N00357:724
The safety of appearing at the day of judgement, in the righteousness of Christ
The safety of appearing at the day of judgement, in the righteousness of Christ: opened and applied. By Solomon Stoddard Pastor to the church of North-Hampton in New-England. ; [Nine lines from Philippians]The safety of appearing at the day of judgement, in the righteousness of Christ: opened and applied. By Solomon Stoddard Pastor to the church of North-Hampton in New-England. ; [Nine lines from Phillipians]
Boston: printed by Samuel Green for Samuel Phillips, 1687
Title page typeset from the transcription.
The Safety of Appearing in the Righteousness of Jesus Christ. › Chapter 10
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
3. The Lord is persuading of you to believe in Christ: he is urging of you, and stirring of you up▪ this is the very design of the Gospel to gain mens consent to come to Christ: he invites you to come, Rev 22.17. and is giving you an account what preparation he has made for your acceptance: he has appointed the Ordinance of the Ministry upon this design, to draw you to Christ, and make up the match between you and Christ, 2 Cor. 5.20. yea, upon this account he sends his spirit into your hearts to terrify you, to mind you of your dying day, of eternal judgment, of the sinfulness of your lives and hearts, that you may be compelled to come away to Christ: that you may not be able to rest without him: and why should God concern himself so to persuade you to believe if this were not a way of salvation? what design can God have upon his heart in these works of his, but to save you, if you will hearken unto his voice? why does God take so much pains about this, if the life of your souls did not depend upon it? would God strive so to bring you to Christ, if you would not be the better for coming unto him? certainly God lays extraordinary weight upon it, and is deeply engaged in it, to bring you unto Christ, and would h• ⟨p. 282⟩be so, if it were not a way of life and blessedness: God would let men alone and never busy himself so to persuade them to believe in Christ if the life of their souls did not depend upon it: it would not be worth the while, for God with a great deal of care, and by many wonderful works of his spirit to bring men to believe, if this were not the way of salvation: it would not become the wisdom and goodness of God to labour in this manner to persuade men to believe, if this were not the way of life.
3. The Lord is perswading of you to believe in Christ: he is urging of you, and stirring of you up▪ this is the very design of the Gospel to gain mens consent to come to Christ: he invites you to come, Rev 22.17. and is giving you an account what preparation he has made for your acceptance: he has appointed the Ordinance of the Ministry upon this design, to draw you to Christ, and make up the match between you and Christ,