O therefore, as you love your own souls, and are loth to ruin them to all eternity, attend upon every opportunity that God af- fords you ; for you know not in which of them the Lord may work upon your hearts. Lay aside your prejudices against the word or the weaknesses and infirmities of them that preach it ; for the word works not as it is the word of man, as it is thus neat and elegant, but as it is the word of God. Pray for the blessing of God upon the word ; for except his word of blessing go forth with it, it can never come home to thy soul. Meditate upon what you hear ; for, without meditation, it is not like to have any effectual operation upon you. Search your souls by it, and consider whether that be not your very case and state which it describes ; your very danger whereof it gives warning. Take heed, lest after you have heard it, the cares of the world choke what you have heard, and cause those budding convictions which begin to put forth, to blast
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and wither. Carefully attend to all those items and memorandums your consciences give you under the word, and conclude that the Lord is then come nigh unto you.
Secondly, Let this be matter of serious consideration and caution to all such as have only felt some slight, transient, and ineffectual operations of the gospel upon their souls : The Lord hath come nigh to some of our souls ; we have felt a strange power in the ordinances, sometimes terrifying, and sometimes transporting our hearts ; but, alas ! it proves but a morning-dew, or an early cloud, ITos. vi. 4. We rejoice in the word, but it is but for a season, John iii. 25. Gal. iv. 14, 15. They are vanishing motions, and come to nothing. Look, as in nature there are many abortives, as well as perfect children, so it is in religion ; yea, where the new creature is perfectly formed in one soul, there be many abortives and miscarriages in others ; and there may be three reasons assigned for it, viz.
First, The subtilty and deep policy of Satan, who never more effectually deceives and destroys the souls of men, than in such a method, and by such an artifice as this ; for when men have once felt their consciences terrified under the word, and their hearts at other times ravished with the joys and comforts of it, they now seem to have attained all that is necessary to conversion, and con- stitutive of the new creature ; these things look so well like the regenerating effects of the Spirit, that many are easily deceived by them. The devil beguiles the hearts of the unwary by such false appearances : for it is not every man that can distinguish betwixt the natural and spiritual motions of the affections under the word : It is very frequently seen that even carnal and unrenewed hearts have their meltings and transports, as well as spiritual hearts. The subject-matter upon which the word treats, are the weighty things of the world to come ; heaven and hell are very awful and affecting things, and an unrenewed heart is apt to thaw and melt at them : Now here is the cheat of Satan, to persuade a man that these must needs be spiritual affections, because the objects about which they are conversant are spiritual ; whereas it is certain the objects of the affections may be very spiritual and heavenly, and yet the workings of man's affections about them may be in a mere natural way.
Secondly, The dampening efficacy of the world is a true and pro- per cause of these abortions and miscarriages under the word, Luke viii. 12, 13, 14. There are hopeful and promising beginnings and buddings of affections in some persons, especially in their youth ; but when once they come to be engaged in the world, how soon are they damped and quenched ! As the cares of a family grow on, so does the care of salvation wear off. It is not as it was wont to be, What shall I do to be saved ? How shall I get interest in Christ?
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But what shall I eat, and drink, and wherewith shall I, and mine, be maintained ? Thus earth justles out heaven, and the present world drowns all thoughts of that to come. Good had it been for many men, they had never been engaged so deep in the world as they are ; their life is but a constant hurry of business, and a per- petual diversion from Christ, and things that are eternal.
Thirdly, and lastly. The deceitfulness and treachery of the heart, which too easily gives way to the designs of Satan, suffers itself to be imposed upon by him, is not the least cause why so many hope- ful beginnings come to nothing, and the effects of the word vanish. Pride and self-love are very apt to over-rule every little good, and slight or undervalue every ill that is in us ; and so quickly choke those convictions that begin to work in our souls.
But oh ! that such men would consider, that the dying away of their convictions is that which threatens the life of their souls for ever ; now is the bud withered, the blossom blasted : and what ex- pectation is there of fruit after this, except the Lord revive them again ? The Lord open men's eyes to discern the danger of such things as these are ! Jude 12. Heb. x. 58. Yet I deny not but there are many stands and pauses in the work of conversion ; it seems to die away, and then revives again ; and revive it must, or we are lost. But how many are there who never recover it more ! This is a sore judgment of a most terrible consequence to the souls of men !
Thirdly, In the last place, let it be a word of counsel and advice to them, upon whom the word works effectually and powerfully ; to whose hearts the commandment is come home to revive sin, and kill their vain hopes ; and these are of two sorts.
1. Embryos under the first workings of the Spirit.
2. Complete births of the Spirit, regenerated souls.
Fii'st, Embryos that are under the first workings of the Spirit in the word. O let it not seem a misery, or unhappiness to you, that the commandment is come, and sin revived, and your former hopes overthrown. It must be thus, if ever God intend mercy for you. Had you gone on in that dangerous security you were in before, you had certainly been lost for ever : God hath stopt you in that path that leads down to hell, and none that go in there do ever return again, or take hold of the paths of life. O ! it is better to weep, tremble, and be distressed now, than to mourn without hope for ever. Let it not trouble you that sin hath found you out ; you could never have found out the remedy in Christ, if you had not found out the disease and danger, by the coming of the com- mandment. And I beseech you carefully to observe, whether the effects and operations of the word upon your hearts be deeper and more powerful than they are found to be in such souls as miscarry
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