281 / 1054
On
the
Excellency
of
the
Soul.
2'81
Lure
either upon
patience,
or
any
thing
elfe
,
fo
as to
continue
in our. fins
,
though
God
hath
been
patient
thus
long,
thou
doft
not
know
but
that
upon
thy'
next
ven-
ture the
cord
of
mercy
may
crack
, and thou
mayeft
fink
and peril},
eternally
;
that
may
befall thee
in
one
day
,
that
bath
not befallen
thee
all
thy
life before
;
take heed
my
brethren of venturing
upon
patience
,
for
that
hath
not
a
word-
óf
promife
to
ftrengthen
it
unto
thee
:
Indeed Faith
is
a kind
of venture
,
but
that
ven-
tures upon the
Word
of
God,
and the Promife
of God,
and
it
is
good
venturing upon
that
,
but
when
thou
ventureft
upon
patience,
thou haft
no word
to
afire
thee
that
patience
will hold
;
Thou
haft
no
word
to
make
this
good
unto thee, that
though
God
bath
.
been
patient
fo
many years,
therefore
bee will bee
fo
ail!.
Fourthly,
And then
a
fourth
venture that men
make,
it
is
to
venture
upon their
own
lives
;
they
are
young
,
and,
they hope they
may
live many years
yet,
I
know
others they
live
to
bee
old
men, and
why
may not
I
live
and
have
my
pleafure
as
well
as
they? and
thus
they
ven-
ture
;
Oh but
what
if
the
threed
of
thy life fhould bee
Inapt afunder, what will become
of
thee then
!
wilt
thou venture
thy
eternal
mifcarrying upon
filch
a
brittle
and
frail thing
as
thy
life
is
?
Oh
it
is a
defperate
ven-
ture
,
when
men and women will venture
thus
!
that
if
God
take
away my
life now, certainly
I
mutt perith
for
ever.
-
--
Now
I
put
it
unto every
foul in
this
place,
let
this
bee the
cafe
now
,
do
you
examine what
you.
think
in
your confciences your
conditions would
bee,
if
you
fhould
hear
a
voice from
Heaven
Paying
unto
you
pre
-
fently
this
foul
(hall have no more
time to
make
provi-
fiòn
for
eternity;
I
amperfwaded
that
in
fuch
a
place
'as' this
is
there cannot but bee
many
that
would in
their
own
confciences
fay
If
God fhould
take
away my
life
now,
I
fear
I
fhould
bee loft
for
ever
;
I
doubt
, if
wee
could
go
from one
to another,
and lay
our ears
to
the
bofoms
of
men, and
could
but
hear what
the
confciences
Nn
of