Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general. And…

Secondly, It is not so certain to assure thy Soul what shall become of thee to all eternity: The word of the Law saith, who shall ascend into heaven, &c. But the word of the Gospel is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart: You will say, Why is not the word of the Law as nigh one as the word of the Gospel? I Answer, The word of the Law you hear it in your ears, but it is not written in the heart as the word of the Gospel is: The Law cannot work savingly upon the heart of a man to bring salvation: those that are merely Legal they can hear the duties that are required, but that word hath no power to write in their hearts what they do hear: But now when you come to hear the word of the Gospel, that is nigh you, even in your very hearts as well as in your ears; God speaks in it, and it comes into your hearts and there it works efficaciously, which the Law cannot. The Law is but as a dead Letter in comparison of the word of the Gospel. If you come merely to hear the Law preached, and not in an Evangelical way, you may hear it a hundred times and it will never be written in your hearts; but when you come to hear the Gospel in an Evangelical way, that will come to be written in your hearts: So that the word of the Gospel is nigh you: But what is the meaning of the other, ⟨p. 212⟩Say not, who shall ascend up into heaven, &c? The meaning is this, As if the Apostle should say, The truth is, while you have no other but the righteousness of the Law, you are at an infinite uncertainty about your eternal estates. The Law saith, Do and live; but you can never know when you have done enough so as to be certain that you are well for eternity. That saith, Who shall ascend into heaven to know the mind of God concerning me? whether he will accept of me, and of that obedience and worship that I tender up to him? Who shall go down into the deep? Who shall go down to Hell to know there, whether that place be prepared for him or no? It is a phrase that only expresseth an uncertainty that one cannot be satisfied about his eternal estate, except he could go to heaven and there see and read Gods Book and so discover Gods mind concerning him; or go down to hell, and so know whether that place be appointed for him or not; except I can do one of these, I can not certainly tell, (merely by the Law) whether I shall go to heaven or hell.

Secondly, It is not so certain to assure thy Soul what shall become of thee to all eternity: The word of the Law saith, who shall ascend into heaven, &c. But the word of the Gospel is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart: You will say, Why is not the word of the Law as nigh one as the word of the Gospel? I Answer, The word of the Law you hear it in your eares, but it is not written in the heart as the word of the Gospel is: The Law cannot work savingly upon the heart of a man to bring salvation: those that are meerly Legal they can hear the duties that are required, but that word hath no power to write in their hearts what they do hear: But now when you come to hear the word of the Gospel, that is nigh you, even in your very hearts as well as in your ears; God speaks in it, and it comes into your hearts and there it works efficaciously, which the Law cannot. The Law is but as a dead Letter in comparison of the word of the Gospel. If you come meerly to hear the Law preached, and not in an Evangelical way, you may hear it a hundred times and it will never be written in your hearts; but when you come to hear the Gospel in an Evangelical way, that will come to be written in your hearts: So that the word of the Gospel is nigh you: But what is the meaning of the other,