nothing he doth, but he hath a great deal of Reason for which we must adore though we cannot now fully understand. Only for the present let me hint this unto you; let the Consideration of but thus much affect your hearts. O should we be sent to preach to the Devils such a point as this is, or to the Angels in Hell; and say, the Lord hath kept this Councel from you almost this six thousand