seem to be but by the help of one or two Consequences may be handed down along to clear and direct our Practice And therefore the Apostle speaking of the Whole of Christian Religion 1 Tim. 3.16 Titus 1.1 calls it The Mystery of Godliness And the Truth according to Godliness He calls it not a Mystery and Godliness or Truth and Godliness but he knits and joyns them both together the Mystery and Truth of Godliness a Truth yea and a Truth wrapt up in a Mystery because discovered only by a Divine Light and yet a Mystery of Godliness because it is a Truth that tends to incline the Will and raise the Affections and so direct the Conversations of Men unto Godliness and Obedience And thus also in this Chapter after the Apostle had soared up very high in those Transcendent Mysteries of Christ's Godhead in the 6 verse of his Incarnation in the 7 verse of his Humiliation Obedience and Passion in the 8 verse of his Glory and Exaltation above every thing both in Heaven and in the Earth and in Hell 9.10 and 11. verses After he had thus soared aloft in these Transcendent Mysteries he makes a sudden descent to the Exhortation in the Text Wherefore work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling This Illative Particle wherefore looks back as far as to the 5 verse Where the Apostle Exhorts them Exposition that the same mind should be in them that was in Christ Jesus Who though he was Essentially Equal with God yet Mediatorily became subject unto God Though he was in the form of God yet he took upon him the form of a Servant laid aside his Glory emptied and humbled himself and became Obedient even to the lowest Duties and to the vilest Sufferings he was Obedient unto the Death That is He was Obedient to Gods Law till Death by fulfilling of it and he was Obedient unto God's Will in Death by suffering of it for which Exinanition and Obedience God hath highly Exalted him and given him a Name above every Name that at the Name of Jesus every Knee should bow Now says the Apostle be you also of the same Mind with Christ Wherefore as he was Obedient so be you also do you Work that is Do you Obey As he was humble and emptied himself be you also humble and lowly Work with Fear and Trembling That is obey with Humility and Reverence as the Phrase imports and is often used in Scripture That so as Christ obtained Glory and Exaltation you also may be Exalted and Glorified with him Work out your own Salvation For these Words come in as a Parallel with Christ As he was obedient so be you as he was humble and emptied himself so be you also humble that so when he is Glorified you may be Saved Wherefore work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling And this I judge to be the Apostles scope in drawing this Conclusion In the Words you have three Parts The Division of the Words First A Duty pressed upon us by a most serious and rational Exhortation Wherefore Work out your own Salvation Secondly An express way and manner how it is to be performed and that is With Fear and Trembling Thirdly Here is the Reason of this Exhortation For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure First Here is a duty pressed upon us and that is To Work out our own Salvation To explain the Words a little First For Salvation you may take it for the whole supernatural State of a Christian begun here in Grace 1. What Salvation is and to be finished hereafter in Glory And Secondly To Work out this Salvation 2. What it is to work out Salvation is nothing but to continue and persevere in ways of Obedience until through them that Salvation that is begun here on Earth be perfected in Heaven What it implies To Work out our Salvation therefore implies three things 1. Pains and Labour First Pains and Labour Salvation is that which must be wrought out it is that which will make the Soul pant and breath yea run down with Sweat to obtain it 2. Diligence and Constancy Secondly It implies Constancy and Diligence A Christian that would work out Salvation must always be imployed about it It is a Webb into which we must weave the whole Thread of our Lives That Man that works at Salvation only by some passionate fits and then within a while undoes it all again by foul Apostacy and Notorious Sins that Man will never work Salvation out No it must be Diligence and Constancy that must effect that 3. Success Thirdly It promises Success and Accomplishment also And this is a mighty encouragment to enforce the Exhortation Though the Work be difficult our Strength little the Enemies many and the Oppositions powerful yet continue working your Labour shall not be in Vain though it be hard work it shall not be long work for it shall be wrought out and what before was your Work shall be your Reward and what before was your Labour shall be your Wages And this Salvation that was so painful in working shall be most blessed in the Enjoyment Secondly Here is the express way and manner how this Work should be done and that is With Fear and Trembling Work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling Now this Fear is not to be taken for a Fear of Diffidence Perturbation or Despondency for this is so contrary to the Duty of working out Salvation as that it only stupifies and dulls us And as in other matters so in Spirituals it hinders both Counsels and performances But this Fear and Trembling that must qualify our Obedience is nothing else but an humble Self-Resignation