The parable of the prodigal. Containing, The riotous prodigal, or The sinners aversion from…

Now to proceed to the Application of this: Shall nothing help the shuffling sinner till he repents? then certainly the Lord shows ¹great mercy unto him; it is one of the greatest judgments, when the Lord lets the sinner alone, to go on and prosper; a miserable thing it is, when the patient is given over, and no Physician will meddle with him; so on the contrary, It is a great mercy, when the Lord doth not give over the sinner, but still follows him, and still disappoints his counsels, and undermines as it were his projects, and is too hard for him in all his ways. Thou doest oft times take it heavily, that the Lord should stand against thee thus, and pull away this comfort, and stop up that way, and disappoint and defeat one enterprise after another: Why! now consider, were it kindness to let thee make up thy works to hold out against God? Were it a mercy to thee, to let thee grow strong in a way of damnation? The Lord is still against me, sayest thou, I can set on no way, but I find him my adversary; I cannot settle on any thing, but he plucks it off: I answer, The Lord is not so much against thee, as thou art against thy self; it is true, the Lord hath not yet done with thee; Why! because thou hast not yet done with sin? and his hand is still stretched out against thee, Why? because thy hand is still stretched out against him; he doth by variety of afflictions and crosses still pursue thee; but let me tell thee one thing, It is better he should pursue thy sins, then thy soul; let the afflictions be what they will, they are better then damnation; all that God intends unto thee is only this, he will never leave thee, until he hath overcome thee; as they in the war take one ⟨p. 66⟩out-work after another, until the besieged do yield up: So is it with the Lord, he will drive thee out of all thy holds, as he did Nebuchadnezzar out of his Kingdom, until he hath brought thee to humble thy self for thy sins, and repent. And what is all this, but a most tender mercy which doth thus pursue thee, only that it may save thee.

Now to proceed to the Application of this: Shall nothing help the shuffling sinner till he repents? then certainly the Lord shews ¹great mercy unto him; it is one of the greatest judgments, when the Lord lets the sinner alone, to go on and prosper; a miserable thing it is, when the patient is given over, and no Physician will meddle with him; so on the contrary, It is a great mercy, when the Lord doth not give over the sinner, but still follows him, and still disappoints his counsels, and undermines as it were his projects, and is too hard for him in all his waies. Thou doest oft times take it heavily, that the Lord should stand against thee thus, and pull away this comfort, and stop up that way, and disappoint and defeat one enterprise after another: Why! now consider, were it kindness to let thee make up thy works to hold out against God? Were it a mercy to thee, to let thee grow strong in a way of damnation? The Lord is still against me, saiest thou, I can set on no way, but I find him my adversary; I cannot settle on any thing, but he plucks it off: I answer, The Lord is not so much against thee, as thou art against thy self; it is true, the Lord hath not yet done with thee; Why! because thou hast not yet done with sin? and his hand is still stretched out against thee, Why? because thy hand is still stretched out against him; he doth by variety of afflictions and crosses still pursue thee; but let me tell thee one thing, It is better he should pursue thy sins, then thy soul; let the afflictions be what they will, they are better then damnation; all that God intends unto thee is onely this, he will never leave thee, untill he hath overcome thee; as they in the war take one