Spiritual desertions discovered and remedied. Being the substance of divers sermons preached for the…

3. And let your fear produce the greater caution in you: let not your fear disturb and weaken your hope, but serve it. Let it quicken your spiritual watch, let it maintain in you an holy awe and reverence of God, and help ⟨p. 113⟩you to look the more carefully to your ways, lest you should sin, and make you more forward and constant in working out your own Salvation with fear and trembling, Phil. 2.12. Let it make you to shun all the snares that are in your way, and help you in discerning them, and excite you to walk circumspectly: remember it is said in Job 28.28. The fear of God, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.

2 To such as labour under spiritual Desertions. And to such it is that our Doctrine more directly points; and because it is a time wherein there are not a few who labour under these in a great measure, whose condition saith as he did, Job 19.21. Have pity upon me, Oh my friends, for the hand of the Lord hath touched me. Let me apply this advice distinctly to such: & that way may be made more clearly to pursue this, give me leave to remove something out of the way, to prevent the mistakes which some may labour of, with respect to their true and real condition; here then,

1. To such as sometimes thought themselves converted, but were mistaken in their apprehension: and now they ⟨p. 114⟩