On the Excellency of the Soul. 3 37 into his refit : So when the Spirit of God begins to bring they near to falvation, that it may bee laid of thee , as Chriít to the young man, Thou art rot far from the Kingdome of :Heaven , O rake heed of hearkening to temptation , left the Lord fwear that thou (halt never enter into Heaven. The Spirit of God, which is like unto the Dove in the Ark , perhaps it comes into thy heart once, and it comes in again, and thou fende(} it our again, but take heed of fending it out the third time, left it íhould never come in to thee again; but that the Lord ilaould fay, Spirit, never flrive more with Gen. 6. 3 fuch a foul : Oh when God begins to (}ir, is doth concern you, to fay with Samuel, Lord, (peal¿,, for thy fervant hears. You that have been forward heretofore, and have loft the work of Gods Spirit, you had need loók about you, for is is a dangerous thing to draw back; My foul, faith God, (hall have Hcb. io. 38, no pleafure in thole that fhall draw bark, And if the foul of God will have no pleafure in thee, how (hall thy foul bee faved ? Twelfchly, Whofoever would have their fouls faved, let them take this courfe, account the precioufnefs of the time of your lives to confiíl in this, that it is a day of falvation ; account it therefore a mercy of God that your lives are con- tinued upon this reafon, not becaufe you may get great e- ftaces, and live and have your pleafures and delights , but becaufe God hath appointed the time of mans life here in this world, to bee the time to provide for his eternity; few men and women in the world know how to judge aright of the precioufnefs of their time, the time of their lives; and that man or woman that comes to know aright how to judge of the precioufnefs of this time of life, and of what doth depend upon it , fuch a one is in a good forwardnefs to falvation. Thirteenthly, The laft thing that I (hail Name is this , bee lure to go with thofe that go in the fafeft way, and rh. í(raighcellway;manyof you;vou que(lion about many things that others do;whether they need do fo or no ;_why can none bee faved but thofe that do fo ? but I appeal to your conici- ences, do not you think the ftri,tteft way of godlinefs is the V v fafe(l
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