The salvation of the soul considered. The nature of that great salvation declared; with directions for the obtaining, and incentives to the pursuing, of it. In a brief essay, designed for a dispersion by hands at work for the kingdom of God. : [Two lines of quotation in Latin]

THE Salvation of the Soul, Considered in a brief ESSAY, prepa|red for the hands that are at work on the Designs of the Common Salvation.

MAy our Gospellized People, now give Atten|tion, a just & strong Attention, to the most Important Matters, that ever any People had, or can have, Set before them. The Most-concerning, the All-concerning, Matters are Set before us, in those Words,

I. Pet. I. 9. The END of your FAITH, the SALVATION of your SOULS.

EVERY Word is Ponderous; it weighs like the Mountains of GOD. The Inspiration of the Almighty, em|ploys the Pen of an Apostle from Him, to Recommend unto us, a Faith in a Lovely JESUS; the Faith of what He will do for His Followers, at that Second Coming of His, which is to be looked for. In the Prose|cution of this Intention, We are here treated with Two Things; First, An Incomparable Blessedness, for the obtaining of which every Man has cause to be unspeakably Sollicitous;

An Inestimable Blessedness, which if thou Lose, O Man, What will it profit thee, if thou gain the whole World? This Blessedness, is, The Salvation of the Soul But then, Secondly; The Way wherein we are made Partakers of this Blessed|ness. T'wil be the End of our Faith; Our Way to it, is by a Genuine Faith in the JESUS, who alone can Lead us into the Rest which remains for the people of GOD.

That which I am in the most awakening Terms, to oblige your most Serious Thoughts upon, is This Faithful saying of GOD; Oh! Let it be counted worthy of all Acceptation with you!

The SALVATION of the SOUL, will be the END of a True FAITH in Our Glorious and Mighty, and Only SAVIOUR.

Seasonably & Effectually to make sure of a part in the Salvation, whereof the Blessed JE|SUS is the Author, to as many as obey Him; This, This is the Thing, which you are now with an Uncommon Importunity to be press'd un|to. For, my Friends, Our SAVIOUR has in|structed us, Tis not every one that shall be Saved: No, Tis not every one that pretends to own Him for a Lord, and makes a fair pre|tension to Religion, that shall be Saved. Mul|titudes, Multitudes, are they who perish, by a most Sottish Neglect of their GRAND IN|TEREST; And you have cause to Think up|on a Question, which GOD now puts unto You, but which indeed all the Angels in Heaven

can give no Answer to; That very Solemn Question, Heb. II. 3. How shall we escape, if we Neglect so great Salvation!

The first Thing that is now to be done, is to assert the Existence of the Subject, the Welfare whereof we are now Entreating you to be wise|ly concerned about; And this is, The SOUL. This Assertion is to be introduced, as an Un|doubted Preliminary, to what we are going upon; Job XXXII. 8 There is a SPIRIT in Man. A SPIRIT capable of Discerning and Arguing and Affecting: A SPIRIT which Reasons, and Compares, and Judges, and Chu|ses; A SPIRIT which a Man of Reason, when he feels himself a dying, does commit into the Hands of a Faithful Creator. O Man, Thou hast a SOUL, the Existence whereof ought to be how Real, and how Awful, to thee! Indeed, it might seem a Needless Labour, yea, and a Cutting Satyr, to take any Pains for the con|vincing of a Man, that he has a Soul within him. Should any Man Doubt whether he has a SOUL within him, his very Doubt would be an Evi|dence of it. So wondrously would that Man Confute himself, who should thus go to degrade himself into the class of the Beasts that Perish. It was the Ridiculous Mistake of the poor A|mericans, who when they first saw some Euro|peans on Horse back, took the Horse and his Rider to be but One Animal. But much more worthy to be Ridiculed, arc the Epicure|ans who take not the Body and the Soul, for very Different Substances. My Friend, Thy Body is but a Cabinet unto a Jewel, the most precious

in the World; A SOUL, A SOUL which has many Incontestible Demonstrations (be|sides those of well-attested Apparitions,) of its Immortality. A SOUL which is capable of Doing more for GOD, and of Tasting more from Him, than all the Creatures in the whole Visible Creation. A SOUL, whereof a SA|VIOUR who has been Powerfully declared, The SON of GOD; and the True Witness, who de|livereth Souls; has declared unto us, Matth. X. 28. It cannot be killed, by that which Kills the Body. A Text, which the Men of corrupt minds, who are for that Scandalous Epitaph on a Dead Man, Here lies the whole of the Man, in vain Study to make Evasions from. That SOUL of thine, O Man, When will thine Ears be open unto the Cries which it makes unto thee? Verily, There is the Voice of GOD crying to Every Man, in the cry which his own SOUL makes unto him.

