ih, loo THE NECESSITY OF SEEKINi [Chap. 7. your faith, your zeal, and other graces, strong or weak ? What are your joys ? What is your assurance ? Is all in order with you ? Are you ready to die, if this should be the day ? Do the souls, amongwhom you have conversed, bless you ? Judge by this, and it will quickly appear whe- theryou have been laborers or loiterers. Q blessed rest, how unworthily art thou neglected! O glorious kingdom, how art thou undervalued ! Little know he careless sons of men what a state they set so light by. If they once knew it,' they would surely be of another mind. I hope thou, reader, art sensible, what a desperate thing it is to trifle about eternal rest, and haw deeply thou hast been guilty of this thyself. And I hope, also, thou wilt not now suffer this conviction to die. Should thephysician tell thee, " Ifyou will observe but one thing, I doubt not to cure your disease," wouldst thou not observe it ? So I tell thee, if thou wilt observe but this one thing for thy soul, I make no doubt of thy salvation; shake off thy sloth, and put to all thy strength, and be a Christian indeed; I know not then what can hinder thy happiness. As far as thou art gone from God, seek himwith all thy heart, and no doubt thou shalt find him. As unkindas thou hast been to Jesus Christ, seek him heartily, obey him unreservedly, and thy salvation is as sure as if thou hadst it already. But, full as Christ's satisfaction is, free as the promise is, large as the mercy of God is, if thou only talk of these when thou shouldst eagerly entertain them, thou wilt be never the better for them; and if thou loiter, when thou shouldst labor, thou wilt lose the crown. Fall to work, then, spee- dily and seriously, and bless God that thou hast yet time to da it. To show that I urge thee not without cause, I will here add a variety of animating considerations. Rouse up thy spirit, and, as Moses said to Israel, " set thy heart unto all the words which I testify unto thee this day ; for it is not a vain thing, because it is your life." May the Lord open thy heart, and fasten his counsel effectually upon thee ! 1. Consider how reasonable it is, that our diligence should be answerable to the ends we aim at, to the work we have to do, to the shortness anduncertainty ofour time, and to the con- trary diligence of our enemies. The ends of a Christian's de- sires and endeavors are so great, that no human understand-
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