630 RESTORING MERCY IMPROVED. God, after they have been brought near him, remember how far distant they were from him once, when they lay in astate of sin and nature, dark and dead, cold and negligent, and yet how eternal love has drawn them ? How everlasting love has recovered them ? He that saw our ways and healed us when we were making haste to destruction, and walking in the broad ways that lead to death ; this God when he beheld our backslidings, had grace enough to restore us. V.. How dangerous will it be to turn away from God when he begins to exercise this healing grace upon thy soul ! I-Iast thou been long blinded and walked on in a maze of errors ; doth he begin now to discover to thee the value of Christ and his salvation ? Doth he begin to discover a sight of heaven to thee now,. and wilt thou check these beginnings of recovery ? Doth he now begin to touch thy tender part ? Doth he begin to awaken thee to a sense of former backslidings, and wilt thou still turn away ? O dread the thoughts of being sealed over for ever tojudicial hardness ; thy face has been turned away from the God of Sion, and he begins to turn thee to him-. self again, and wilt thou indulge sin so as to cause thy soul to turn backward ; what canst thou expect but that God should give thee up for ever ? VI. How strong are the obligations of those that have been thus recovered, and thus healed to stand afar off from all sin.? To avoid all seasons, and all places of in- fection ? Those that have had such mortal diseases cured ; those that have found a remedy at the point of death. God does not work such instances of mercy every day. If ever the Lord has turned thy soul from great backslidings, with cords of such love as this is, how strongly should this lie upon thy soul to keep thee close to God ? How jealous should thy soul beof every temp- tation ? The sin of Solomon is aggravated beyond the sins of many in scripture, because he sinned after the Lord had twice manifested himself to him. And it will lie with an heavy burden on thy conscience, O backslider, if thou departest from thy God, after he has discovered himself unto thee twice with enlightening love and healing grace. I proceed to speak to the latter words of this text ; j will lead Ithn also Let us here consider the parts of.
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