I. A REMEMBRANCE of the state of death we once were in, may be as a warning to beware of returning thither again. What bondage we were in when we were slaves to sin—upon the road to hell! Then we loved sin, but now we profess to hate it. Forget not, O my soul, the wormwood and the gall; remember what trouble and distress sin brought upon thee, under which soul and body must have sunk forever, were it not for the blessed JESUS. I charge thee O my soul, to beware of sin—forsake the city of destruc­tion—flee to the mountain—tarry not in all the plain, lest thou be consumed. Oh, may I never be so amazing foolish, as to cast off the easy yoke of the lovely JESUS, and to be again entangled with the yoke of bondage.

[Page 4]II. THE wonderous way that our souls are delivered from our death state should be a strong motive to engage us to live to the glo­ry of GOD. Behold the LAMB of GOD, O my soul! Take a view of what this lovely Being underwent to redeem thee, not only from mis­ery, but also from sin. He was a man of sor­rows, and acquainted with grief, while he lived on earth, not for his own sins, for he was per­fectly pure; but he was wounded for our transgressions. Oh! What distress JESUS un­derwent, when being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.— Oh! Is not this enough to excite me to pro­claim eternal war against sin? Can I hug the serpent in my bosom, that caused the Beauty of Heaven to be covered with blood? That caused the blessed Sun of glory to be eclipsed for a season? Oh! What sorrows he under­went in the garden, when he said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death! Was there no mortal then to watch with the blessed JESUS in this distressing hour? Could not his own disciples, for whose sake he was suffering, have so much of a sympathy with him in his distress, as to keep awake one hour, when he bid them watch with him? No—this blessed ONE must bear the weight of his people's sins alone— none was able or willing to help▪ Who can conceive what he underwent in the garden! But that was not all; he must suffer vastly [Page 5] more before he could say, It is finished. Be­hold the suffering JESUS—His soul was ex­ceeding sorrowful, even unto death, to redeem my poor soul from eternal death! His blessed innocent body was also tormented, even unto death, to save my poor body from the power of death. Can I bear to behold by faith, how those blessed hands and feet were nailed to the cross, until sin and sinners tormented the SON of GOD to death. Oh! Amazing love and pity! Did the King of Glory undergo all this, and vastly more than I can conceive, to redeem my soul and body from sin and death, and shall not the soul and body thus redeemed, be entirely at his command? Surely the sense of these things, will make every soul that loves GOD, hate sin. Am I bought with such a price, and shall I not glorify GOD with my body and spirit, which are his?

III. THE SAVIOUR's loving invitations, [...]e exceeding great and precious promises, and [...]e sweet comforts and rich blessings of a holy [...]e, may be enough to excite us to walk in [...]e bright and shining way of holiness, where­in [Page 6] the ransomed of the LORD shall walk, until they come to Mount Zion with songs, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. Doth our kind LORD give so many sweet coun­sels and loving invitations to us, unworthy sinners, to walk in his pleasant ways, and shall we take no heed to walk in the law of the LORD, with all our heart? Take heed, O my soul, lest thou sin against pure love and sweet compassion. There is no way good or pleas­ant but that which our blessed REDEEMER walked in. Great peace have they who love his law, and nothing shall offend them. Oh! What peace and joy we have found in obedi­ence to the commands of GOD! What can be more foolish than for a soul to leave this bright and shining way that leads to eternal glory, and turn aside after poor toys, that are good for nothing, among briers and thorns, dragons, lions, and serpents, and all manner of dangers, with the hazard of losing heaven and obtain­ing hell? Sweet promises and rich blessings, are strewed like roses under our feet, all along the way to glory: But threatenings and curses are scattered in all other paths. Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promises of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. None can tell the advantage and prof­it the honour and pleasure, the beauty and [...]ory, of living a holy and religious life!— Godliness draws all the blessings, and ungod­liness draws all the curses in the Bible.

IV. THE danger of going back from a good beginning should make us afraid to sin against GOD, and shun every temptation that would entice us to depart from the LORD.— We must not so much as look back with a desire after any sinful pleasure; for the LORD JESUS says, " He that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is not fit for the king­dom of heaven." Take heed, O my soul, and beware of a sinful look. Let us remember Lot's wife; she looked back after she had set out to leave Sodom, and behold she is turned into a pillar of salt, to stand as a warning to all generations! May all professors take no­tice, and when once set out for Mount Zion, never look back with any desire after what we have left in Sodom. If it is so dangerous to look back, what will be the fate of those who not only look, but draw back unto per­dition? Hear what the King of Glory says— " If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." Oh! What a solemn warn­ing is this! Can I be so hardened and de­ceived by the flatteries of sin, as to face all the threatenings in the Bible, rather than face a [Page 8] vain world? Don't I fear the wrath and displeas­ure of the Almighty King of heaven and earth, so much as the frowns of a few earth worms? It is not only dangerous, but it is hard going back —the way of transgressors is hard. It is a way of death, and of darkness wherein is no pleasure. Our experience tells us we find no peace in departing from the Prince of Peace. Tho' sin may deceive us with a vain hope of finding satisfaction in pursuing something besides GOD, yet we shall find all the sweets of sin, bitter as wormwood, as unsatisfying as gravel or ashes, and as unwholesome as the worst of poison.— If our schemes seem to prosper in a way of sin, yet we shall find that the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of tools shall destroy them. If the Lord gives us our carnal desires while we depart from him, he will send leanness into our souls. There is no pleasure nor safety but in living near to GOD.