When, O Man, wilt thou shew thy self a Man? Thy Dying Body is abundantly cared for. When shall the SOUL, that is to Survive the Body, have a due care bestow'd upon it? Thy Body is fed; But thy SOUL is famish'd. Thy Body is cloath'd; But thy SOUL is naked. The Distempers of thy Body, thou seekest a cure for. Thy SOUL is pining away in its Iniquities. Thy Body is falling and hast'ning down into the Pit of Corruption. Oh! what Provision hast thou made, that thy SOUL may be then Re|ceived into Everlasting Habitations?

The Subject is then agreed upon; The next

thing to be done, is to prevail with you, that you would pursue the Welfare of this Noble Subject; A point which, One would think, should now need no further to be spoken to. Do but Remember, O Man, That thou hast a SOUL, and thou canst not but Acknowledge, that it must be, The ONE THING that is Needful, to Consult the Welfare of it. But that this Design may be well pursued, we will Maintain Two Positions.

My First POSITION is; The SALVATI|ON of the SOUL, is to be the Grand Point of Sollicitude, with all that are going down to the Dust, whereof none can keep alive his own Soul. But now, What is implied, what is contain'd, in, The Salvation of the Soul? SALVATION! O comprehensive Word! O Incomprehensi|ble Good! SOUL, 'Tis beyond all that thou canst Ask or Think!

First; In the Salvation of the Soul, there is a Deliverance from all the Miseries to which by our Fall from GOD, we are become Obnoxi|ous; all the Miserable Circumstances of those whom GOD counteth for His Enemies. The doleful Outcry of all Mankind, may be That, Lam. V.16. The crown is fallen from our Head, and wo is unto us, in that we have Sinned. Soul, T'wil be thy Outcry, whenever the Sleep of Death upon thee, is going off. The Apostasy from GOD, begun by our First Parents, has plunged us all into a woful Condition. The Soul, involved in the Sin of our First Parents. and having by Actual Sin also Denied the GOD that is Above, may make its Bitter Lamentati|ons.

O wretched One that I am! I have the Wrath of GOD abiding of me▪ and His dire|ful Curse is dispensed unto me, even in my Prosperity, as well as my adversity. I am Sick of Greivous Diseases. I am a Slave to Satan, and I serve diverse Lusts. When I am driven out of this Tabernacle, I am like to fall into the Hands which it is a fearful thing to fall into. There is danger that my Re|turn unto it at a tremendous Day of Judg|ment, will be only to undergo a Strange Punishment reserved for the workers of Iniquity. And Oh! What will become of me, when This Earth shall become like a Fiery Oven, and as a mighty, flaming, blazing Furnace, which all the Wicked of the Earth shall be thrown into!

O Soul in wondrous Perils, To be Rescued from all this Confusion, is that Salvation, which is now set before thee, in the Word of Truth, which is the Gospel of thy Salvation.

But then, Secondly; There is in the Salva|tion of the Soul, a Positive Good, conveyed; All the Good which is promised unto the Fear of GOD: and Oh! How Great is ihat Good, which GOD has laid up for them that Fear Him! The Salvation which we have in our View, is in the Sacred Oracles which describe it unto us, called, Life Eternal. The Thing of which we are often and often informed in the Holy Book, which none but an Holy GOD, and One who cannot Lye, can be the Author of, is That; 1 Joh. II. 25. This is the promise that He has promised us, Eternal Life. Herein, first,

there is a Sentence of Life passed upon us, and our Sin is Pardoned. In our Pardon, GOD restores us to His Favour, and in His Favour there is Life. There is a Justification of Life, wherein a Gracious GOD says unto us, The Lord hath put away thy sin; Thou shall not Dye: Says unto us, Be comforted, Thy Sins are for|given thee. Herein there is that thing done for us; Rom. V. 19. We receive the Gift of Righteousness, and reign in Life by JESUS CHRIST. In the Salvation of the soul, there is a Release given to the Soul, from the Bonds to suffer the Destruction from GOD, which His Violated Law lays upon the Sinner; and the Soul may Sing, Lord, I will praise thee; for that tho' thou wast Angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou dost comfort me.

