The door of salvation opened by the key of regeneration

He will try thee probably, in life; but certainly at death and judgment; and shouldest not thou then try thy self? God may try thee in life by prosperity, he may give thee strong meat, and thereby examine thy stomach whether it be good or bad; he may let the world flow in upon thee, to try how thy affections will flow out upon it; Believe it, rich wines will try thy brains. It is sad of Pius Quintus (so called because) that when he was a mean man he was looked upon as a good man, ¹and had great hopes of his own salvation; but when he came to be a Cardinal he doubted much about it, and when he was a Pope he altogether despaired of it; thus the place doth often discover the person. Hot waters will manifest whether there be life in a man or no; and a full great wind will try whether the vessel of thy soul be ballasted with grace or no. Its said of Caius Caligula, there was never better servant, nor worse Master. Poisonous and profitable roots are both discovered in summer, though they were hid all the winter. That corruption which lay in the body undiscerned when the season was cold, breaks out either in the face by pimples, or in the other parts, by some disease when the weather is warm. But tis more likely that ⟨p. 138⟩God will try thee by adversity, God telleth Jerusalem that he would search her with candles. Zeph. 1.12. That is, as exactly as men search with candles, prying into every corner of the house (so God of the heart) bringing forth their secret ways, revealing their hidden wickedness, the words imply both the manner how exactly God would do it, and the means how terribly he would do it, by some dreadful judgment; he would kindle a fire and search them by the light of that fire. Reader, if thou wilt not search thy soul by the Sun-light of his word, expect that he should search thee by the candle light, the fire light of his dreadful works. The flail of tribulation will discover the chaff from the wheat; and the fire of affliction, the dross from the gold. Sharp weather will try whether thy body be sound or sickly. A storm will discover the Mariner, and a battle the Soldier. God led Israel about in the wilderness to try and to prove them, Deut. 8.16. Affliction is like Solomons sword, that discovereth which is the true, which the false mother; or like Simeons sword which pierceth through mens souls, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.