The Beatitudes, Appendix · Sermon 2
MATTH. 16.26.
For what is a man profited if he ſhall gaine the whole world and loſe his own ſoul? or what ſhall a man give in exchange for his ſoul?
The preciouſneſſe of the Soul.
EVery man doth carry a treaſure about him, a DIVINE SOUL, and that this Jewel ſhould not be undervalued, our Saviour here ſets a price upon it, he laies the ſoul in ballance with the whole world, and being put in the ſcales, the ſoul weighs heavieſt. What is a man profited if he gain the whole world and loſe his own ſoul?
The world is a ſtately fabrick, enriched with beauty and excellency, it is like a curious piece of Arras, ſet about with divers colours; 'tis a bright Myrror, and Chriſtal in which much of the wiſdom and majeſty of God is reſplendent; But as glorious as this world is, every man doth carry a more glorious world about him, a precious ſoul. Magna res eſt anima. — It would banquer the world to give half the price of a ſoul; it will undo the world to buy it, and it will undo him that ſhall ſell it. If we can ſave our ſouls, though we loſe the world, it is a gainful loſſe; if we loſe our ſouls, though we gain the world, our very gains will undo us. For what is a man profited if he ſhall gain the whole world, and loſe his own ſoul? or what ſhall a man give in exchange for his ſoul?
The words branch themſelves into theſe five parts.
1. A ſuppoſal of a purchaſe, if a man ſhall gain. The Propoſition is hypothetical, Chriſt doth not ſay he ſhall gain, but puts a caſe, if he ſhall gain, it is not a certain purchaſe: 'Tis only ſuppoſed.
2. The purchaſe it ſelf, the world.
3. The extent of the purchaſe, foreign, the whole world, the world with all its revenues and perquiſits.
4. The tearms of this purchaſe, he ſhall loſe his ſoul. not that his ſoul ſhall be annihilated (that were happy) but he ſhall loſe the end of his creation; he ſhall miſſe of glory, he ſhall loſe his ſoul. And the loſſe of the ſoul is amplified by two things.
Firſt, the Propriety, his own ſoul, that which is neareſt to him, that which is moſt himſelf; ſubjectum á praeſtantiori, the ſoul is the moſt noble part, it is the man of the man, he ſhall loſe his own ſoul.
Secondly, the irrecoverableneſſe of the loſſe, foreign; What ſhall a man give in exchange for his ſoul? The words are a Mioſis, there is leſſe ſaid, and more intended. What ſhall he give? as if Chriſt had ſaid, alas, he hath nothing to give; or if he had ſomething to give, yet nothing will be taken for it; the ſoul cannot be exchanged, there ſhall be no bail, or mainprize taken for it. What ſhall a man give in exchange for his ſoul?
5. Our Saviours Verdict upon this purchaſe, foreign. for what is a man profited? as if Chriſt had ſaid, he will have an hard bargain of it, he will repent him at laſt, 'tis but the fools purchaſe: for what is a man profited, &c?
The obſervation is, Doctr. that the ſoul of man is a jewel more precious than a world; all ſouls are of one price: in this ſence that maxim in Philoſophy holds true, all ſouls are alike† The ſoul of Prince & Peaſant, all are equal;*Anima rationales ſunt aequales. & every ſoul of more value than a world. For the illuſtration of the Doctrine there are two things to be demonſtrated.
Firſt, That the ſoul is very precious.
Secondly, That it is more precious than a world.