Self-Denyal and a Holy awe and reverence of God with which Humility and Reverence the highest degree of spiritual Joy and Assurance is so far from being inconsistent that it usually springs from it and is built upon it This now is meant by Fear and Trembling and so the Phrase is often used in Scripture So the Psalmist Psalm 2.12 Serve the Lord with Fear and rejoyce with Trembling It is not meant of any desponding diffident Fear but only of an awful reverential Fear of God joyned with Self-abasement And so St. Paul to the Corinthians says of Titus 2 Cor. 7.15 That he was received with Fear and Trembling There was no Reason why Titus's coming should cause Fear and Trembling which was so much desired Only the meaning is they received him with Fear and Reverence And so Servants are Commanded to be Obedient unto their Masters So here Work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling Ephes 6.5 That is Work it out with Humility Self-Abasement and Reverence Thirdly Here is the Reason of this Exhortation For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good Pleasure Wherein now lies the Strength of the
Consciences have not these been the foolish Reasonings of your own Hearts Have you not often thus promised God and your own Consciences And doth not all this imply that you thought you had a Power to do it Why did you delay and put it off if you thought you had no Power to do it at last Wherefore thou art inexcusable O Man whoever thou art that wilt not work it is in Vain to plead thou wantedst Power God will confute thee by thy self and out of thy own Mouth What wilt thou say thou hadst no Power Why thou thoughtest that thou hadst Power and yet wouldst not work nor endeavour so to do and therefore thy Ruin if thou perishest is as wilful and thy Condemnation will be as Just as if thou hadst Power and wouldest not work And this is the Fourth Answer to this Objection Men do really believe that they have Power to work and therefore they are inexcusable if they will not endeavour to put it forth Fifthly Men will not plead so Foolishly no not in matters of far lower concernment than the Salvation of their Souls is Would a Master when he Commands his Servant to work take this as a sufficient Excuse for his Sloth and Idleness that he hath no Power to work till God Acts and Moves him Why this is a Truth that he cannot do it unless God inable him and it may as well be Objected by your Servants to you and with more Reason too than by you unto God Pray tell me what Power have I to Speak one Word or you to Hear one Word more unless God concurs to it Nay we are not sufficient to think as of our selves yet we do not make this an Excuse to forbear those Actions that are necessary Do we therefore resolve to do nothing because it is impossible for us to do any thing unless God concur What Stupid and dull Folly is this No but we put it plainly and hourly to the Trial and never could any one produce that Man that could ever say God was wanting to him in his concurrence when he would have done an Action What a miserable ridiculous Task would it be if in every Action of our Lives wherein we can do nothing without God we should still be questioning Gods concurrence with us When you Sit do you dispute whether God will inable you to Arise When you Walk do you every Step you take question whether God will concur to another Step No Men put these things to the Trial and though it be impossible that they should live move or stir till God act and move them yet this hinders not Mens endeavours no nor is it any matter of discouragment to them Now why should we not do so in Spirituals as well as in Temporals Are they not of greater Concernment Do they not more deserve the Trial It is true we can do nothing without God's concurrence yet let us put it to the trial whether or no God will not concur when we endeavour Certainly that Man must be for ever nameless that can say he was truly willing and did sincerely endeavour to do any good Thing and God did not inable him Sixthly Consider this altho' wicked Men had Power to work out their Salvation yet they would never do it and therefore it is a vain and most unreasonable pretence for Sloth to plead want of Power for had wicked Men Power they would never Obey But how can any one tell that What not obey if we had Power Why no and the Reason is this because there is no wicked Man in the World that hath done so much or that doth so much as he is able to do no not so much as he is able to do without special Grace and Assistance and therefore it is not Inability but wilful Sloth that destroys Men. Sinners ask your own Consciences this Question Was there not one Duty more that you could have performed Was there not one Temptation nor one Corruption more that you could have resisted Could you not have prayed and read and heard and meditated more upon Heavenly Things even then when your Hearts and Thoughts have been vain and worldly yea sinful and devilish Might not that time have been spent in holy Converse that you have trifled away in Idleness and in doing nothing or that which is worse than nothing What Force or Restraint is laid upon you Is there any Violence used to you Can you not think And if you can can you not think of God as well as of the Things of the World or think upon your Lusts Can you not Speak And if you can can you not speak of God of Heaven and the Concernments of another Life as