Pneumatologia, a treatise of the soul of man wherein the divine original, excellent and immortal nature of the soul are opened, its love and inclination to the body, with the necessity of its separation from it, considered and improved, the existence, operations, and states of separated souls, both in Heaven and Hell, immediately after death, asserted, discussed, and variously applyed, divers knotty and difficult questions about departed souls, both philosophical, and theological, stated and determined, the invaluable preciousness of humane souls, and the various artifices of Satan (their professed enemy) to destroy them, discovered, and the great duty and interest of all men, seasonable and heartily to comply with the most great and gracious design of the Father, Son, and Spirit, for the salvation of their souls, argued and pressed / by John Flavel ...

The fourth way to Hell shut up, by two Considerations.

1. First, Let it be considered; the longer any man hath been engaged in, and accustomed to the way of sin, the more reason and need that man hath speedily and without delay to repent, and reform his course; there is yet a possibility of mercy, a season of Salvation left, how far soever a Soul be gone on towards Hell: none can say it is yet too late. When Mr. Bilney the Martyr heard a Minister preaching thus, O thou old Sinner, that hast gone on in a course of sin these fifty or sixty years, dost thou think that Christ will accept thee now? or take the Devils leavings? Good God! said he, what preaching of Christ is here? Had such Doctrine been preached to me in the day of my troubles, it had been e∣nough utterly to have discouraged me from Repentance and Faith. No, no, Sinner, it is not yet too late, if at last thy heart be touched with a real sense of thy sin and danger: the word is plain, Isa. 55.7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abun∣dantly pardon.

An abundant pardon thou needest; thy sins by long con∣tinued custom and frequent repetitions have been abundant∣ly aggravated; and an abundant pardon is with God for poor sinners: he will abundantly pardon, but then thou must come up to his terms; thou must not expect pardon or mer∣cy, when thy sins have forsaken thee, but upon thy forsaking them: yea, such a forsaking as includes a resolution or de∣cree in thy will to return to them no more, Hos. 14.8. there must be a change of thy way, and that not from profaneness to civility only, which is but to change one false way to Heaven for another, or the dirty road to hell for a clean∣lier path on the other side the hedge; but a total and final forsaking of every way of sin, as to the love and habitual

practice of it; yea, and thy thoughts too, as well as thy ways: there must be an internal, as well as an external change upon thee; yea, a positive, as well as a negative change: a turning to the Lord, as well as a turning from sin; and then how long soever thou hast walked in the road towards Hell, there will be time enough, and mercy enough to secure thy returning Soul safe to Heaven.

2. Secondly, Canst thou not forbear thy customary si•• upon lesser motives than the salvation of thy Soul? and if thou canst, wilt thou not much more do it for the saving of thy precious immortal Soul? Suppose there were but a pecu∣niary mulct of an hundred pounds to be certainly levied up∣on thy Estate for every Oath thou swearest, or every time thou art drunk, wouldst thou not rather chuse reformation than beggery? And is not the loss of thy Soul a penalty in∣finitely heavier than a little money? But as the wise Heathen observed,* 1.1 Ea sola emi putamus, pro quibus pecuniam solvimus; ••a gratuita vocamus, pro quibus nos ipsos impendimus: We rec∣kon those things only to be bought which we part with mo∣ney for; and that we have those things gratis, for which we pay our selves: Is nothing cheap in our eyes but our selves, our Souls? Do we call that gratis, that will cost us so dear▪ Darius threw away his Massie Crown when he ••red before Alexander, that it might not hinder him in his flight. Sure your Souls are more worth than your money, and all the en∣joyments you have in this world. It had been an ancient custom among the Citizens of Antioch to wash themselves in the Baths; but the King forbidding it, they all presently forbare, for fear▪ of his displeasure: whereupon Chrysostome convinced them of the vanity of that plea for customary sin∣ning. You see,* 1.2 saith he, how soon fear can break off an old custom, and shall not the fear of God be as powerful to over-master it in us, as the fear of man? O friends, believe it, it is better for you to cut off a right hand, or pluck out a right eye, than having two hands or eyes, to be cast into Hell; where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Senec. Ep. 42. Gratuita nobis videntur quae chariss••mè con∣stant; quae e∣mere nollemus, si domus nobis nostra pro illis esset danda, &c.
• * 1.2

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, &c. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 14.