1. That the ſoul is very precious. What Job ſaith of Wiſdom, I may fitly apply to the ſoul. Man knows not the price thereof, it cannot be vallued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious Onyx, or the Saphire, the gold and the Chryſtal cannot equal it, and the exchange of it ſhall not be for jewels of fine gold, Job 28.13, 16, 17. The ſoul is the glory of the Creation. The inſcription of it may be foreign, The ſoul is a beam of God; it is a ſparkle of celeſtial brightneſſe, as Damaſcen calls it; it is (according to Plato,) a Glaſſe of the Trinity. There is in the ſoul an Idaea, and reſemblance of God: an Analogy of Similitude not proportion as the Schoolmen ſpeak. If David did ſo admire the rare texture and workmanſhip of his body, Pſal. 139.13, 15. I am wonderfully made, I was curiouſly wrought in the loweſt parts of the earth. If the Cabinet be ſo curiouſly wrought, what is the Jewel? how richly and gloriouſly is the ſoul embroydered! it is divinely inlaid and enamel'd. The body is but the ſheath, Dan. 7.15. I was grieved in the midſt of my body, in the Chalde it is, in the midſt of my ſheath. The moſt beautiful body is but like a velvet ſheath, the ſoul is the blade of admirable mettal. The ſoul is a ſparkling Diamond ſet in a rig of clay. foreign, &c. The ſoul is a veſſel of honour*Macarius.; God himſelf is ſerv'd in this veſſel. The ſoul is the bird of Paradiſe that ſoars aloft: it may be compared to the wings of the Cherubims, it hath a winged ſwiftneſſe to fly to heaven. The ſoul is Capax beatitudinis, capable of communion with God and Angels*Bern.. The ſoul is Gods houſe he hath made to dwell in, Heb. 3.6. The Underſtanding, Will, and Affections are the three ſtories in this houſe. What pity is it that this goodly building ſhould be let out, and the Divel become Tenant in it. The preciouſneſſe of the ſoul is ſeen in two particulars.
It hath
1. An intrinſecal worth.
2. An eſtimative worth.
1. The ſoul hath an intrinſecal worth. Which appears in two things.
1. Spirituality.
2. Immortality.
1. Spirituality. The ſoul is a ſpiritual ſubſtance. 'Tis a ſaying among the Ancients, our ſouls are tempered in the ſame mortar with the heavenly ſpirits*In eodem cratere temperatas eſſe animas noſtras cum caeleſtibus.. Now the ſoul is ſpiritual three manner of wayes.
In its
Eſſence.
Object.
Operation.
1. The ſoul is ſpiritual in its Eſsence. God breathed it in, Gen. 2.7. It is a ſparkle lighted by the breath of God. The ſoul may be compared to the ſpirits of the wine, the body to the dregs: the ſpirits are more pure refined part of the wine, ſuch is the ſoul; the body is more feculent, the ſoul is the more refined, ſublimated part of man. Miſtake me not, when I ſay the ſoul is ſpiritual, and that it is a beam of God, I do not mean that it is of the ſame ſubſtance with him; as Servetus, Ofiander, and others have held; for when it is ſaid God breath'd into man the breath of life, they erroneouſly thought that the ſoul being infuſed did convey into man the ſpirit and ſubſtance of God, which opinion is abſurd and ſinful: For if the ſoul ſhould be part of the Divine Eſſence, then it will follow that the Eſſence of God ſhould be ſubject not only to change and paſſion, but which is worſe, to ſin, which were blaſphemy to aſſert; ſo that when we ſay the ſoul is ſpiritual, the meaning is, God hath inveſted it with many noble endowments, he hath made it a mirror of beauty, and printed upon it a ſurpaſſing excellency; as the Sun ſhining upon a Chryſtal, conveys its beauty, not its being.
2. The ſoul is ſpiritual in its object, it contemplates God and heaven; God is the orb and center where the ſoul doth fix; if you could lift up a ſtone into the higheſt Region, though it did break in an hundred pieces, it would fall to its center. God is the terminus ad quem, the ſoul moves to him, as to its reſt. Pſal. 116.7. Return to thy reſt O my ſoul. He is the Ark to which this Dove flies; nothing but God can fill an heaven-born ſoul; if the earth were turned into a globe of gold, it could not fill the heart, it would ſtill cry, Give, Give. The ſoul being ſpiritual, God only can be the adequate object of it.
