720 A Difcour{e conccrnwg, &c. us the Mercy of the Book : And what, lhall we not fo much as read for our Lives? This is that Book according to which we muft. either ftand or fall, be acquitted or condemned Eternally. The unalterable Sentence of the laft Day will pafs upon us, as it is here recorded in this Scripture. Here we may before~ hand know our Doom, and what will become of us to all Eternity. He that believerh/hallbe {aved but he that beliewth not ]haft be damned. 'Tis faid, Rev. 2.0. 12. That when th; Dead frood before God to be judged, the Books were opened : That is, the Book of Confcicnce, and the Book of the Scripture. Be perfuaded to open this Book and to judge your felves out of it before the laft Day: 'Tis not a fealed Book t~ you, you may there read what your prefent State is, and foretel what your future will be. If it be a ftate of Sin and Wrath, fearch farther; there are Directions how you may change this wretched State for a better. If it be a ftate of Grace and Favour, their are Rules how to preferve you in ir. 'Tis a Word fuited to all Perfons, all Occafions, all Exigencies. It informs the Ignorant, ftrengthcns the Weak, comforts the Difconfolate, fupports the AffiiC\:c:d, relieves the Tempted, refolves the Doubtful, dirrc.t.s all to thofe Ways which lead eo endlefs Happinefs; where, as the VVord of God bath dwelt richly in us, fo we lhall dwell for ever glorioufly with God. THE A LM OS T-CHR IS TI AN DISCOVERED; In Several S E R M 0. N -S, A C T S xxvi. 28. Then .Agrippa foid unto Paul, ALMC>Sr thou perfoadeft me to be a CHRISTIAN. IN this Chapter we have Sr. Paul in his Fetters pleading before that Honourable Scilions of Feftus and .Agrippa; his Plea we have largely fet down from the rft. to the 24-th. Verfe, in which he opens his Commiffion, that he had received In an extraordinary manner from Heaven, for preaching of that DoCtrine which was every where fpoken againft, and for worlhipping God in that way which was called Herefie. I lhall not at all enter into the confideration of the Apology; but let us look only at the diffi:rent EffeC\s that it wrought upon the Hearers : Feftw and .Agrippa they were both of them Unbelievers, the one an unbelieving He~~rhen, the other an unbelieving 'Jew, and thus they both continue ; yet St. Paul's Speech works very differently upon them. In the l4Jh. Verfe you have Feflw raving ; he [aid with a loud voice, Paul, thou art befides thy {elf, much learning hAth made thee mad. Thy Thoughts of a Vifion and an Apparition, of a Man dead and buried, lying fafe under g~ound, that he fbou.ld rife again and appear from Heaven to thee, being the SaviOur of the World, IS a me~r Fancy, proceeding from a ftrong Phrenzy: Thus he fcoffs ~n~ raves. But t~ls very Sermon which feemed Madnefs and an idle Tale to unbeheVlng Feftus, carnes a ll:rong ConviCtion in it to Agrippa, who was an Unbeliever too; .Almojf thou per.. {uadeft me to be a Chriftian. Hence obferve, That the Word of God hAth a far diffe;ent .elfe'!, evm upon thofi, .upon JDhom it bath no faving ejfeEf; one raves and rageth agamft lt, 15 ft:ared and ftup1fi.ed by it; another is convinced and terrified by it. Feftus he fcotfes an~ m?cks, ~oes awaY laughing at the DoCtrine, and reviling the Preacher : But..Agnppa Is ~onvmc .. ed, and half perfuaded, to believe and praC\ife tbal very DoC\nne, and h1g;Me~ )-
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