Evangelical Repentance. mercy, and grace to him, before ever Jonah came ,seer to it. And as 'tisln regard of a mans firft, fecond, and after Repentance : So 'tisalfain regardofa mans Corn and Confolation. 0Lord, (faies David) nu to receive Joy, and comfort ; that the bones that thou -ball brokm may rejoice: lily foul refufeth comfort, (faies he) As if he fhould fay thus : Lord, I have been a great Surgeon at other mens hearts, and I have been able to let their bones that have been out of joynt : but nowmine ownbones are broken ; I have fallen greatly, and nowmy own bones are broken, I cannot let mine own bones ; My foul refufeth comfort, and the pro- mile is to my heart like a bankof Ice, that my heart flips off : and Lord, if thou doeft not uphold my_heart with a promife, I (hall never have comfort : Make me to fee comfort, 0Lord. Thus you fee, where ever you look in the Scripture, 'tis full ofthe,trutl:that is here before us, namely, That the Kingdomof Heaven, grace, mercy, and free-remillion does approach unto us before wedraw neer to it. Evidences of it. The Firli is, Taken from our own Condition : Nattirallywe are ^!1 {keep ; fo weare called by Chrift. Man, in his.na- tural {fate, s compared unto the loft fon, the loft groat, and the loft fheep. Now you know when a fheep is loft, it does not lie where it is loft : if you lofe your purfe, or if you lofea ring, it will lie where it was loft unlefs it be ta- kenup : but now, ifa fheep be loft, the fheep wanders up. anddown, and loth not lie where it was loft, but wan- ders up anddown over one mountain to another, through one thicket to another, through one dirty place to ano- ther : and ofall creatures, the loft fheep does not leek the way home again : A dog loft will Peek the way home again; a Cat, and fuch like creatures loft, will leekthe way home again : but a fheep loft, does not feek the way home again. Nowwe are alfloit fheep, wandring up and down : One, he wanders over the mountainof Pride : another through L 1 the '6. P.A:77.7 a.
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