3. The ſoul is ſpiritual in its operation, it being immaterial, doth not depend upon the body in its working. The ſenſes of ſeeing, hearing, and the reſt of thoſe Organs of the body, ceaſe and dye with the body, becauſe they are parts of the body, and have their dependance on it; but the ſoul (as Ariſtotle ſaith) hath a nature diſtinct from the body, it moves and operates of it ſelf though the body be dead, and hath no dependance upon, or coexiſtence with the body. Thales Mileſius an ancient Philoſopher defines the ſoul,foreign: He calls the ſoul a ſelf-movable, it hath an intrinſecal principle of life and motion, though it be ſeparate from the body. And thus you have ſeen the ſouls ſpirituality.
2. The preciouſneſs of the ſoul appears in its immortality. There are ſome that ſay the ſoul is mortal; indeed it were well for thoſe who do not live like men, if they might dye like beaſts; but as Julius Scaliger well obſerves, it is impoſſible for any thing of a ſpiritual, uncompounded nature, to be ſubject to death and corruption, the ſouls of believers are with Chriſt after death, Phil. 1.23 Oecolampadias ſaid to his friend who came to viſit him on his death-bed, Good news, I ſhall be ſhortly with Chriſt my Lord. And the devout ſoul ſhall be ever with the Lord, 1 Theſ. 4. ult. The Heathens had ſome glimmerings of the ſouls immortality. Cicero ſaith that the Swan was dedicated to Apollo, becauſe ſhe ſings ſweetly before her death; by which Hieroglyphick they intimated the joyfulneſs of vertuous men before their death, as ſuppoſing the Elizian delights, which they ſhould alwayes enjoy after this life. And we read it was a cuſtom among the Romans, that when their great men dyed, they cauſed an Eagle to flie aloft in the Ayre, ſignifying hereby that the ſoul was immortal, and did not dye as the body.
The ſouls immortality may be proved by this Argument, That which is not capable of killing, is not capable of dying; but the ſoul is not capable of killing; our Saviour Chriſt proves the minor propoſition, that it is not capable of killing. Luke 12.4. Fear not them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. Therefore the ſoul not being capable of killing, is not in a poſſibility of dying; the eſſence of the ſoul is Metaphyſical, it hath a beginning, but no end; it is eternal, a parte poſt. The ſoul doth not wax old*Anima non ſeneſcit., it lives for ever, which can be ſaid of no ſublunary created glory. Worldly things are as full of mutation as motion, and like Jonah's Gourd, have a worme eating at the root.
2. The ſoul hath an eſtimative worth.
1. Jeſus Chriſt hath ſet an high value and eſtimate upon the ſoul; he made it, and he bought it, therefore he beſt knows the price of it. He did ſell himſelf to buy the ſoul. Zach. 11.12. They weighed for my price thirty pieces of ſilver. Nay, he was content not only to be ſold, but to dye; this inhanceth the price of the ſoul, it coſt the blood of God. Acts 20.28. 1 Pet. 1.19. Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as ſilver and gold, but with the precious blood of Chriſt. God muſt dye, that the ſoul may live; the heir of heaven was morgaged, and laid to pawn for the ſoul of man. What could Chriſt give more than himſelf? what in himſelf dearer than his blood? O precious ſoul, that haſt the image of God to beautifie thee, and the blood of God to redeem thee! Chriſt was the Prieſt, his Divine Nature the Altar, his blood the ſacrifice which he did offer up as an atonement for our ſouls. Now reckon what a drop of Chriſts blood is worth, and then tell me what a ſoul is worth.
