412 DIRECTIONS AND PERSUASIONS And what canst thou do more? And thus you give advantages to the tempter by your first delays, and taking up in mere preparatories. And therefore I beseech you, as you love your souls, take heed of resisting the Spirit of grace, and breaking off the work before it is thoroughly done ; but gp to the bottom, and follow it on till it be accomplished in sincerity. And now hoping, that upon these considerations you are resolved to do your best, I shall come to the thing which I principally intended : which is, to give you certain directions, which if you will obey, you may be converts and saints indeed ! Direction 1. Lest the work of conversion should mis- carry where it seemeth to be begun, or in a hopeful way, I first advise you to labour after a right under- standing of the true nature of Christianity, and the meaning of the gospel which is sent to convert you. You are naturally slaves to the prince of darkness, and live in a state of darkness, and do the work of dark- ness, and are basting apace to utter darkness. And it is the light of saving knowledge that must recover you, or there is no recovery. God is the Father of light, and dwelleth in light ; Christ is the light of the world; his ministers are also the light of the world, as under him, and are sent to turn men from darkness to light by the gospel, which is the light to our feet : and this is to make us children of light, that we may no more do the works of darkness, but may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Believe it, darkness is not the way to the celestial glory. Ignor- ance is your disease, and knowledge must be your cure. I know the ignorant have many excuses, and are apt to think that the case is not so bad with them as we make it to be; and that there is no such need of know- ledge, but a man may be saved without it. But this is because they want that knowledge that should show them the mercy of their ignorance, and the worth of knowledge. Rath not the scripture plainly told you, That if the gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, whose mind the God of this world bath blinded,
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