V. IF we have any love to the saints, or pity to poor sinners, let us take heed to walk like true christians. Can I bear to wound [Page 9] the lovely Saviour, and thereby wound the hearts of those who love him? Did the dear saints rejoice to see me make a good profes­sion, and now shall their souls mourn for my falling away? Shall I be a child that causes shame and sorrow? Must I be a blot and a a dishonour to the royal family of King JESUS? Oh! May I never bring a reproach upon re­ligion, and grieve the excellent ones of the earth. May I bear so much of the image of the lovely JESUS, that those who love JESUS may be glad when they see me! Oh, may we sit together in heavenly places in CHRIST JE­SUS! It is not only wounding to the saints, but cruelty to those that never knew the way of peace, for those who profess to be follow­ers of the LAMB of GOD, to walk disagreeable to their profession. Can I bear to help the sinner down to to hell? Shall I, by my evil example, or vain conversation, be the means of binding the precious souls of my dear friends down to everlasting death, and yet expect my­self to obtain everlasting life? If my conver­sation is in heaven, I may, by the blessing of GOD, be the means of saving souls from death, and of turning many to righteousness, and have the pleasure of seeing them eternally shining in glory: But if I join with sinners, and walk with them in the ways of sin, perhaps I shall be the means of their going to eternal misery —like those who would not enter into the kingdom of heaven themselves, and those that [Page 10] would enter in they hindered. Time is short —Have I one moment to waste? A long e­ternity of joy or sorrow will soon be my a­bode, and the abode of all my friends on earth.

VI. SINCE it is revealed by the Scriptures, that the angels of GOD are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, this puts us under great [...]gration to see that we spend all our time in the service of GOD. What wonderful blessings GOD bestows on unworthy sinners! He gave his beloved SON to die, who ever lives to make [...]ercession for us; and he sends his angels to guard us through this dangerous world. Be­ware of sin, O my soul! Shall the angels who rejoice to see sinners repent, wait upon me, while I sin against their King? Oh, that I could live in such a manner as to be a delight to the LORD, to angels and to saints. I be­lieve it adds to their joy in heaven, to have songs of praise ascend from souls on earth.

VII. THE glory of GOD, above all things, should be a motive to engage my soul to keep his commandments. GOD is glorified in those happy souls who walk with him, and bear much fruit to his glory; such souls hon­our the LORD, but those who forsake his ways despise him. No tongue can tell what an hon­our, and what a blessing it is for a mortal creature to be used as an instrument for the advancement [...] [...]he declarative glory of the GOD of glory and to be a worker together with GOD. Blessed are those who esteem the glory of GOD more precious than their lives. It appears to me that all things were pointing to those who have tasted the love of JESUS, and some way or other telling them to live to the glory of GOD. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one essential God of pure love; stands inviting all his children to live near to him and be happy. All the pearly gates of heaven, with all the bright inhabitants of glory stand invit­ing, saying, Come up hither, live near to GOD, and be eternally happy. All the sweet promises in the Bible stand inviting, saying, Come, eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness live near to GOD and be happy. All the saints on earth, who live in the possession of the love of GOD, stand inviting, saying, Oh, taste [Page 12] and see how good the Lord is—live near to GOD and be happy. All the creation stands inviting, saying, Behold the earth is full of his glory—live near to GOD and be happy. The black regions of darkness, with all their miserable inhabit­ants stand as a warning, saying, If you depart from the Lord, you shall be eternally miserable.— All the bitter curses in the Bible stand as swords to drive us near to GOD. All the troubles and vexations of time are saying, Don't stay here in this evil world; seek a better world than this; hasten to a better country, make no tarrying, you have no continuing city here; live like strangers on a journey, let your heart and treasure be in heaven. Rise up, O my soul—it is high time to awake out of sleep, and to be in a readiness to meet the bridegroom when he cometh!— Oh! May I be more watchful than I have ever been! I want to live better—but with­out CHRIST I can do nothing. From him comes all the good, to him goes all the glory.