The application of redemption

The last Use is of Exhortation and Direction both¹ together: It should guide us, and it should persuade us, to take the right way of Reformation: Never leave thy prayers, and tears, and sorrows, and remorse, until thou come to thy very heart; thy tongue professeth fair, and thy hand forbears the practice of evil, but ask thy heart, Heart what sayest thou? Shame may prevail with thee, Authority of men may constrain thee, and conscience may force thee to abstain from evil; I but, what says thy Heart? art thou willing to part with thy sin? I do not do it, I dare not do it; but Will, what sayest thou? Heart, what sayest thou? Never cease before you be able to answer, I am really willing to part with every sin I am convinced of. It was the great complaint of Moses concerning the People of Israel, that notwithstanding all that the Lord had done for them, yet they had not a heart to fear him, ²and to walk in obedience before him: So […] may say, God hath crowned thee with […], honoured ⟨p. 344⟩thee with encouragements, thou hast the Esteem of others, thou hast all Liberties and opportunities to be as good as thou shouldest be, but truly all these will do thee no good, unless thou hast a heart for God and against thy sin, therefore rest no where until thou hast this. The great Fort that must be taken, is the Will, or else all the rest is as good as nothing: he that will cure a disease must not only skin it over, but must take away the core of it, if he think to heal it throughly, and cure it fully: So here, it is not enough to wash a mans mouth, and to wipe his hands, but the core of a mans corruptions must be got away, thy soul must be brought off from the Will of sinning, as well as from the Practice of sinning, or else thy soul will never be brought home to God: stay not therefore till thou comest hither, and be sure to make sound work here. Men that clear ground, they content not themselves to lop off the tops of trees, but they stub up the roots, then they make clear work: So here, be sure you stub up the heart and will of sinning (that's the root of all) or else all that you do is in vain; it was our Saviours expression to the Pharisees, Luke, 11. 39. Ye fools that make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness: