"If you had yet but a bleeding heart for sin, and could come to Christ believingly for recovery, and resign yourself to Him as your Savior and Lord, and would be a new man for the time to come, the Lord would have mercy on you in the pardon of your sins, and the everlasting salvation of your soul. And I must tell you that, as it must be the great work of God's grace to give you such a heart, so if He ever intends to pardon and save you,
He will surely make this change upon you; He will make you feel your sin as the heaviest burden in the world, as that which is most disgusting in itself, and has put you under His wrath and curse; He will make you see that you are a lost man, and that there is nothing for you but everlasting damnation, unless you are pardoned by the blood of Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit; He will make you see the need you have for Christ, and how all your hope and life is in Him; He will make you see the vanity of this world and how little it can give you,, and that all your happiness is with God, in that everlasting life in heaven, where you may, with the saints and angels, behold His Glory, and live in His love, and be employed in His praises. Let me tell you that, till this work be done upon you, you are a miserable man; and if you die before it is done, you are lost for ever. Now you have hope and help before you, but then there will be none.
Let me, therefore, plead with you, as you love your soul, First, that you will not rest in the condition in which you presently are. Do not rest in your mind till a saving change is wrought in your heart. Think, when you rise in the morning, "Oh, what if this day should be my last, and death should find me in an un‐renewed state?" Think, when you are about your work, "Oh, how much greater a work have I yet to do, to get my soul reconciled to God, and sanctified by His Spirit!" Think, when you are eating, or drinking, or looking on anything that you possess in the world, " What good will all this do me, if I live and die an enemy to God, and a stranger to Christ and His Spirit, and so perish forever? " Let these thoughts be day and night upon your mind till your soul be changed. Secondly, I plead with you to seriously consider what a vain world this is, and how shortly it will lead you to a cold grave, and to everlasting misery, if you don't have a better treasure than it. And consider what it is to live in the presence of God, and to reign with Christ, and be like the angels; and that this is the life that Christ has purchased and made available to you, and is preparing for you, and offers to you, if you will only accept of it; and oh think, whether it be not madness to slight such an endless glory, and to prefer these fleshly dreams and earthly shadows before it! Accustom yourself to such considerations as these when you are alone, and let them dwell upon your mind. Thirdly, I entreat, that you will presently, without any more delay, accept this happiness, and this Savior. Close with the Lord Jesus that offers to you this eternal life: joyfully and thankfully accept His offer as the only way to make you happy: and then you may believe that all your sins will be done away by Him. Fourthly, resolve to walk away from your former sins; find out what has defiled your heart and life, and cast it from you, as you would cast poison out of your stomach, and abhor the thought of taking it again.
My last request to you is, that you will set yourself to the diligent use of the means of grace (hearing sermons, bible study, Christian fellowship, Lord's Supper, etc.), until this change be wrought, and then continue the use of these means till you are confirmed, and at last perfected:
(1) As you cannot of yourself effect this change upon your own heart and life, spend time daily with God in prayer, and beg earnestly, as for your life, that He will pardon all your sins, and change your heart, and show you the riches of his grace in Christ, and the glory of his kingdom. Follow God day and night with these requests.
(2) Fly from temptations and occasions of sin, and give up your former evil company, and spend your time, instead, with those that fear God, and will help you in the way to heaven.
(3) Be specially careful to spend the Lord's day in holy exercises, both public and private, and lose not one quarter of an hour of any of your time; but especially of that most precious time which God hath given you purposely, that you may set your mind upon him, and be instructed by him, and prepare yourself for your latter end. What say you to these things? Will you do this presently, or at least so much of it as you can? Will you give your word that you will try?"