But then, Secondly; There is an Entrance into Life; which is made by our coming to Live unto GOD. We are Quickned with In|fluences from Above, which Enliven us, and Enable us to pay those Regards unto the Li|ving GOD, which we have heretofore paid unto our Idols. We have that Life of GOD begun in us, wherein the Praising and Plea|sing of GOD, becomes the Main Scope of our Life; Self is dethroned, and GOD resumes His Throne in our Souls. We terminate our Loves and Hopes and Joyes, no longer in Creatures, but pass from them and through them unto GOD: We Dy to Creatures, and Live unto GOD. And it is with us accor|ding to That; Rom. VIII. 2. The Law of the

Spirit of Life in CHRIST JESUS hath made me free from the Law of Sin and of Death. The Salvation of the Soul does Relieve and Remove the Maladies which the SOUL is deprav'd withal, and fill the Soul with the Love of GOD, and of the Neighbour.

And now,

Thirdly; The Life Eternal, which had its Inchoation in This World, has its Consumma|tion in another and a better World, after our Departure out of This. And here first, There shall be that Word accomplished, Rom. VIII. 10. If CHRIST be in you, the Body is dead, be|cause of Sin, but the Spirit is Life, because of Righteousness. Our Spirits will, at our Expira|tion, fly away, into a Paradise, where they Live unto GOD and are Comforted. But then, anon shall be that Word accomplished, 1 Cor. XV 53. This corruptible must put on incorruption; This mortal must put on immortality. The Sal|vation of the Soul, will prove the Salvation of the Body too. 'Tis observable, That the Salva|tion of the Soul, is to be received at the Appear|ing of the Lord; even when He shall come to Raise the Dead and Judge the World. The Soul will not be in all circumstances as it would be, till that Great Revolution. We shall then have our Bodies fetch'd back from the dark Cham|bers of Death, and given back to our Spirits, fill'd with an Ethereal matter, and made Lumi|nous and Vigorous, and Salted, or made Incor|ruptible with the Fiery Robe, whereof we were stripped by the First Transgression. Our Life being Redeemed from Destruction, at the Resur|rection

of the Dead, our Youth will be Renewed, and we shall have Bodies, wherein we shall mount up as with the Wings of Eagles. Then we shall be sheltered under the Wings of the JE|SUS, who Delivers from the Wrath to come; find with Him a shelter from the Devouring Fire, and the Everlasting Burnings, which they that Know not GOD, and Obey not His Gospel, shall be doom'd unto. Then, Then we shall be taken into the Holy City, which has the Glory of GOD giving Light unto it. There we shall have all Tears wiped away from our Eyes. There▪ we shall be Filled with all the Fulness of GOD▪ There GOD will become All in All unto us. But, O the Duration of this Felicity! An Eter|nal Salvation! After we have been in that Life of Glory and Honour and Immortality, for Thou|sands of Myriads of Millions of Ages, and such as it would even tire all humane Understand|ing to cast up the Numbers of, we shall be no nearer the Period of it, than the First Moment that we came into it.

Behold, the SALVATION of the Soul, which we do with Vehemency now urge you to be Vehemently concerned about: A SALVATI|ON which certainly you cannot but own to be well worth all the Pains that can be ta|ken for it. O go to Work about the Salvation with Fear and Trembling, lest by presumptu|ous and contemptuous Delays you provoke the GOD, who Works in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure, to withold from you those Aids of Supernatural Grace, without which, you will continue as you are, and fall short

of entering into Rest. SOUL, Delay no longer; but hearken to

My Second Position which is, There is a Blessed SAVIOUR, a Faith in whom will, for the End of it, have the Salvation of the Soul. Men and Brethren, You are now coming to Know the way to the City. 'Tis after this man|ner, that the Servants of the most High GOD must shew unto you the way of Salvation.

