God hath cast her out of his
presence, and closes the door upon her. She pleads her profession
and the like, and she hath for her answer repulses from heaven. "So
are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall
perish; whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be the
spider's web: though he lean upon his house, it shall not stand; he
shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure."
Take heed, therefore; thy soul, heaven, and eternity lie at stake;
yea, they turn either to thee or from thee upon the hinge of thy
faith, If it be right, all is thine; if wrong, then all is lost,
however thy hope and expectations are to the contrary.
There are bare notions, there are common workings, and there is a
work that is saving and that will do the soul good to eternity.
1. There are bare notions, and they that have them are such unto
whom the gospel comes in word only, 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Cor. 4:19, 20;
such whose religion stands in word only, and is not attended with a
power suitable: that is, there goes not with the word a power
sufficient to subdue and work over the heart to a cordial and
gracious close with thut word that comes to them. Yet such is the
noise and sound of the word, that they are willing to become
professors thereof; there is some kind of musicalness in it,
especially when well handled and fingered by a skilful preacher.
Pages:
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470