. 348 DIRECTIONS AND PERSUASIONS Here you may safely trust your souls ; for the love of God is the fountain of this offer,(/) and the blood of the Son of God has purchased it ; the faithfulness and truth of God are engaged to make the promise good ; miracles have sealed the truth of it; preachers are sent through the world to proclaim it ; the sacraments are instituted for the solemn delivery of the mercy offered to them that will accept it ; and the Spirit opens the heart to entertain it, and is itself the earnest of the full possession. So that the truth of it is past controversy, that the worst of you all, and every one of you; if you will but be converted, may be saved. Indeed, if you believe that you shall be saved with- out conversion, then you believe a falsehood ; and if I should preach that to you, I should preach a lie : this were not to believe God, but the devil and your own deceitful hearts. God has his promise of life, and the devil has his promise of life. God's promise is, return and live ; the devil's promise is, you shall live whe- ther you turn or not. The works of God are as I have showed you, Except you be converted, and become as lit - tle children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of hea- ven.( m) Except a man be born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.(n) . Without holiness none shall see God.(o) The devil's word, 'You may be saved without being born again or converted ; you may do well enough without being holy: God does but frighten you, he is more merciful than to do as he says, he will be better to you than his word.' And, alas ! the great est part of the world believes this word of the devil, before the word of God; just as our first sin and misery came into the world. God said to our first parents, If ye eat, ye shall die. And the devil con - tradicts him, and says, Ye shall not die : and the woman believed him before God. So now the Lord saith, Turn or die : and the devil says, You shall not die, if you do but cry to God for mercy at last. And this is the word which the world believes. O heinous wickedness to believe the devil before God ! (l) John iii.16. (m) Matt. xvii. ó. (n) John iii. 3, 5. (o) Heb. xii.14
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