First, We have a most powerful and most merciful SAVIOUR, whose Name is JESUS because He saves His People from their sins. In our Blessed JESUS, has our GOD fulfilled that Word unto us, He will send them a SAVIOUR, and a GREAT ONE. Messengers from Heaven have made this Proclamation unto us, Luke II. 10. I bring you good Tidings of Great Joy, which shall be to all People; unto you there is born a SAVIOUR, who is CHRIST the Lord O wonderful! O wonderful! The Eternal SON of GOD, a Person who is ONE GOD with His Eternal FATHER, has taken the Man JESUS into One Person with Himself This GOD man, is become the Me|diator between GOD and Man, and gives to Man a view of Returning to GOD. By His Mediation it is, that His chosen People arrive to the Salvation of the Soul. That this our SAVIOUR Died, and Rose from the Dead, and was Received up into the Heavens; this is a Thing whereof we have many Infallible Proofs. 'Tis a Thing that has been better proved, than any matter of Fact, that ever was in the

World. There needs no more to prove, than He is the SAVIOUR, which His Gospel has Reported Him to be, and that what He has Revealed in His Gospel about the Salvation of the Soul, is to be relied upon. This is the SA|VIOUR, who presents Himself a Sacrifice to the Justice of GOD, upon our pleading whereof we receive the Remission of sins. This is the SAVIOUR, who by His Obedi|ence to the Everlasting Rules of Righteousness, has furnished them who have none of their own, with a Plea for their Acceptance with GOD. This is that SAVIOUR▪ who appears as an Advocate for us in the most holy Place, and saves us to the uttermost, by Everliving to make Intercession for us. Here is the SAVIOUR who Guides our Feet into the way of Peace, and Inclines us to the Things that are Holy and Just and Good, and Works in us that which is well pleasing in the sight of GOD Here is the SA|VIOUR, who being the Lord of Angels, and having all power given to Him, orders our whole State, and performs the Thing that is appointed for us. In Him we have a SAVI|OUR, who having made us meet for the Spi|ritual Blessings in the Heavenly places, does first of all take our Departed Spirits into His Custody; and by'nd by, Revive our Bodies into Agreeable and Everlasting Habitations for them; And so▪ Re-unite us unto GOD, in the endless enjoyment of Him, and of all things in Him. A SAVIOUR, who is very GOD; One whose Name is JEHOVAH; One Who is Over-all, GOD Blessed for ever: And

because He is GOD Almighty therefore mighty to save. Because He is JEHOVAH therefore Salvation is to be expected from Him; He is the True GOD; therefore Eternal Life is to be found in Him. Oh! what a SAVIOUR! Soul, How canst thou hear of Him, and not Adore Him, not Embrace Him, not cry out unto Him; O my Lord, and my GOD; Say thou to my Soul, I am thy Salvation!

Secondly, Our Great SAVIOUR in His Gospel tenders the Salvation of the Soul, to every Soul. Our SAVIOUR, Lo, He sends forth His Voice, and that a mighty Voice; and it reaches to the Ends of the Earth: Shall not the very Dead now feel it reaching to them; and Live upon it! Isa. XLV. 22. Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the Earth. What is the Gospel, but the Salvation of the Soul tendered unto Every Soul of Man, that has done Evil, and would be saved from Evil? Now concerning this Gospel, our SAVIOUR has given this Commission, Go ye into all the World, and Preach the Gospel to every Creature. There is not one among all the Children of Men, to whom it may not be said. Ah, Sinful Creature; Ah, Ruin'd Creature. There is a JESUS, able and willing to save thee, out of all the Ruins, which by sinning against GOD thou hast brought upon thee! Soul, What a Sweet Invitation has thy SAVIOUR given thee? Come to me, all you that Labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you Rest! What a Sweet Invitation; Ho, every one that thirsteth,

come ye to the waters; Come unto me, Hear, and your soul shall live! To over come thy Un|belief, O Invited Soul, He has kindly Spoken a word worth a World; A Word which has broken Millions of Hearts; And shall Thine be Obdurate! Joh. VI. 37. Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. Soul, Be thy Sins never so many, never so heinous, and be thy Plagues never so wonderful, thou shall yet be welcome to thy SAVIOUR, if thou come unto Him: His Grace is a Foun|tain Set Open for thee. Tho' thy case appear never so desperate, yet there is Hope in Israel concerning this Thing. Thy Salvation may not be despaired of. T'will be a crime in thee, to conclude, That the Day of Grace is over with thee, or that thou hast Sinned Unpar|donably.