well as of your Trade and Bargainings and other trivial Matters which are below a Man much more below a Christian What force is there put upon Sinners Doth the Devil screw open the Drunkards Mouth and pour down his intemperate Cups whether he will or no Doth the Devil violently move the black Tongue of the Blasphemer and Swearer to rend and tear the holy Name of God by horrid Oaths and Blasphemies Doth the Devil strike Men dumb when they should Pray or Deaf when they should Hear or Senseless when they should understand and ponder Is there any such force or violence used unto any Can you not avoid the one And can you not do the other if you will Yes you can but you will not and therefore neither would you work out your own Salvation if you could do it Is there any hopes that you would ever willingly do the greater who will not do the less Let your Impotency and Weakness be what it will your Damnation lies not upon it but upon your Wilfulness so long as your Wilfulness is greater than your Weakness No it is not upon your Impotency that your precious and immortal Souls perish eternally but it is only for lack of a Will to pity them and to save them Sinners wherefore then will you perish Why will you sleep away your Souls into Hell Will you go on drowsily to Destruction Shall your Souls be ready to burn as a Brand in unquenchable Fire and will you not stretch forth your Hand to snatch it out Is it more painful for you to Work than to be Damned Endeavour therefore to do what you can labour and sweat at Salvation rather than fail of it Let it not grate and fret your Consciences in Hell that you lie there for a wilful Neglect Object But should I labour should I endeavour should I work to my utmost should I do all that I am able to do I cannot work Grace in my self by all this to what purpose then should I work Answ However try God in this particular Did you ever know any who thus laboured and thus wrought that did not give very good Evidence of a Work of Grace wrought upon their Hearts And why then should you suspect that you should be the first What reason have you
altogether as freely as if we were saved without any Obedience at all And so much in Answer unto the Third Objection Fourthly Others may say That it is a vain and most needless thing to press this Doctrin of working for Salvation upon them What! they work If they are Elected to Salvation they shall be saved whether they work or not and if they are not Elected all their working will be to no purpose for they shall never be saved by it To this I Answer We are to look to God's Commands not to his Decrees to our Duty not to his Purposes The Decrees of God are a vast Ocean whereinto many possibly may have curiously pry'd to their own Horror and Despair but few or none have ever pry'd into them to their own Satisfaction This Election in particular is not written in the Word of God but this Duty is plainly written If thou performest thy Duty thereby thou shalt come to know thy Election It is but a preposterous Course and that which will both discourage all Endeavours and fill the Soul with Despair to look first to Gods Decrees and then to its own Duty whereas indeed the right Method is first to perform thy own Duty and thereby to be led into the knowledge of God's Decrees Question not therefore whether thou art Elected or not but first work for Salvation and if thy Work be good and thy Obedience true thereby thou mayest come to a certain Knowledge that thou art Elected And know this also farther that God who Elects to the End Elects also to the Means Now Obedience is the means and way to Salvation and therefore if thou art Elected to Salvation thou art also Elected to Obedience Say not therefore if I am Elected I shall be saved whether I work or not there is no such thing I may boldly say if thou art Elected and doest not work it is impossible that thy Election should save thee 2 Thess 2.13 What says the Apostle 2 Thess God hath chosen us there 's Election chosen us to Salvation there 's the End But how through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth Chosen us to Salvation as to the End but it is not an End to be obtained without Sanctification There is indeed an absolute Election to Salvation whereby God without respect of Works hath chosen some to Salvation but there is no Election to Salvation absolute whereby God hath chosen any to Salvation without Works that is whether they work or not If therefore you believe heartily and obey sincerely then your Election to Salvation stands firm nay the Scripture makes Election to be terminated as well in Obedience as Salvation Elect says the Apostle unto Obedience through sanctification of the Spirit In the former place it was Elect to Salvation through Sanctification but in this it is Elect to Obedience through Sanctification Noting thus much to us That none are Elected to Salvation but those that are Elected to Obedience and therefore it is unreasonable yea it is contradictory to say If I am Elected I shall be saved whether I obey or not for none are thereunto Elected but thro' Obedience And now having as I hope satisfactorily Answer'd all Objections and Scruples that may arise in the Hearts of Men against this Doctrin I now proceed to press this Duty of working for Salvation upon their Consciences and I shall do it in a Use of Exhortation Be perswaded then Oh Sinners to cast off your Sloth and Laziness and