The real Christian, or, A treatise of effectual calling wherein the work of God…

But usually, or commonly it is so, when, as I said, persons be adult before God works. That it is so, and usually must be so, experience doth testify, and we need not trouble our heads to find the reason of it. So blind are we in the matters of eternity, such great thoughts have we of Creatures and Creature-enjoyments, such slaves unto our lusts, our hearts so set upon our iniquities, Hos. 4.8 [witness those terrible blows a man will endure before he will part with them] so well conceited of our polluted righteousness, that did not the Spirit of the Almighty set his power to work, open our eyes to see our selves, sin, and creatures, and filthiness that is in our righteousness, in which we so bless our selves, and disquiet the soul that lieth so at rest in Delilah's lap; Christ might call and call long enough, before we would come to him: we may hear him indeed, but as the Country Proverb is, Hear as Hogs in harvest; a ⟨p. 11⟩similitude good enough for us, who are compared to Swine, 2 Pet. 2. ult. though I know in some respects it holds not (which is not required in similitudes.) Hogs in harvest time, when they are gotten into good Shack, when they at home call them, and knock at the trough, the Hogs will lift up their heads out of the stubble and listen, but fall to their Shack again, home they will not go, they are pleased where they are. This is the frame of our swinish hearts feeding in the Shack of the world and our lusts; let Christ call, it may be if there be some warm man at the work, that shows himself a workman, we can lift up our heads and hear what he saith, but to our shack we go again, home we will not go to him who calleth us, our swinish hearts looking upon the things of the Gospel, that same holiness, but as sour swill; but the things of this world, the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life, these are the sweet grain. Absalom sends for Joab once and again, ¹but Joab is busy, hath other matters to mind; but when he sets his Barley-field on fire then he comes: And thus God, when he sends more then once, but we are so taken up about other matters, we will not come; sometimes sets our creature-comforts on fire, or causeth the sparks of Hell fire to be felt in a mans Conscience, then God may hear of us.