If thou have been a covetous worldling, or an ambitious seeker of honour or preferment in the world, so that thy gain, or rising, or reputation, hath been the game which thou hast followed, and hath taken thee up instead of God and life eternal; away now with these known deceits, and hunt not after vanity and vexation. Thou knowest beforehand what it will prove when thou hast overtaken it, and hast enjoyed all that it can yield thee; and how useless it will be as to thy comfort or happiness at last. Surely, if men were willing, they are able to forbear such sins, and to make a stand, and look before them, to prevent their misery: therefore God thus pleads with them, Isa. i. 16-18, "Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well," &c. Isa. lv. 2, 3, "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you." Ver. 6, 7, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Christ supposeth that the foresight of judgment may restrain men from sin, when he saith, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee," John v. 14, and viii. 11. Can the presence of men restrain a fornicator; and the presence of the judge restrain a thief, yea, or the foresight of the assizes? And shall not the presence of God, with the foresight of judgment and damnation, restrain thee? Remember, that impenitent sin and damnation are conjoined. If you will cause one, God will cause the other. Choose one, and you shall not choose whether you shall have the other. If you will have the serpent, you shall have the sting. _Direct._ XV. If thou have sincerely given up thyself to God, and consented to his covenant, show it, by turning the face of thy endeavours and conversation quite another way, and by seeking heaven more fervently and diligently than ever thou soughtest the world, or fleshly pleasures.