The sound believer. A treatise of evangelical conversion. Discovering the work of Christ's spirit,…

3. Consider why the Lord calls thee, is it because he hath any Need of you to honour him? I tell you he could have gone to others that would have given his Gospel better Welcome than it hath had from you; he could have gone to many Kings and Princes, and out of that golden Metal have made himself Vessels of Honour, rather than out of such base Mould as thou art made of; he could have honoured himself in thy Ruin, as in many Millions of other Men, and lose nothing by thee neither, he could have been blessed without you in the Bosom of his Father; or is it because thou hast done any Thing for him? Alas! Thou hast not returned him thy Nut-shells, thou hast not had so much as a Form of Religion, thou hast done as much Mischief to him as thou couldst, Jer. 3.5. Thou hast wearied him with thine Iniquities, and made him serve with thy Sins, and hast sadded his Heart exceedingly by strange Impenitency, Isai. 43.24. The only Reason that hath moved him to call upon thee, hath been to pity thee, seeing thee running to the Fire that never can be quenched, without stop or stay, 2 Chron. 36.15, 16. and because thou art fallen by thine Iniquities, Hos. 14.1. And shall not this bring you home?

4. Consider for what End the Lord calls thee, is it not to come and take Possession of all the Grace of Christ, Gal. 1.6. nay of all the Glory of Christ, 1 Thes. 2.12. nay, to a most near, sweet, and everlasting Fellowship with Christ himself? 1 Cor. 1.9. And can I say any more? Can you desire any more than this? If the Lord should say unto any of us, Come into the Garden, and there watch and pray with me, sorrow and suffer with e; who of us would not account our selves unwdly of such Honour? But for the Lord to say, Come and enter