304 On the Excellency of the Soul. far ßrait is the gate, and narrow is the wily, and few there be that enter And upon that ground Chrift himfelf raifes that exhortation, therefore firive; therefore inquire_ you of -. ter the way of falvation with all your might; if there fhould a voice come from Heaven at this time, and fay, there are but few in this Congregation !hall go out alive, it would put every one to a {land; every one think with himfeff, Oh Lord ! muft I die here ? why there is this voice from Heaven, that there are but few fouls in the world but (hail periila eternally; then certainly it is not for us to bee quiet, but it concerns us to bee refllefs in our conditions, and e -. very one to fay, what, is it I ? what, is it, I ?=when Chrift did but fay that one of you {hall betray Mee, every one was inquiring, Is it .l ? Is it I ? but' when' it is faid that there (hall bee but few faved; the f?ockof Chrifi is "but a Be- rle flock, the words in the original are two diminutives, and may be translated, a little little flock; Oh it concerns you all to look about you. But now there things being pretnifed for the putting of you on to the enquiring after falvation with all your might : now Wee come to the anfwer of this queftion , What wee fhould do that our fouls may bee faved ? And in the anfwer to this wee mull premife further. Firfl, There is nothing that any man can do, that raves him, there muff bee fomewhat higher that what hee can do; and yet God requires that hee fhould do what hee can do ; Indeed what any man can do of himfelf, yea or by al- liflance from common grace, yea wee wA ili fay further , by airdance from any grace wwhatfoever , though it may help forward his falvation, by an ordinance of God, yet it can- not -be the thing that Eaves him, the thing that Eaves him is higher than what is done by the creature, it is what is done by Chrifl, or what is fuffered by Chrift, it is that that faves the foul, and not, I fay, what is done or fuffered-by us. But yet now wee mull not make fuch a vain, and foolifh, and dangerous inference, that therefore nothing is to bee dons, beca,:fe the things that wee do are not the things that fave
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