The young man's guide through the wilderness of this world to the heavenly Canaan…

1. Thy necessity methinks should prevail with thee. A necessity is laid upon thee to turn to the Lord, and woe to thee if thou turn not; thou must turn, or die, Matth. 18. 9, Except ye be converted, ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Necessity is a mighty Argument to persuade to any thing. What is there but necessity will persuade men to? Sinners will make use of this argument to persuade themselves to, and to excuse and justify themselves in, any wickedness. We shall hear them sometimes saying, If I have stolen it was for my necessity. If I have lied or sworn falsely, it was upon necessity, I was forced upon it. And when they have said this ('twas my necessity that brought me to it) they think they have said enough to justify themselves.

1. Thy necessity methinks should prevail with thee. A necessity is laid upon thee to turn to the Lord, and wo to thee if thou turn not; thou must turn, or die, Matth. 18. 9, Except ye be converted, ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Necessity is a mighty Argument to perswade to any thing. What is there but necessity will perswade men to? Sinners will make use of this argument to perswade themselves to, and to excuse and justifie themselves in, any wickedness. We shall hear them sometimes saying, If I have stollen it was for my necessity. If I have lyed or sworn falsly, it was upon necessity, I was forced upon it. And when they have said this ('twas my necessity that brought me to it) they think they have said enough to justifie themselves.

This argument of Necessity hath great place in the present Case: it is of necessity that thou be converted: For

1. It's necessary that thou live, that thou secure thine own being, and the blessedness thereof, that thy soul be so looked to, that it be not left to die and perish for ever. This is of the highest necessity for every man to look to it, that he go not down into the infernal pit. It is not necessary to be rich in this world, to have great houses, and fine clothes, and costly fare, and many Friends, to be in health, to live in credit and prosperity in the world. Thou mayest be, and be happy without all this; there's many an honest poor man, who hath lived comfortably and contentedly, that hath scarce been worth a groat, besides his labours, and it may be hath scarcely had one friend in the world to relieve him. But it's necessary to keep thee out of Hell, to keep thy soul out of the hands of the devil; this is more necessary than to have a Being: better thou hadst never been born than at last to be damned.