Sin doth not destroy the being of the soul by annihilation, but it doth that which the damned shall find, and acknowledge to be much worse ; it cuts off the soul from God, and deprives it of all its felicity, joy, and pleasure, which consists in the enjoyment of him. Such is the dolefulness and fearfulness of this result and issue of sin, that w^hen God himself speaks of it, he puts on a passion, and speaks of it with the most feeling concernment. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. " As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of " the wicked : Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die, O house of " Israel ? q. d. Why will you wilfully cast away your own souls ? Why will you choose the pleasures of sin for a season, at the price of my wrath and fury poured out for ever ? O think of this, you that make so light a matter of committing sin ! We pity those, who, in the depth of melancholy or desperation, lay violent hands upon themselves, and in a desperate mood, cut their own throats ; but certainly for a man to murder his own soul, is an act of wick- edness as much beyond it, as the value of the soul is above that of the body.
Inf. 4. What an invaluable mercy is Jesus Christ to the world, who came on purpose to seek and to save such as were lost 9
In Adam all were shipwrecked and cast away: Christ is the plank of mercy, let down from heaven to save some. The loss of souls by the fall, had been as irrecoverable as the loss of the fallen angels, had not God, in a way above all human thoughts and counsels, contrived the method of their redemption. It is astonish-
A TREATISE OP THE SOUL OF MAN.
ing to consider the admirable harmony and glorious triumph of ail the divine attributes, in this great project of heaven, for the reco- very of lost souls. It is the " wonder of angels," 1 Pet. i. 12. the " great mystery of godliness," 1 Tim. iii. 16. the matter and sub- ject of the 'triumphant song of redeemed saints, Rev. i. 5. and well it may, when we consider a more noble species of creatures finally lost, and no Mediator of reconciliation appointed betwixt God and them : this is to save an earthen pitcher, whilst the vessel of gold is let fall, and no hand is stretched out to save it.
But what is most astonishing, is, that so great a person as the Son of God, should come himself from the Father s bosom, to save us, by putting himself into our room and stead, being made a curse for us. Gal. iii. 13. He leaves the bosom of his Father, and all the ineffable delights of heaven, disrobes himself of his glory, and is found in fashion as a man, yea, becomes a worm, and no man ; submits to the lowest step and degree of abasement, to save lost sinners. Vv^hat a low stoop doth Christ make in his humiliation to catch the souls of poor sinners out of hell ! Herein was love, that God sent his own Son, " to be the propitiation of our sins," 1 John iv. 10. and " God so loved the world," John iii. 16. at this rate he was content to save lost sinners.
How seasonable was this work of mercy, both in its general ex- hibition to the world, in the incarnation of Christ, and in his par- ticular application of it to the soul of every lost sinner, by the Spi- rit ! When he was first exhibited to the world, he found them all lost sheep gone astray, every one turning to his own way, Isa. liii. e. he speaks of our lost estate by nature, both collectively, or in general : " we all went astray :" and distributively, or in particular, " Every one turned to his own way f ' and in the fulness of time a Saviour appeared.
And how seasonable was it, in its particular apphcation ? How securely were we wandering onwards in the paths of destruction, fearing no danger, when he graciously opened our eyes by convic- tion, and pulled us back by heart-turning grace ! No mercy like this: it is an astonishing act of grace. It stands alone !
In/: 5. If there be so many ways to hell, and so few that escape it, how are all concerned to strive, to the utmost, in order to their own salvation f
In Luke xiii. 23. a certain person proposed a curious question to Christ ; " Lord, are there few that be saved .?" He saw a multitude flocking to Christ, and thronging with great zeal to hear him ; and he could not conceive but heaven must fill proportionably to the numbers he saw in the way thither. But Christ's answer, ver. 24. at once rebukes the curiosity of the questionist, fully resolves the question propounded, and sets home his own duty and greater
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concernment upon him. It rebukes his curiosity, and is, as if he should say, — Be the number of the saved more or less, what is that to thee ? Strive thou to be one of them. It fully solves the ques- tion propounded, by distinguishing those that attend upon the means of salvation, mto Seekers and Strivers. In the first respect there are many, who by a cheap and easy profession, seek heaven ; but take them under the notion of strivers, i. e. persons heartily engaged in religion, and who make it their business, then they will shrink up into a small number ; and he presseth home his great business, and concern upon him, Strive to enter in at the strait gate.