If yet the rack of conscience doth constrain thee towards ⟨p. 86⟩§3thy latter end to vent out those hideous apprehensions of Gods displeasure, and thy own misery, and therefore thou art now restless in seeking for mercy, it shall be all in vain and without […]. John. 8. 21. The rebellious Jews who disdained Christ and all his counsels, and refused his mercy when it was tendered to them at their doors, Christ says to them, You shall seek me but you shall not find me, but shall dye in your sins, you lived in them, and you shall dye in them, though you leave your lives your sins will not leave you, they shall rot with you in your graves and rise with you to judgment, and go with you to Hell, whither I go ye cannot come, therefore you cannot come to Christ and Grace, for if they might do so, they might come to Heaven; It was one part of the folly of the foolish Virgins. To sleep away their time and never sought to get oil into their Lamps until it 1was too late, and then they cried to their fellows […] us some of your […] for our Lamps are gone out, some of that faith and repentance which formerly they conceived they could find at every shop, but they had little enough for themselves, and therefore bid them go into the City and buy, but all was in vain, they missed of their oil and missed of their entrance also into the Bridegrooms Chamber: Thou art one of these deluded creatures, thou thinkest either thou canst make oil or buy oil when thou list, thou wilt find too late that thou doest egregiously befool thy self, when though thou knockest never so hard criest never so loud thou shalt find no acceptance, nor gain any entertainment from the Lord. Nay our Saviour that he might crush such […] conceits he […] down the conclusion peremptory that it might for ever silence such imaginations, after the young man had the offer of eternal life, and trampled it under feet, and our Saviour had told them it was easier for a Camel to go through the eye of […] ⟨p. 87⟩needle, than for a rich man to enter in at the Kingdom of Heaven, they replied, Who then can be saved? He answered plainly, and beyond all question, Mat. 19. 26. With men it is impossible; if all the Angels in Heaven would come to help, if all the Ministers on Earth should labour to persuade, it would be impossible that of thy self thou shouldest entertain the offers of Grace.
If yet the rack of conscience doth constraine thee towards ⟨p. 86⟩§3thy latter end to vent out those hideous apprehensions of Gods displeasure, and thy own misery, and therefore thou art now restless in seeking for mercy, it shall be al in vain and without 〈…〉. John. 8. 21. The rebellious Jewes who disdained Christ and al his counsels, and refused his mercy when it was tendered to them at their dores, Christ saies to them, You shall seek me but you shall not find me, but shall dye in your sins, you lived in them, and you shall dye in them, though you leave your lives your sins wil not leave you, they shall rot with you in your graves and rise with you to judgment, and go with you to Hell, whither I go ye cannot come, therefore you cannot come to Christ and Grace, for if they might do so, they might come to Heaven; It was one part of the folly of the foolish Virgins. To sleep away their time and never sought to get oyl into their Lamps untill it 1was too late, and then they cryed to their fellows 〈…〉 us some of your 〈…〉 for our Lamps are gone out, some of that faith and repentance which formerly they conceived they could find at every shop, but they had little enough for themselves, and therefore bid them go into the Citie and buy, but al was in vain, they missed of their oyl and missed of their entrance also into the Bridegrooms Chamber: Thou art one of these deluded creatures, thou thinkest either thou canst make oyl or buy oyl when thou list, thou wilt find too late that thou doest egregiously befool thy self, when though thou knockest never so hard cryest never so loud thou shalt find no acceptance, nor gain any entertainment from the Lord. Nay our Saviour that he might crush such 〈…〉 conceits he 〈…〉 down the conclusion peremptorie that it might for ever silence such imaginations, after the young man had the offer of eternal life, and trampled it under seet, and our Saviour had told them it was easier for a Camell to go through the eye of 〈…〉 ⟨p. 87⟩needle, than for a rich man to enter in at the Kingdom of Heaven, they replyed, Who then can be saved? He answered plainly, and beyond all question,
- 1Mat. 25.
