Discourses on various important subjects, nearly concerning the great affair of the soul's eternal…

Certainly it becomes us, who profess the Religion of Christ, to take Notice of such astonishing Exercises of his Power and Mercy, and give him the Glory which is due, when he begins to accomplish any of his Promises concerning the latter Days: and it gives us further ⟨p. iii⟩Encouragement to pray, and wait, and hope for the like Display of his Power in the midst of us. The Hand of God is not shortened that it cannot save, but we have Reason to fear that our Iniquities, our Coldness in Religion, and the general Carnality of our Spirits, have raised a Wall of Separation between God and us: And we may add, the Pride and perverse Humour of Infidelity, Degeneracy and Apostasy from the Christian Faith, which have of late Years broken out amongst us, seem to have provoked the Spirit of Christ to absent himself much from our Nation. Return, O Lord, and visit thy Churches, and revive thine own Work in the midst of us.

Certainly it becomes us, who profess the Religion of Christ, to take Notice of such astonishing Exercises of his Power and Mercy, and give him the Glory which is due, when he begins to accomplish any of his Promises concerning the latter Days: and it gives us further ⟨p. iii⟩Encouragement to pray, and wait, and hope for the like Display of his Power in the midst of us. The Hand of God is not shorten'd that it cannot save, but we have Reason to fear that our Iniquities, our Coldness in Religion, and the general Carnality of our Spirits, have raised a Wall of Seperation between God and us: And we may add, the Pride and perverse Humour of Infidelity, Degeneracy and Apostacy from the Christian Faith, which have of late Years broken out amo•gst us, seem to have provoked the Spirit of Christ to absent himself much from our Nation. Return, O Lord, and visit thy Churches, and revive thine own Work in the midst of us.

From such blessed Instances of the Success of the Gospel, as appear in this Narrative, we may learn much of the Way of the Spirit of God in his Dealing with the Souls of Men, in order to Convince Sinners, and restore them to his Favour and his Image by Jesus Christ, his Son. We acknowledge that some particular Appearances in the Work of Conversion among Men may be occasioned by the Ministry which they sit under, whether it be of a more or less Evangelical Strain, whether it be more severe and affrighting, or more gentle and Persuasive. But wheresoever God works with Power for Salvation upon the Minds of Men, there will be some Discoveries of a Sense of Sin, of the Danger of the Wrath of God, of the All sufficiency of his Son Jesus, to elieve us under all our Spiritual Wants and Distresses, and a hearty Consent of Soul to receive him in the various Offices of Grace, wherein he is set forth in the holy Scriptures. And if our Readers had Opportunity (as we have had) to peruse several of the Sermons which were Preached during this glorious Season, we should find that it is the common plain Protestant Doctrine of the Reformation, without stretching towards the Antinomians on the one Side, or the Arminians on the other, that the Spirit of God has been pleased to honour with such illustrious Success.