to rouse your selves from that drowsy Slumber that you have long lain in and to work for Salvation But truly when I consider how powerful an Orator and how mighty a Charmer Sloth is how easily it can stupify and benumb Reason and lull Men asleep on the top of a Mast and on the brinks of Hell and though God and Man call upon them Sinners Sinners bestir your selves work for your Lives you perish eternally if you do not labour to lay hold on eternal Life for you are falling and Hell-fire is under you Yet truly when we call and cry thus earnestly how easily can a careless yawning wretched Sinner slight all these Admonitions baffle all these Arguments Motives and Persuasions though urged upon them with all vehemency and tenderness of Affection that can be and turn about like a Man besotted falling fast asleep again When I consider this truly I am apt to conclude that it is but a desperate attempt to press Men any more against their Natures and against so many Disadvantages that can soon frustrate the Efficacy of weaker Words and to give over in Despair with that of the Prophet He that will be Righteous let him be Righteous and he that will be Wicked let him be Wicked still And truly were it not more for Conscience of Duty than for any Hope of Success I would not speak one Word more upon the Subject Success I mean upon those who are altogether carnal whose Hearts Satan hath filled and whose Ears Satan hath stopt we may call long enough and loud enough ere these Men will awake or if they do sometimes give a Look upwards they soon close their Eyes again and slumber away into Destruction And yet truly if variety of Motives if Strength of Arguments and Persuasions would prevail we might hope for this seldom-seen Success why then let us consider these following Particulars 1. To work for Salvation is a great and weighty Work First Consider Sinners you have a great and weighty Work to do and therefore it is time yea high time that you were up and doing Believe it Sirs God hath not placed you here in this World as the Leviathan in the great Waters only to play and sport were it so you might take your Ease hold your Arms in your Bosoms and follow your Delights and Pleasures and let him be blam'd that ever should disturb or discourage you I know not whether some may not think that we Ministers are Task-Masters and that we make more ado than needs No Sirs it is God that hath set you your Work we do only tell you how great it is and of how great concernment it is to you that it be done and if you will not do it who can help it We have no Scourges or Scorpions to drive you to your Work but God hath to punish you if you neglect it and why is it so generally neglected but because Men do not seriously consider how great it is Most Men acknowledg that it must be done but because they look upon it as that which may speedily and quickly be dispatched they drive it before them from Day to Day and think to huddle it up at the end of their Lives Then when they are fit for no other Imployment and least of all fit for this Imployment then they think to do the Works of God I shall here lay down three Particulars to convince Sinners of the greatness of this Work and because it is so
against it and made wide Breaches in it they have heretofore entred and taken possession and still the passage is as open for you and the Conquest as easie as for them and you may see them beckoning out of Heaven to you and hear them calling to you Fellow Soldiers bend your Force hither there is your Labour here is your Rest there are your Enemies here is your Crown and Victory believe it there are no more Dangers for you to pass through no more Difficulties for you to meet with than what we have passed through yea and passed with so much safety as not so much as one Soul of us miscarried not a Soul left dead on the place we strugled against the same Corruptions that you do and overcame them against the same Temptations and baffled them against the same Devils and routed them against the same Flatteries and Oppositions of a base World and despised them Believe it upon our Experience all these Things are but Scare-Crows set in the ways of Obedience on purpose to affright you but there is no danger at all in them unless you fear them this they tell you with one consent And therefore if Examples are any Incouragement as indeed they are almost the greatest if Imitation hath any force to Obedience as too often we find it hath great force to sin why should we not hereby quicken our selves Why do you not arise and press upon the Footsteps of them who have gone before you and shew'd you that the way is both certain and passable Are you called to exercise Self-denial Abraham looks down from Heaven upon you and tells you that he was ready to sacrifice his beloved Isaac Are you afraid of the Scoffs and Jears of a flearing World Why Noah builded an Ark Moses relinquish'd the Honours of Pharoah's Court and met with as many Persecutions and Afflictions and underwent as many Taunts and Flouts as you are like to do Are you called to lay down your Lives for the Testimony of Jesus and a good Conscience Why Stephen tells you a Storm of Stones fell upon him and brake open the Prison and set the Prisoner free his Soul escaped that broke out of the Cage and as a Bird took Wing and flew to Heaven Are you assaulted with Temptaons St. Paul looks down and tells you that he had much stronger