Thirdly. But the Salvation of the Soul can|not be had, without Believing in the Glori|ous and Mighty, and only SAVIOUR. The Greatest CASE that ever was answered in the World, hear now what Answer is to be given unto it. The CASE has been pro|pounded, and, Oh! that it were oftener so, and with a Soul full of Troubles, —Even this, What shall I do to be Saved? The Reply given to it, by the Apostles of GOD, is a very Authentick one; Act. XVI. 31. Believe on the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and thou shall be Saved. FAITH is the Flight of a Distressed Soul, unto our Blessed SAVIOUR. The End of this Faith and Flight is, The Sal|vation of the Soul. 'Tis the End which Faith

does Aim at; and the End which Faith does Come at. Our SAVIOUR has given us This Definition of the Faith which seeks and finds the Salvation of the Soul; Joh. V. 40. 'Tis a Coming to Him, that we may have Life. The process of a Saving Faith shall be now Set before you. SOUL, Be Restless, till thou hast passed through it, and made sure of thy Salvation.

First. Become sensible of what you are, and how much you want Salvation, while you are at a Distance from your SAVIOUR. To the Christless, must be said, what we have in Rev. III. 17. Thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. O Fall into an Heart-melting Meditation;

What am I but a Child of Wrath, and a Prey to the Terrible, and Full of a lothsome Leprosy? Until my SAVIOUR Pitty me? Where must my Portion be, but in a Place of Tor|ments? Except my SAVIOUR Pitty me▪ O my SAVIOUR, Necessity is laid upon me, to come unto thee, and Wo unto me, if I do it not!

But under the Convictions of this Neces|sity, at the same time confess your selves Un|able to come unto your SAVIOUR, yea, and Unworthy that GOD should help you to come. Let the Soveraign Grace, that shines forth in Drawing to your SAVIOUR, all that come unto Him, have a due Confession made of it. From the Depths cry unto the Lord: and say, Lord, I can Perform nothings, Lord, I do Deserve no|thing; But, O my SAVIOUR, Draw thou me, and I shall Run unto thee.

Secondly Look for no less than the whole Salvation of the Soul, in Looking to your SA|VIOUR. You must come to your SAVI|OUR in all His Offices; come to your SA|VIOUR for all His Benefits; come to your SAVIOUR, on all those Purposes; 1 Cor. I. 30. Made of GOD unto us, Wisdom, Righte|ousness, Holiness, and Redemption. If your first Errand unto your SAVIOUR be, That by His Blood you may be cleansed from all Sin; yet this must not be all your Errand. You must go to Him, That He would Instruct you, Govern you, Rectify all that is amiss in you, and bring you to a Perfection of Holiness is the Fear of GOD. It is by coming into the Covenant of Grace, that our Salvation is assured unto us: Even that Covenant, which is the Echo to that Covenant of Redemption, wherein our SAVIOUR has Engaged for us, and Eternal Life was promised before the World begun. We come into the Covenant of Grace, by consenting that our SAVIOUR should be to us, do for us, according to His Engage|ments in the Covenant of Redemption, on the behalf of them, whom in His Covenant He be|comes an Head unto. Our SAVIOUR has Promised for His Elect, That He will make that Expiation for their Offences, which will bring them into a Reconciliation with GOD. Say now, O my SAVIOUR, I trust in Thee So to Save me! Our SAVIOUR has also Pro|mised for His Elect, That He will Purify them, and make them zealous of Good Works, and write

the Law of GOD in their Hearts, and guide them with Counsil, and bring them to Glory. Say now, O my SAVIOUR, I trust in Thee so to Save me.

