The saints inheritance and the worldlings portion representing the glorious condition of a child…

It is a great argument to prevail with God, when any of you are in danger, and seek for preservation, if your hearts work thus to God, that the desire you have to be preserved is, that whatever you are, and whatever you can do, may extend to the Saints, that you may live to be of use and service in the world to Gods people. Many of you when you apprehend your selves to be in trouble, you then cry to God to be preserved: but to what end? wherefore would you be preserved? wherefore would you live? If we may judge of your ends according to your practise, you would live that you may have more time to satisfy your lusts, that you may have more time to dishonour God, that you may have more time to do mischief in the places where you live. There is this in the heart, and God sees it: ⟨p. 122⟩God sees whatsoever will be after in your lives; God sees before what was in your hearts when you cried to be preserved. But now one that is gracious, he desires therefore to be preserved: O, saith he, that I might live to be of use in that place where God hath placed me. If God should take me away now, my conscience tells me that it is little service that I have done for him. I have been of little use in the place where God hath set me, O, that I might be preserved for this end, that what I am, or have, or have been might extend to the Saints on earth, even the excellent in whom is all my delight. Thus you have the scope of the words, and the dependence of them. And in them there are these two things observable.

It is a great argument to prevail with God, when any of you are in danger, and seek for preservation, if your hearts work thus to God, that the desire you have to be preserved is, that whatever you are, and whatever you can do, may extend to the Saints, that you may live to be of use and service in the world to Gods people. Many of you when you apprehend your selves to be in trouble, you then cry to God to be preserved: but to what end? wherefore would you be preserved? wherefore would you live? If we may judge of your ends according to your practise, you would live that you may have more time to satisfie your lusts, that you may have more time to dishonour God, that you may have more time to do mischief in the places where you live. There is this in the heart, and God sees it: ⟨p. 122⟩God sees whatsoever will be after in your lives; God sees before what was in your hearts when you cried to be preserved. But now one that is gracious, he desires therefore to be preserved: O, saith he, that I might live to be of use in that place where God hath placed me. If God should take me away now, my conscience tells me that it is little service that I have done for him. I have been of little use in the place where God hath set me, O, that I might be preserved for this end, that what I am, or have, or have been might extend to the Saints on earth, even the excellent in whom is all my delight. Thus you have the scope of the words, and the dependance of them. And in them there are these two things observable.