2. Satan doth value ſouls, he knows their worth; he ſaith as the King of Sodom did to Abraham, Give me the perſons, and take the goods to thy ſelf. So ſaith Satan, Give me the Perſons. He cares not how rich you are, he doth not ſtrive to take away your eſtates, but your ſouls. Give me the perſons ſaith he, take you the goods; whence are all his foreign, his warlike ſtratagems, his ſubtile ſnares, but to catch ſouls? Why doth this Lyon ſo roar but for his prey? he envies the ſoul its happineſs; he layes the whole train of tentation to blow up the whole Fort-royal of the ſoul. Why doth he lay ſuch ſutable baits? he allures the ambitious man with a Crown, the covetous man with a golden apple; the ſanguine man with beauty; why doth he tempt to Dalilah's Lap, but to keep you from Abrahams boſome? Latet anguis in herba. The Divel is angling for the precious ſoul; to undo ſouls is his pride; he glories in the damnation of ſouls; it is next to victory to dye revenged. If Sampſon muſt dye, it is ſome comfort that he ſhall make more dye with him; if Satan that Lyon muſt be kept in his helliſh Den, it is all the heaven he expects, to reach forth his paw, & pull others into the Den with him.
2. Having ſhewed you the ſouls preciouſneſs; the next thing to be demonſtrated, is, that the ſoul is more precious than a world: 'tis foreign. The world is made of a more impure lump; Rudis indigeſtaque moles; The world is of a courſer make, of an earthly extract; the ſoul is heaven-born, of a finer ſpinning, of a more noble deſcent; the world is foreign ▪ as Origen calls it, a great Book o… Volume, wherein we read the Majeſty and Wiſdom of him that made it; but the ſoul is foreign the Image of God, Gen. 1. The ſoul is a ſtudied piece; when God made the world, it was but fiat, let it be, and it was done; but when he made the ſoul, all the perſons in the Trinity ſate together at the Councel-table, Gen. 1.26. Come let us make man in our own likeneſs. The ſoul is a Glaſs wherein ſome Rayes of Divine Glory ſhine, much of God is to be ſeen in it; though this glaſs be cracked by the fall, yet it ſhall one day be perfect; we read of ſpirits of juſt men made perfect, Hebr. 12.23. The ſoul ſince the fall of Adam, may be compared to the Moon in its conjunction, very much obſcur'd by ſin; but when it is ſanctified by the Spirit, and tranſlated from hence, it ſhall be as the Moon in the full, it ſhall ſhine forth in its perfect glory.
1. If the ſoul be ſo precious, ſee then what that Uſe 1 worſhip is that God doth expect and accept; namely,Inform. that which comes from the more noble part of the ſoul. Branch. 1 Pſal. 25.1. To thee O Lord do I lift up my ſoul. David did not only lift up his voyce, but his ſoul; though God will have the eye and the knee, the ſervice of the body; yet he complains of them that draw near with their lips, when their hearts were far from him, Iſa. 29.13.*Neque enim in Sacrificiis munera eorum, ſed corda intueba…ur Deus. Cypr. The ſoul is the jewel; David did not only put his Lute and Viol in tune, but his ſoul in tune to praiſe God. Pſal. 103.1. Bleſs the Lord O my ſoul; his affections joyning together in worſhip made up the conſort. The ſoul is both Altar, Fire and Incenſe; it is the Altar on which we offer up our prayers, the Fire which kindles our prayers, and the Incenſe which perfumes them. Gods eye is chiefly upon the ſoul; bring an hundred diſhes to Table, he will carve of none but this; this is the ſavoury meat he loves He who is beſt, will be ſerved with the beſt; when we give him the ſoul in a duty, now we give him the flowre and the cream; by an holy Chymiſtry we ſtill out the ſpirits. A ſoul inflamed in ſervice, is the cup of ſpiced wine, and the juyce of the Pomgranate, which the Spouſe makes Chriſt to drink off*Cant. 8.2.; without the worſhip of the ſoul, all our Religion is but foreign, bodily exerciſe, 1 Tim. 4.8. which profits nothing; without the ſoul we give God but a carcaſs. What are all the Papiſts Faſtings, Pennance, Pilgrimages, but going to hell in more pomp and ſtate? What are the Formaliſts prayers, which do even cool between his lips, but a dead devotion? It is not ſacrifice, but ſacriledge; he robs God of that which he hath a right to, his ſoul.
