414 DIRECTIONS FOR GETTING AND KEEPING fidel, who is brought on the sudden to know the doctrine of sin, misery, and salvation by Christ, and the conversion of a professor of the Christian religion, who hath known this doctrine in some sort from his childhood, and who hath a sound religion, though he be not sound in his religion, and so needs not a conversion to a sound faith, but only a soundness in the faith. The suddenness of the news must needs make those violent commotions and changes in the one, which cannot ordinarily be expected in the other, who is acquainted so early with the truth, and by such degrees. 5. But supposeyou heard nothing of sin and misery, and a Redeemer, in your childhood, orat least understood it not, (which yet is unlikely,) yet let me ask you this Did not that preacher, or that book, or whatever other means God used for your conversion, reveal to you misery and mercy both together? Did not you hear and believe that Christ died for sin, as soon as you understood your sin and misery? Sure I am that the Scripture reveals both'together; and so doth every sound preacher, and every sound writer, (notwith- standing that the slanderous Antinomians do shamefully proclaim that we preach not Christ, but the law.) This being so, you must easily apprehend that it must needs abate very much of the terror, which would else have been unavoidable. ifyou had reador heard that you were a sinner, and the child of hell, and of God's wrath, and that there was no remedy, (which is such a preaching of the law as we must not use to any in the world, nor any, since the first promise to Adam, must receive) yea, or if you had heard nothing of a Savior for a year, or a day, or an hour after you had heard that you were an heir of hell, and so the remedy had been but concealed from you, though not denied, (which ordinarilymust not be done,) then you might in all likelihood have found some more terrors of soul that hour. But when you heard that your sin was pardonable, as soon as you heard that you were a sinner, and heard tliàt your misery had a sufficient remedy provided, if you would acc it it, or at least that it was not remediless, and this as soon as you heard of that misery, what wonder is it 4f this exceedingly abate your fears and troubles ! Suppose two men go to visit two several neighbors that have the plague, and one of them saith, 'It is the plague that is on you you are but a dead man.' The other saith to the other sick person, ' It is the plague that you have ; but here is our physician at the next door, that hath a receipt that will cure it as infallibly and as easily as if it werebut the prick ofa pin ; he bath cured thousands, and never failed one that took his re- ceipt; but if you will not send to him, and trust him, and take his re- ceipt, there is no hopes of you.' Tell the now whether the first of these sick persons be not like to be more troubled than the other? And whether it will not remove almost all the fears and troubles of
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