Iohn Baptist, and heare him gladly? and wilt thou neglect the Ministers, and the preaching of the word? shall Pharao confesse his sinne, nay shall Satan beleeue and tremble? And wilt not thou bewaile and lament thy sinnes, and thy wicked conuersation? It behooueth thee to feare and take heed, least wic∣ked men, and the deuill himselfe rise in iudgement and condemne thee. For if thou shalt come short of the duties of a reprobate, and doe not goe beyond him in the profession of the Gospel, sure it is, thou must looke for the reward of a reprobate.
The second thing is, that the professour of the Gospell, diligently trie and examine himselfe, whether he is in the state of damnation, or in the state of grace: whether he yet beare the yoke of Satan, or is the adopted child of God. Thou wilt say, this need not, thou professest the Gospell, and art taken for a Christian: yet marke and consider, that this often befalleth reprobates to be e∣steemed Christians: and they are often so like them, that none but Christ can discerne the sheepe from the goates, true Christians from apparant Christi∣ans. Wherefore it behooueth all men that shew themselues to be Christians, to lay aside all pride, and all selfeloue, and with singlenes of heart to put them∣selues into the ballance of Gods word, and to make iust triall, whether in thē, repentance, faith, mortification, sanctification, &c. giue waight answerable to their outward profession: which if they doe, let them praise God: if not, let them with all speede vse the meanes that they may be borne anew to the lord, and may be inwardly guided by his holy spirit, to giue obedience to his will, least in the day of Gods trial, they start aside from him like a broken bow, and fall againe to their first vncleannesse.