When choice David was
dejected, the remembrance of the hill Hermon was his stay; when he
was to go out against Goliath, the remembrance of the lion and the
bear was his support; so when those that have had the power of the
things of God upon them, can think of this when they are withdrawn,
it will, even the thinking of it, have some kind of operation upon
the soul. And therefore you shall find, that the recovering of a
backslider usually begins at the remembrance of former things.
"Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do thy first
works."
It is marvellous to see how some men are captivated with this
forgetfulness. Those that sometimes have prayed, cried, groaned, and
sighed for eternal life; those that sometimes thought no pains too
much, no way too far, no hazards too great to run, for eternal life;
those that sometimes were captivated with the word, and with the
comforts and joy thereof, and who, had it been possible, would have
pulled out their eyes, and have given them to gospel ministers, so
dear and sweet were the good tidings which they brought. to such. I
say, it is marvellous to see how such men are captivated with the
forgetfulness of this. They are as if they had never been those men;
they are as if they had had no such things, or as if they never had
thought about them.
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