Branch. 2 2. If the ſoul be ſo precious, then of what precious account ſhould Ordinances and Miniſters be?
1. Ordinances they are the golden ladder by which the ſoul climbs up to heaven, they are conduits of the water of life. O how precious ſhould theſe be to us! they that are againſt Ordinances, are againſt being ſaved.
2. Of how precious account ſhould Miniſters be, whoſe very work is to ſave ſouls; their feet ſhould be beautiful.
1. Their labours ſhould be precious; they are foreign, 2 Cor. 6.1. They labour with God, and they labour for your ſouls; all their ſweat, their tears, their prayers are for you; they woe for your ſouls, and oftentimes ſpend their lives in the ſuit.
2. Their liberties ſhould be precious. Conſtantine was a great honourer of the Minſtry; if indeed you ſee any of them who are of this holy and honourable function, like that drug the Phyſitians ſpeak of, which is hot in the mouth, but cold in operation; if you ſee them either idle or ravenous, if they do not foreign, & foreign, divide the Word rightly, and live uprightly, cenſure and ſpare not. God forbid I ſhould open my mouth for ſuch. In the Law the lips of the Leper were to be covered; that Miniſter who is by office an Angel, but by his life a Leper, ought to have his lips covered, he deſerves ſilencing. A good Preacher, but a bad liver, is like a Phyſitian that hath the plague; though his advice and receits which he gives may be good, yet his plague infects the Patient; ſo though Miniſters may have good words, and give good receits in the Pulpit, yet the plague of their lives infects their people. If you finde a Hophni and Phineas among the ſons of Levi, whoſe unholy carriage makes the offering of God to be abhorred, you will ſave God a labour in ejecting them; but be ſure you diſtinguiſh between the precious and the vile; while you let out the bad blood, have a care to preſerve the heart-blood; while you purge out the ill humours, do not deſtroy the ſpirits; while you are taking away the ſnuffs, do not eclipſe the lights of Gods Sanctuary; it is a work fit for a Julian to ſuppreſs the Orthodox Miniſtry, and open the Temple of the Idol. The Romans ſacked the City of Corinth, and raz'd it down to the ground for ſome incivility offered to their Ambaſſador. God will avenge the affronts offered to his Miniſters, Pſa. 105.15. Oh take heed of this; if ſouls be of ſuch infinite value, how precious ſhould their liberties be, whoſe very deſign and negotiation is to ſave ſouls? 1 Tim. 4.16. Jude 23.
1. If the ſoul be ſo precious, take heed of abuſing Uſe 2 your ſouls.Exhort. Socrates exhorted young men that they ſhould look their faces in a glaſs, and if they ſaw they Branch. 1 were fair, Caverent ne quid ea pulchritudine indignum committerent, they ſhould have a care to do nothing unworthy of their beauty. Chriſtians, God hath given you ſouls that ſparkle with divine beauty; oh do nothing unworthy of theſe ſouls, do not abuſe them: There are foure ſorts of Perſons that abuſe their ſouls.
1. They that degrade their ſouls.
1. That ſet the world above their ſouls; who pant after the duſt of the earth, Amos 2.7. As if a mans houſe were on fire, and he ſhould take care to preſerve the lumber, but let his childe be burnt in the fire.
2. That make their ſouls Lackies to their bodies. The body is but the brutiſh part, the ſoul is the angelical; the ſoul is the Queen-regent, who is adorned with the jewels of knowledge, and ſways the Scepter of liberty; oh what pity is it that this excellent ſoul ſhould be made a vaſſal, and be put to grinde in the Mill, when the body in the mean time ſits in a Chair of State! Solomon complains of an evil under the Sun, Eccleſ. 10.7. I have ſeen ſervants upon horſes, and Princes walking as ſervants upon the earth. Is it not an evil under the Sun to ſee the body riding in pomp and triumph, and the ſoul of man that royal and heaven-born thing, as a Lacky walking on foot?
