The blessedness of the righteous discoursed from Psal. 17, 15 /The blessednesse of the righteous discoursed from Psal. 17, 15 /

The Gospel is true and to be believed, till they meet with something that crosses them, and goes against the hair, and then, they hope it is not so But vain man! if once thou shake the truth of God, what wilt thou stay thy self upon? Is God true when he promises? and is he not as true when he threatens? if that be a true saying: S•y to the righteous it shall be well with him—is not that as much to be regarded; woe to the wicked it shall be ill with him. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Are not these of equal authority? If thou hadst any reason to hope, thou mayest be happy though thou never be righteous; is there not as much reason to fear thou mightest be miserable though thou be; since the one is as much against the slat express word of God as the other? Let not thy love to sin betray thee out of all Religion, and thy wits together. Wherein wilt thou believe one upon the bare value of his word, that will lie to thee in any thing? Yea, and as it is the same authority that is affronted in every command, whence disobedience to one is a breach of all; so is the same veracity denied in every truth; and the disbelief of one belies all, and wilt thou believe ⟨p. 215⟩him in any thing, thou hast proclaimed a liar in every thing? Therefore so little hast thou gained by disbelieving the divine revelation in this thing; that thou hast brought thy self to this miserable Dilemma; if the word of God be false thou hast no foundation of any Faith left thee; if it be true, it dooms thee to eternal banishment from his blessed face, while thou remainest in thy unrighteousness. It will not be thy advantage then to disbelieve this Gospel record, but to consider it, and take it to heart, 'twill prove never the less true, at last for that thou wilt not believe it, shall thy unbelief make the truth of God of none effect? And if thou wouldest but reasonably consider the case; methinks thou shouldest soon be convinced. Since thou acknowledgest (as I suppose thee to do) that there are two states of men in the other World, a state of blessedness, and a state of misery; and two sorts of men in this World, the righteous, and the unrighteous. Let thy reason and conscience now judge, who shall be allotted to the one state, and who to the other.

The Gospel is true and to be believed, till they meet with something that crosses them, and goes against the hair, and then, they hope it is not so But vain man! if once thou shake the truth of God, what wilt thou stay thy self upon? Is God true when he promises? and is he not as true when he threatens? if that be a true saying: Sy to the righteous it shall be well with him—is not that as much to be regarded; wo to the wicked it shall be ill with him. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Are not these of equal authority? If thou hadst any reason to hope, thou mayest be happy though thou never be righteous; is there not as much reason to fear thou might'st be miserable though thou be; since the one is as much against the slat express word of God as the other? Let not thy love to sin betray thee out of all Religion, and thy wits together. Wherein wilt thou believe one upon the bare value of his word, that will lie to thee in any thing? Yea, and as it is the same authority that is affronted in every command, whence disobedience to one is a breach of all; so is the same veracity denyed in every truth; and the disbelief of one belies all, and wilt thou believe