Temptations than you have and yet he got safe to Heaven Yea our great Master and Pattern Jesus Christ wrought out all Obedience and what were the Motives that put him upon this mighty Undertaking It was not for his own Salvation and Happiness but it was for ours Nay the Scripture goes yet lower it was 1 Pet. 2.21 To lead us an Example that we should follow his Steps Now shall Christ do all this not for himself but for us and shall we sit still and do nothing for our selves Shall Christ take so much Pains to set us an Example and shall not we follow that Example We who have so great a Happiness to work for and so a great a Pattern to work by Shall we be slothful in procuring our own Good since Christ was so laborious and expensive not in procuring Good to himself but in procuring Good for others Methinks these Things should add some Spurs to our Endeavours and excite us to follow the Examples of those that are gone before us yea and to leave an Example unto them that are to come after us and though we do come after the Examples of others who are gone before us yet the consideration of their Examples who have gone through this Work may excite us not to come behind them in any good Work Secondly God holds out to us the Light of his Gospel-Truth and Ordinances whereby to help us in our Work What Christ saith of himself is applicable unto all John 9.4 We must work the Works of God while it is Day the Night cometh wherein no Man can work You are not shut up in Darkness you are not muffled up in the Clouds of Error and Ignorance or if you are it is not because you have not Light shining about you but because you shut it out when it is breaking in upon you It is not a double Labour that is put upon you first to find out your Duty and then to perform it no the Light shines about you and unless you will seal up your Eyes against it it is impossible but that it will sometime flash in upon you and discover both what you have mis-done and what you ought to do The Mahometans have a Tradition among them That Moses Law and Christs Gospel were written at first with Ink made of pure Light This Conceit of theirs though it be fond and ridiculous yet it carries a mystick Truth in it the Scripture is as plain for matter of Duty as if it had been written with a Sun-beam Ordinances are dispensed freely and powerfully so great a throng of Teachers and such variety of Gospel-Administrations that Men must take almost as much Pains to keep themselves ignorant of their Duty as would suffice to perform their Duty And wherefore think you is all this glorious Light given you Is it not that you might work by it Doth a Master light up a Torch or Candle only that his Servants might play about it And wherefore doth God light up the Sun of Truth in the Firmament of his Church Is it only that you should dally and trifle with it No it shines that you may work by it and truly work by it you do but alas how many do work the Works of Darkness by the glorious Light of Truth How many have Light enough to see that they are notoriously wicked and prophane Swearers Drunkards Despisers of Ordinances Revilers at Religion and the Professors of it Enemies to what is sober and sacred in Christianity This Light they have flashing in their Faces from the clear Evidence of the word of God and yet still they continue to work the Works of Darkness What shall I say to such as these are Truly I can say nothing worse to them than what their own Consciences already thunder against them for they are self-condemned Persons But truly this Complaint may too too justly be taken up against all that do not walk worthy of the Light vouchsafed to them their Sins are revealed clearly and Duties are revealed as clearly as the Scripture can possibly express them and yet they live in a gross neglect of them Well believe it this Light will not always shine to be gazed at only the Day is drawing to an end the Night is hastning upon us the darkness of the Night of Death and the darker Night of Judgment and oh that then it may not be any of our Condemnations That Light is come into the World but we loved Darkness and the Works of Darkness better than Light because our Deeds were evil Thirdly God hath to this end set apart his Ministers that they might be
but the Simple pass on and are punished They are rash and confident in their Undertakings and so they pass on and are punished Fear makes a Christian circumspect and considerative with himself how he may keep from Miscarriages in the performance of his great Work If God call me to such a Duty how shall I perform it If to bear such a Cross and Affliction how shall I glorifie him under it If to conflict with such Temptations how shall I resist and overcome them Yea how shall I do to break through all Difficulties Duties and Oppositions that I who am but a weak and feeble Christian may meet withal and how shall I do to bear up And thus pondring what may be his Duty and forecasting what Duties God may call him unto he is inabled to do what is his Duty at present and what also may by Providence hereafter become his Duty Nothing overtakes such a Man unexpected nor doth any thing surprize him unprovided for it And thus a careful Fear enables him in the performance of his great Work Secondly A Fear of Humility and holy Reverence of God induceth much to the working out of our Salvation and that in three Particulars First It much helps us in our great