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§. 147. Of the damage of neglecting means for softning the heart.
TO enforce the foresaid duty of mutual exhorting one another, and that fro•…•… time to time, so long as the season continueth, the Apostle declareth the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ger of neglecting the same, in these words, Lest any of you be hardened. He had before shewed, vers. 8. the great damage of hardness of heart, he 〈◊〉〈◊〉 therefore here inculcate that damage, to make them the more watchfull a∣gainst it.
The manner of bringing in this damage is by way of Caution and prevention, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 this particle lest. In the Greek it is thus, a 1.1 that not: as if he had said, that not a•…•… of you, or that none of you be hardned. Hereby it appeareth, that where 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of softning are omitted or neglected, the heart will be hardned. As the heart 〈◊〉〈◊〉 man is of its own nature hard: So after it is by publick or private means 〈◊〉〈◊〉, if those means be not still used, the heart will •…•…all to its native hardness. As 〈◊〉〈◊〉 and clay, and other like things, which are naturally hard, will upon withholding means of softning, after they have been once softened, fall to their native 〈◊〉〈◊〉▪ So the heart of man. Or as water, though it be made scalding hot, if fire be ta•…•… from it, will soon wax cold of it self; and as all manner of heavy things, being 〈◊〉〈◊〉 some means or other drawn upwards, will of themselves fall down again, if 〈◊〉〈◊〉 means be taken away: So the heart. There is a natural proneness and inclinatio•…•… it to hardness.
The indefinite expression, L•…•…st b 1.2 any of you, implieth, that all of all sorts, even 〈◊〉〈◊〉 best were subject to this decay, and to this hardning of their heart. In this resp•…•… they ought all of them to be carefull in practising the fore-mentioned duty mutu•…•… one to another among all sorts of them. See v. 12. §. 123.
Of hardness of heart, and of the great damage thereof, See §. 80, &c.