2. They abuſe their ſouls, that ſell their ſouls.
1. The covetous perſon ſells his ſoul for money; as it is ſaid of the Lawyer, he hath linguam venalem, a tongue that will be ſold for a Fee; ſo the covetous man hath animam venalem, a ſoul that is to be ſet to ſale for money. Achan did ſell his ſoul for a wedge of gold. Judas did ſell his ſoul for ſilver; Judas ſold cheap penny-worths; for thirty pieces he did ſell Chriſt, who was more worth than heaven; and his own ſoul, which was more worth than a world! how many have damn'd their ſouls for money? 1 Tim. 6.9, 10. It is obſerved that the Eagles quills or feathers mixed with Hens feathers, will in time conſume them; ſuch is the world to the ſoul; if you mix theſe earthly things with your ſouls, and let them lie too near you, they will in time conſume and undo your ſouls.
2. The ambitious perſon ſells his ſoul for honour; as Alexander the ſixth did ſell his ſoul to the Divel for a Popedom; and what is honour but res imaginaria? a Torch lighted by the breath of people, with the leaſt puff of cenſure blown out! Miſerum eſt alienae incumbere famae. How many ſouls have been blown to hell with the winde of popular applauſe?
3. The voluptuous perſon ſells his ſoul for pleaſure. Heliogabalus drowned himſelf in ſweet water; ſo many drown their ſouls in the ſweet perfumed waters of pleaſure. Plato calls pleaſure the bait that catcheth ſouls: Ea capiuntur ut piſces hamo. Pleaſure is a ſilken halter, a flattering Divel, it kills with embracing.
3. They abuſe their ſouls that poyſon their ſouls; error is a ſweet poyſon, Ignatius calls it the invention of the Divel*foreign. Ignat. Epiſt. 2. ad. Trallianos.. A man may as well damn his ſoul by error as vice, and may aſſoon go to hell for a drunken opinion, as for a drunken life.
4. They abuſe their ſouls, that ſtarve their ſouls; theſe are they that ſay they are above Ordinances; but ſure we ſhall not be above Ordinances, till we are above ſin. The Apoſtle ſaith, that in the bleſſed Sacrament we are to remember the Lords death, foreign, till he come, 1 Cor. 11.26. That is, untill Chriſt comes to judgement. How then can any omit Sacraments without a contempt and affront offered to Chriſt himſelf? if Sant Paul and the Apoſtles, thoſe Gyants in grace, needed the Lords Supper to confirme and corroborate them, much more do we need ſuch holy Ordinances, who have but an infant-faith; but Satan likes theſe faſting dayes, he would have men faſt from Ordinances; if the body be kept from food, it cannot live long.
Branch. 2 2. If the ſoul be ſo precious a thing, take heed you do not loſe your ſouls; conſider what a loſs it is, as appears in two things.
1. It is a fooliſh loſs to loſe the ſoul. Thou fool, this night thy ſoul ſhall be required of thee, Luk. 12.20. It is a fooliſh loſs to loſe the ſoul, in a three-fold reſpect.
1. Becauſe there is a poſſibility of ſaving the ſoul; we have time to work in, we have light to work by, we have the Spirit offering us help. The ſoul is like a ſhip laden with jewels, the Spirit is a gale of winde to blow; if we would but looſen anchor from ſin, we might arrive at the Port of happineſs.