You see Faith at Work, for the Salvation of the Soul. The Expression leads me to insist up|on that: It must be a Working Faith; else, O Vain Man, 'Tis Dead, and will never bring thee to Life.

Wherefore,

Thirdly; Your Faith must Work by Love. It must fill you with the Love of your SA|VIOUR. This Love must keep you always at Work for Him, and in the work which be|longs to a Life of PIETY: still Remem|bring that He says unto you, I know thy works. You must come to that; Gal. II. 20. I Live by the Faith of the Son of GOD. Re|pair to your SAVIOUR for His Direction in Every thing, and Order the Steps of your Life by His Word. Repair to your SAVIOUR for those Impressions of His Good Spirit, which will make you full of Goodness, and make the Service of GOD, the Business of your Life. Repair to your SAVIOUR, with fervent Prayers to Him, and with precious Thoughts of Him, on all Occasions; and make Him the Rock, whereto you will Resort continually. Repent most heartily of the Sins which have brought you into such a want of a SAVI|OUR; and lead a Life of Repentance before Him. Faith and Repentance are what GOD has joined, Man may not separate them. If your Faith be not a Repenting Faith, be sure, it is

a Counterfeit, Let your SAVIOUR be the Pat|tern of your Life; and walk even as he walked. Faith in your SAVIOUR, must bring the Blood of your SAVIOUR, to run warm in the Veins of your Souls; with Desires and Studies of a Conformity to Him. You must Imitate a SA|VIOUR who hates Wickedness and loves Righte|ousness. Imitate a SAVIOUR, whose Meat and whose Drink it was to do the will of GOD. Imi|tate a SAVIOUR who took patiently whatever Cup His Father gave unto Him; and was a Sheep under the shearers when wrongs were done unto Him; and who went about still every where doing Good. Let your SAVIOUR Live in you; and Oh! Do you Dye to every thing but Him: Look upon all things here, with a Sacrificing Eye, and bear the killing things with which your SAVIOUR will make you Dead unto the World, Crucified with Him. Having so Liv'd by Faith, anon you are to Dye in Faith, and committing your selves into the hands of such a SAVIOUR, go away Rejoicing in the Hope of the Glory of GOD. Now Dye saying, O my SAVIOUR, I know whom I have believed; I chearfully commit my All unto thee.

This 'tis to Believe unto the saving of the Soul!

Thus have you, the Way to the Salvation of the Soul plainly laid out before you. Now what remains is to execute that Command. Compel them to come in. The Compelling Force of some EXPOSTULATIONS, is now to be tried upon you. Hear a few Right Words, and GOD make them Forcible.

Expostulation, I. Are you willing to un|dergo the dreadful pains, that must unavoid|ably be undergone by those with whom the Salvation of the Soul is Despised, Refused, For|feited? Believe you not, That God will bring every Man, and every work into Judgment▪ Believe you not, That the Everlasting Punish|ment, which the Wicked shall be adjudg'd unto, will be a most Formidable Punishment? Believe you not. That a Soul, which has been always listed among the Adversaries of GOD, shall be siezed with His Fiery Indignation, and banish|ed from Him into a most hideous Darkness, where they will be shut up and cannot come forth? In the Perdition of Ungodly Men, foretold by the mouth of your SAVIOUR, is there nothing to be trembled at? Will the Ungodly have an easy Time of it, when they are Broken into the Place of Dragons, and made Fellow-Sufferers with the Devils whom they have hearken'd to? Have we not known some in in this World, unto whom the Horrors and the Tortures of a Guilty Conscience have been so Intolerable, that they have cried out, of Burn|ing to Death, but as a Metaphor, to what they suffered? Can thy Heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, when I shall deal with thee, saith the Lord?

