A Saint Indeed

1. That the pains and labours which many persons have taken in religion, is but lost labour, and pains to no purpose, such as will never turn to account.

Many great services have been performed, many glorious works are wrought by men, which yet are utterly rejected by God, and shall never stand upon record in order to an eternal acceptation, because they took no heed to keep their hearts with God in those duties: this is that fatal rock upon which thousands of vain professors split themselves eternally, they are curious about the externals of religion, but regardless of their hearts. O how many hours have some Professors spent in hearing, praying, reading, conferring? and yet as to the main end ⟨p. 184⟩of religion, as good they had sate still and done nothing: for all this signifies nothing, the great work, I mean heart work; being all the while neglected: tell me thou vain professor, when didst thou shed a tear for the deadness, hardness, unbelief, or earthliness of thy heart? thinkest thou, such an easy religion can save thee? if so, we may invert Christs words, and say, wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to life; and many there be that go in thereat: hear me thou self deluding hypocrite, thou that hast put of God with heartless duties, thou that hast acted in religion as if thou hadst been blessing an Idol, that could not search, and discover thy heart: thou that hast offered to God but the skin of the sacrifice, not the marrow, fat and inwards of it; how wilt thou abide the coming of the Lord? how wilt thou hold up thy head before him when he shall say, O thou dissembling false hearted man? how couldst thou profess religion? with what face couldst thou so often tell me, thou lovedst me, when thou knewest all the while in thine own conscience, that thine heart was not with me? O tremble to think, what a fearful judgment it is to be given over to a heedless ⟨p. 185⟩and careless heart: and then to have religious duties in stead of a rattle to quiet and still the Conscience!