Heaven upon earth, or, The best friend in the worst of times. Delivered in…

for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, &c. It was Christ who spoke that word. If we tell you of the danger of a formal Religion, you will soon fall upon us as Enemies to your peace, and those which impose too much strictness upon you: We therefore do here produce our Commission for what we say, or rather we desire you but to read your selves what Christ spoke, as touching this matter. O it might justly make a Christians heart to ache, to think how many thousands of Professors will be disowned by Christ in that day, who will make many fair pleas for themselves, and pretend a great deal of acquaintance with him. Consider I ⟨p. 338⟩beseech you, here is no fear of Excess; never any man in the World that was too solicitous about his Salvation, never any man took too much pains for Heaven. Awake, O sleeper, what meanest thou? arise, and call upon thy God. If you make any thing of the loss of a Soul, look about you; if you think the wrath to come considerable, be serious; if you would not be burnt by the fire of his Indignation, you must take hold of his strength, and make peace with him, and God will be at peace with you, Isa. 27.5. It is not without cause, that the Prophet doth complain, Isa. 64.7. There is none that calls upon thy Name, that stirs up himself to take hold on thee. There is none that calls upon Gods Name! One would think that that were strange; What none call upon his Name, when so many of them made many Prayers, as you have it in the first of Isaiah? What did they nothing but look upon one another, when they had their Solemn Assemblies? Did they say nothing to God, when they came before him? Did they do nothing at all in that 58. of Isaiah, when they are said to seek him daily, when they seemed to delight in his way? Yet in Gods esteem, all this goes for nothing at all, this prayer is no prayer, this is only wording of it with God. But prayer it is another kind of thing, it is the stirring up of the Soul, and awakening all it's strength to wrestle with God, to lay hold upon God, and to prevail with the Almighty; and where are such as these to be found, who is this that engages his heart in the service of God? It is one thing to engage the tongue, and another thing to engage the heart. Men come to pray with a common Spirit, and are many times weary of ⟨p. 339⟩