2 5 I tily.lament their own notorious publick fcandals, as they expeát that drunkards and fornicators, and the friends of loofnefs, íhould lament theirs R Till we fee this, what promifehave we of the pardón cf cur dreadful temporal penalties? ( to fay no- thing of the greater. ) Woe to the Land and People that can multiply fin and cannot Repent ! And wo to them that pretend Repentance, and love to be flattered in their fin, and cannot endure to be admoniíhed, but take all the difcoveries of their fin to be inju- rious reproach? among the prophane we take this to be a deadly tignof impenitence ? And is it fo bad in them, and good, in us? It is part of mv office to cry with holy Bradford, REPENT E ENG LAND; and to fay. after Chrifl, [Ex- cept ye Repent, ye (hall all Perifh,] And can I call men to Repent , when I muff not dare 'to tell them of what ? Nor to mention the fin which is moll to be repented of ? I ufe all this preface be- caufe I know that Guilt and Impenitency are touchy and tender, and galled, and querulous,and fuch will beftow the time in backbiting their Mo- nitor , which they Mould bellow in lamenting their fin. But fhall I therefore forbear, and be- tray their fouls, and betray the Land through cówardly thence ? Muff I fhew that I have Pro- feffouts bynot admonifhing them, (Lev.19.17.) when I muff fhew that I love the loofer fort by my Tharp reproofs ?. Muff I not fear them that can kill the body ? and muff. 1 fear to difpleafe a profeffed Chriftian, by calling him to Repen- tance in a time of Judgments. Lord, hide not my own mifcarriages from mv fight!
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=