Work to fear God as our Lord and Master that sees and overlooks all our Works observing both what we do and how we do it also That Servant must be desperately bold that will dare to be idle or slight and perfunctory in his Work while his Masters Eye is upon him Why Christians should consider Gods Eye is always upon them in Praying in Hearing and in every Duty that they perform yea in every Action of their whole Lives And if the Eye of a Master that is but a Fellow Creature nay but a Fellow Servant can have such awe and influence upon his Servant as to make him careful how he works and what he works and to make him diligent in his Work Should not much more the consideration of Gods Eye being upon us who stands at an infinitee distance from us cause a holy Fear and Diligence in us in doing what our Lord and Master commands us Secondly Fear God also as him from whom you have all your Power and Ability to work Fear him lest at any time through any neglect or miscarriage of yours he should be provoked to suspend his Influence and withdraw his Grace from you and to leave you to your own Weakness and Impotency upon whose influence all your Obedience doth depend This is the Apostles Argument in the Text Work with Fear for God works in you both to Will and to Do. Holy diligence in Obedience cannot be more strongly enforced on an ingenious Spirit than by considering all that Strength and Ability that we have to work is received from God and therefore should be improved for God lest for our Sloth he deprives us of that we make no use of Thirdly In working fear God also as he that will be the Judge and Rewarder of your Works for ever You perform them unto him who is to pass Sentence upon them and upon you for them and will you then dare to do them slothfully and negligently God will try every Mans Work with Fire and will call every Action to a severe and strict account every Mans Work shall be seen through and through and then it shall be known who hath wrought the Works of God and who hath fulfilled the Will of Satan and the final Doom and irreversible Sentence shall then be pronounced according to Mens Works God will Rom. 2.7 8 9. says the Apostle render unto every Man according to his Works to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for Glory and Immortality to them he will render Eternal Life but to them that are contentious and obey not the Truth but obey Vnrighteousness he will render unto them Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul that doth Evil. Now would you but thus fear God as an upright and impartial Judge that will render unto every one according to his Works How would this prevail with you so to work that at last you might be found of God in well doing and receive the blessed Reward and Sentence of the diligent and faithful Servant To enter into your Master's joy Fourthly and Lastly If you would work for Salvation successfully then work speedily without delay and constantly without cessation First Work speedily without delay Delays in all Affairs are dangerous but in Soul Affairs usually they are damnable For First The longer you procrastinate and delay the greater and more difficult will your Work be at last Corruption will be grown more tuff ill Humours will be grown more stubborn your Heart will be more hardned your Affections being more habituated will be more firmly engag'd to Sin the Devil will plead right to you by Prescription and it is hard keeping an Enemy out that hath had long Possession Secondly Consider what a desperate Folly it is to put off your Work till to Morrow you are not sure that you shall live to see another Day And oh what Hazards do those Men run whose hopes of Heaven depend upon no better a bottom than their hopes of Life and whose eternal Salvation is subject to as many Casualties and Accidents as their present Beings in this World are subject to Mans Breath is in his Nostrils and yet how do Men suffer their Souls and their everlasting Happiness to depend upon nothing surer than their Breath that Breath that every moment goes forth from them and they know not whether ever it shall return to them again But suppose your Life and Days should continue and you should reach unto that time whereof you have boasted and promised to mind the concernments of your Souls eternal Happiness in yet consider Thirdly The Grace of God is not at your disposal for then either First The outward Call may cease or it may grow more faint and low you may not be so daily importun'd and solicited for Heaven as now you are Ordinances and Opportunities may cease or you for your contempt may be given over to a contempt and neglect of them Secondly The inward Dictates of your own Consciences and the motions of the holy Spirit may cease Conscience may be brib'd to a silence and the holy Ghost may be commissionated to depart after this present opportunity and never more may you have its Breathings and Movings upon your Hearts if you do not now listen to them Thirdly If inward Motions do continue are you sure after this moments refusal that you shall obtain that Grace from God that may make you willing to close with those Motions Leave not therefore the eternal Salvation of your precious and immortal Souls at such Hazards and Delays Now is the acceptable time now is the day of Salvation to day therefore if you will hear his voice even while it is called to day harden not your Hearts for this