120 NECESSITY OF DILIGENTLY Sabbath, or hour. How active should they be, who know they have so short a space for so great a work ! And we have enemies that are always plotting and labouring for our destruction. How diligent is Satan in all kind of temptations ? Therefore " be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roar- ing lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist, stedfast in the faith. "(i) How diligent are all the ministers of Satan! False teachers, scof- fers, persecutors, and our inbred corruptions, the most busy and diligent of all ! Will a feeble resist - ance serve our turn ? Should not we be more active for our own preservation, than our enemies are . for our ruin ? § 11. It should excite us to diligence, when we consider our talents, and our mercies, our relation to God, and the affliction he lays upon us. The talents which we have received are many and great. What people breathing on earth have had plainer instruc- tions, or more forcible persuasions, or moré constant admonitions, in season and out of season ? Sermons, till we have been weary of them ; and sabbaths, till we profane them ; excellent books in such plenty that we know not which to read. What people have had God so near them ? or have seen so much of Christ crucified before their eyes? or have had heaven and hell so open unto them ? What speed should such a people make for heaven ! How should they fly, that are thus winged ! And how swiftly should they sail that have wind and tide to help them ! A small measure of grace beseems not such a people, nor will an ordinary diligence in the work of God excuse them. All our lives have been filled with mercies. God hath mercifully poured out upon us the riches of sea and land,' of heaven and earth. We are fed and clothed with mercy. We have mercies within and without. To number them, is to count the stars or the sands of the sea- shore. If there be any difference betwixt hell and earth, yea, or heaven and earth, then certainly (i) 1 Pet. v. 8, 9.
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