Expostulation, II. In Receiving the Sal|vation of the Soul, will you not receive what will be a sufficient Recompence of all your stri|ving for it? Even in this Life, did ever any sincere Follower of our SAVIOUR, once regret

the Labours and the Hardships of the Christian Warfare? Have they not all born this Testi|mony, That the ways of Wisdom are pleasant ways, and all its paths are peace; and the most bitter thing in a walk with GOD is much sweeter than the Sweetest thing in the Tents of wickedness? But in the Life to Come, Oh! What will be done for the Soul, to which an Infinite GOD shall multiply the Tokens of His Loving kind|ness? Verily He will do it as a GOD! Are any Pleasures comparable to those which you shall find in the Presence of GOD, in which there is Fulness of Joy? Are any Riches com|parable to those, in which you shall be Heirs of GOD, and Inherit all things? Are any Honours comparable to those that you shall have in a Royal Priesthood unto GOD? Such a Prize before you, how can you do otherwise than use all your strength, and this with all the speed imaginable, for the obtaining of it?

Expostulation, III. If you felt your selves in the pangs of Death, what would be your Dying Sentiments? How will the Salvation of the Soul appear unto you, in your Dying Senti|ments? Whatever you may think while you have the Amusements and Enchantments of the World befooling of you, will not the Thoughts of a Dying Hour determine you to This? If a Dying Hour were at this Moment upon you, would you not say, The Salvation of my Soul, Oh! There is nothing in this World of so much Consequence unto me. Oh! I would give all this World, that I had it assured unto me!

Oh! That instead of throwing away so much of my Time in this World, I had spent more in the assu|ring of it! So do the Dying Think; Oh! that the Living would lay this to Heart; and not be misled by madness in their Heart, while they live.

Expostulation, IV. What would you do if a Message from GOD should this Day come unto you; like what He sent unto One of old; Set all in order, for thou art now to Dye, and not to Live one Month longer upon the Earth? What if the Angel of Death should appear onto you, and Swear by Him who lives for ever and ever, Thy end is come; and no longer Time than one Month more shall be allowed unto thee? What would you now do for the Salvation of a Soul, just passing into the Eternal World? Would you not immediately Retire, and cry to the GOD of all Grace, That He would Assist you to Return unto Him? Would you not re|call and bewail the Sins, which upon Exami|nation you find you can be charged withal? Would you not beg with Tears, that for the sake of the Blood of JESUS, your Sins which are many may be forgiven to you? Would you not give your selves up unto your SAVIOUR, and entreat that His Holy Spirit may possess you, and heal all that is amiss in you, and make you meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light? Would you not be unpacified, un|til the Things that accompany Salvation, were plainly to be seen upon you? Then, go do these Things without any more ado. Be|hold,

NOW is the Day of Salvation for them.

Expostulation, V. Suffer me a little, and I will shew you that I have yet Words for GOD, and for the Salvation of your SOULS. That Evan|gelical Ministry, which does Preach the Gospel of Peace, and bring the Glad Tidings of Good Things in the Great Salvation; ought not such a Ministry to be Beautiful in your Eyes? Can any but the Enemy of your Salvation perswade you that the World can do well enough with|out such a Ministry? Or, when 'tis Clothed with Salvation, and there is nothing but the Care of Salvation to be seen upon it, is not your Enemy at work in all the Contempt that shall be cast upon it? Are any Men so much Ma|ligned, Slandered, Reproached in the World, as they who do most for the Salvation of SOULS, and who after all, triumph in the Reproach as an Honour to them, and as a Revenge that Satan is taking on them? Will you listen to Satan, and be his Agents? Or, Do they be|friend the Salvation of SOULS, who go to insinuate an opinion into you, That our Mi|nistry is Invalid, and can do nothing for your Salvation, because our Ordination is defective? A most profane Insinuation! What! when the Scriptures have so evidently asserted, the Validity of an Ordination by the Hands of the Presbytery; and informed us of no Order in the Church Superiour to it; but Presby|ters are expresly called Bishops there, [Acts XX. 17, 18.] When among the Faithful in

all Ages from the Days of the Primitive Church down to ours, there has been such a Cloud of Witnesses unto it! And when it will be hard for you to find any Protestant Churches on the whole Continent of Europe, which do not sub|sist upon an Ordination, from an Order not Su|periour to that of our Pastors! O our Evang|lized People, 'Tis the Substantial PIETY of GOD Reigning in the SOUL, that we Preach, for your Salvation. To Trouble you with Cir|cumstantials in Religion, will be of little use to your Salvation. I conclude with saying, 1 Cor. XII. 2. You are Saved, if you keep in Remembrance what I have Preached unto you.

FINIS.