2. It is a fooliſh loſs, becauſe we loſe the ſoul for things of no value; worldly things are infinitely below the ſoul, they are non entia. Prov. 23.5. Wilt thou ſet thine eyes on that which is not? The world is but a bewitchery, theſe things gliſter in our eyes; but at death, we ſhall ſay we have ſet our eyes on that which is not: He that thinks to finde happineſs here, is like Ixion, that hug'd the cloud inſtead of Juno; and like Apollo, that embraced the Laurel Tree inſtead of Daphne. Now to loſe the ſoul for ſuch poor inconſiderable things, is a fooliſh loſs; 'tis as if one ſhould throw a Diamond at a Pair-tree, he loſeth his Diamond.
3. It is a fooliſh loſs; for a man to loſe his ſoul, becauſe he himſelf hath an hand in it; is it not folly to give ones ſelf poyſon? a ſinner hath his hands embrued in the blood of his own ſoul. Perditio tua ex te, thy deſtruction is of thy ſelf, Hoſea 13.9. They lay wait for their own blood, Prov. 1.18. The fooliſh ſinner nouriſheth thoſe luſts that kill his ſoul; the Tree breeds the worm, and the worm eats the Tree; were it not folly for a Garriſon to open to the enemy that beſiegeth it? the ſinner opens to thoſe luſts which war againſt his ſoul, 1 Pet. 2.11. this is a fooliſh loſs.
2. It is a fatal loſs to loſe the ſoul.
1. It is an unparallel'd loſs, becauſe in loſing the ſoul there are ſo many things loſt with it; as a Merchant in loſing his ſhip, loſeth many things with it; his money, plate, jewels, ſpices. Thus he that loſeth his ſoul, he loſeth Chriſt, he loſeth the Comforter, he loſeth the Society of Angels, he loſeth Heaven.
2. It is an irreparable loſs; other loſſes may be made up again; if a man loſe his health, he may recover it again; if he loſe his Eſtate, he may get it up again; but if he loſe his ſoul, this loſs can never be made up again. Are there any more Saviours to dye for the ſoul? as Naomi ſaid to her daughters, Are there yet any more ſons in my womb? Ruth 1.11. Hath God any more ſons? or will he ſend his Son any more into the world? oh no, if the ſoul be loſt, Chriſts next coming is not …o ſave it, but to judge it. Chriſtian, remember thou haſt but one ſoul, and if that be gone, all is gone. God, ſaith Chryſoſtom, hath given thee two eyes, if thou loſeſt one, thou haſt another; but thou haſt but one ſoul, and if that periſh, thou art quite undone. The Merchant that ventures all in one ſhip, if that ſhip be loſt, he is quite broken.
3. The loſs of the ſoul is an eternal loſs; the ſoul once loſt, is loſt for ever; he that loſeth his ſoul, may ſay as that wicked Doctor of Paris on his death-bed,
Parcite funeribus, mihi nil prodeſſe valebit;
Heu infaelicem eur me genuere parentes?
Ah miſer aeternos vado damnatus ad ignes.
The ſinner and the furnace ſhall never be parted, Iſa. 33.14. As the ſinners heart will never be emptied of ſin, ſo Gods Vial ſhall never be emptied of wrath; 'tis an eternal loſs.
Branch. 3 3. Do what you can to ſecure the main chance, to ſave theſe precious ſouls. In times of danger men call in their debts, and labour to ſecure their Eſtates; let me tell you, all you who are yet in your natural Eſtate, your ſouls are morgaged; if your Land were morgaged, you would endeavour to redeem it; your ſouls are morgaged: Sin hath morgaged them, ſin hath laid your ſouls to pawn, and where do you think your ſouls are? The pawn is in the Divels hand, therefore a man in the ſtate of nature is ſaid to be under the power of Satan, Acts 26.18. Now there are but two wayes to fetch home the pawn; and both are ſet down, Acts 20.21. Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. Unravel all your works of ſin by repentance, honour Chriſts merits by believing; Divines call it fidem ſalvificam, ſaving faith, becauſe upon this wing the ſoul flies to the Ark Chriſt, and is ſecured from danger.