The saints dignity and duty· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardness. /…The saints dignitie and dutie· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardnesse. /…

But above all (my brethren) let me press you to this duty, to try and examine your selves, considering the times we live in. These are the times wherein the Lord putteth people upon the trial: trying times, even times like the times of the Fullers, purging his cloth, and the Goldsmiths refining his metal: And there are more trying times like to come. Have we not woeful experience of divers falling away, some falling scandalously, perhaps being the Saints of God, Davids, and Lots, and Noah's, and Peters; for so it is possible that some that are the children of God, may yet notwithstanding fall into scandalous and offensive sins, through their want of watchfulness, and fear, and carefulness. But a great many do fall, and fall scandalously, yea many give all cause of fear that there never was the soundness and truth of grace in them, they went out from us, because they were not of us. Now I say, considering that there are those that do fall, such as take upon them the profession of religion, and are eminent in the ways of Christ, and in the Gospel, and yet fall, and fall desperately and damnably: Doth it not concern us all to fear, and upon fearing to try our selves? When the Apostle discoursed of the fall of the Jews, how they were broken and cast off: What use did he teach the Gentiles to make of this? Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. So say I; are these such times that many fall away? then such of us as do stand, let us also take heed that we do not fall. How shall we take heed of falling? Oh let us look to our selves that we are sound; the ordinary cause of falling away is rottenness and unsoundness, when ⟨p. 70⟩people in hypocrisy take up the profession of Religion.

But above all (my brethren) let me presse you to this duty, to try and examine your selves, considering the times we live in. These are the times wherein the Lord putteth people upon the tryall: trying times, even times like the times of the Fullers, purging his cloth, and the Goldsmiths refining his mettall: And there are more trying times like to come. Have we not wofull experience of divers falling away, some falling scandalously, perhaps being the Saints of God, Davids, and Lots, and Noahs, and Peters; for so it is possible that some that are the children of God, may yet notwithstanding fall into scandalous and offensive sins, through their want of watchfulness, and fear, and carefulness. But a great many doe fall, and fall scandalously, yea many give all cause of fear that there never was the soundness and truth of grace in them, they went out from us, because they were not of us. Now I say, considering that there are those that doe fall, such as take upon them the profession of religion, and are eminent in the waies of Christ, and in the Gospel, and yet fall, and fall desperately and damnably: Doth it not concern us all to fear, and upon fearing to try our selves? When the Apostle discoursed of the fall of the Jewes, how they were broken and cast off: What use did he teach the Gentiles to make of this? Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. So say I; are these such times that many fall away? then such of us as doe stand, let us also take heed that we doe not fall. How shall we take heed of falling? Oh let us look to our selves that we are sound; the ordinary cause of falling away is rottenness and unsoundness, when