Beloved, you have cause to labour, because you find many that have taken pains for Heaven, that never came to Heaven. Many shall strive to enter, but shall not be able, Luke 13. Had not you therefore need to take heed? Nay, Beloved, suppose (it is a supposition Aegidius hath, 1though not true, yet I say suppose it) that all the world should be saved, but one man, yet, saith he, you have cause to take pains to be happy, lest you should be that one man should perish. If all the world should be saved but one man only; if only one man should be damned, I have cause to labour with all my might, that I be not that one man. Here then, great cause you have, not to lie under sluggishness, in all matters pertaining to the soul. You have a great deal of work to do, and haply but a little time; if you knew the greatness of your work and shortness of your time, haply you would now set about the business of your salvation. It was the speech of young King Charles of Sicily, lying upon his death-bed: I have scarce yet begun to live, and now, woe is me, I am compelled to die. Beloved, Many of you may have cause to say thus, you have scarce yet done one good action, that may give you any evidence to be happy with Christ another day: Happily you have not yet begun to be Christians, and you may be soon called to die; ⟨p. 22⟩and what an affliction would this be to you, that you have hardly begun to live a life of grace, and yet you must die the life of nature. This diligence is conversant about many things. 1. In getting grace. Here you have a great work to do, to get grace, Above all gettings get understanding: And the difficulty of getting grace, doth show the goodness of grace. As we say in nature, the most vile things, are most obvious to the eye, and most common to be found; you have stones and dirt every where, but things of a more excellent nature, are more hard to come by; if you would have Gold, you must dig into the earth; if you would have Pearl, you must dive into the sea: things that are excellent, nature hath made them hard to come by: This shows the goodness of those matters which concern the soul, that they are very hard to be got. Prov. 22, 4. Seek for wisdom as for silver, and dig for it as for hidden Treasure. 2And then, 2. Diligence is required not only to get grace, but to keep it;
Beloved, you have cause to labour, because you find many that have taken pains for Heaven, that never came to Heaven. Many shall strive to enter, but shall not be able, Luke 13. Had not you therefore need to take heed? Nay, Beloved, suppose (it is a supposition Aegidius hath, 1though not true, yet I say suppose it) that all the world should be saved, but one man, yet, saith he, you have cause to take pains to be happy, lest you should be that one man should perish. If all the world should be saved but one man only; if only one man should be damned, I have cause to labour with all my might, that I be not that one man. Here then, great cause you have, not to ly under sluggishness, in all matters pertaining to the soul. You have a great deal of work to do, and haply but a little time; if you knew the greatness of your work and shortnesse of your time, haply you would now set about the business of your salvation. It was the speech of young King Charles of Sicily, lying upon his death-bed: I have scarce yet begun to live, and now, wo is me, I am compelled to die. Beloved, Many of you may have cause to say thus, you have scarce yet done one good action, that may give you any evidence to be happie with Christ another day: Happily you have not yet begun to be Christians, and you may be soon called to die; ⟨p. 22⟩and what an affliction would this be to you, that you have hardly begun to live a life of grace, and yet you must die the life of nature. This diligence is conversant about many things. 1. In getting grace. Here you have a great work to do, to get grace, Above all gettings get understanding: And the difficulty of getting grace, doth shew the goodness of grace. As we say in nature, the most vile things, are most obvious to the eye, and most common to be found; you have stones and dirt every where, but things of a more excellent nature, are more hard to come by; if you would have Gold, you must dig into the earth; if you would have Pearle, you must dive into the sea: things that are excellent, nature hath made them hard to come by: This shewes the goodness of those matters which concern the soul, that they are very hard to be got. Prov. 22, 4. Seek for wisdome as for silver, and dig for it as for hidden Treasure. 2And then, 2. Diligence is required not only to get grace, but to keep it;
- 1Si unus tantum homo damnandus esset caeterique omnes salvandi: Ego totis viribus anniterer ne essem ille solus. Talis dili gentia respicit tantam rem, tanta res requirit talem diligentiam.
- 2Non minor est virtus quam quaerere parta tueri.
