The Sincere Convert

These rest in duties,¹ that prize the bare performance of Duties wonderfully; for those duties that carry thee out of thy self unto Christ, make thee ⟨p. 248⟩to prize Christ. Now tell me, dost thou glory in thy self? now I am some-body. I was ignorant, forgetful, hard-hearted, now I understand and remember better, and can sorrow for my sins; if thou dost rest here, thy duties never carried thee further than thy self. Dost thou think after that thou hast prayed with some life, now I have done very well, and now thou dost verily think (meaning for thy duties) the Lord will save thee though thou never come to Christ, & sayest as he in another case; now I hope the Lord will do good to me, seeing I have got a Priest into mine house, Judg. 17. 13. Dost thou enhance the price of duties thus, that thou dost dote on them, then I do pronounce from God, thou dost rest in them:² these things (saith Paul) I accounted gain, (that is, before his conversion to Christ, he prized them exceedingly) but now I account them loss: and this is the reason why a child of God commonly after all his prayers, tears and confessions, doubts much of Gods love towards him? whereas another ⟨p. 249⟩man that falleth short of him, never questioneth his estate; the first seeth much rottenness and vileness in his best duties, and so judgeth meanly of himself: the other ignorant of the vileness of them, prizeth them and esteemeth highly of them, and setting his corn at so high a price, he may keep them to himself; the Lord never accepteth them, nor buyeth them at so high a rate.

These rest in duties,¹ that prize the bare performance of Duties wonderfully; for those duties that carry thee out of thy selfe unto Christ, make thee ⟨p. 248⟩to prize Christ. Now tell me, dost thou glory in thy selfe? now I am some-body. I was ignorant, forgetfull, hard-hearted, now I understand and remember better, and can sorrow for my sinnes; if thou dost rest here, thy duties never carried thee further than thy selfe. Dost thou thinke after that thou hast prayed with some life, now I have done very well, and now thou dost verily thinke (meaning for thy duties) the Lord will save thee though thou never come to Christ, & sayest as he in another case; now I hope the Lord will doe good to me, seeing I have got a Priest into mine house,