Prefatory Material
To the Reader
Christian reader,
You still have time to prepare for eternity, while others are rotting in their graves and have entered an everlasting state. This is the fruit of God’s tireless patience toward you. Consider especially how you have provoked the Lord by your many sins. In this you have surpassed many who are now in their graves, and even some who are now in hell, rolling in the lake of brimstone and suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
You should remember God’s mercy in sparing your life during the recent dreadful plague of 1665 for as long as you are counted among the living. Most people forget this mercy so quickly. To keep it in your thoughts, you may find it helpful to hold in your hands and keep before your eyes the words written to guide and sustain dying people during that dreadful time of God’s severe judgment. Among those writings was this little book, written at the time by an unworthy hand in three letters to some private friends who were then in the city, for their personal use. The friends to whom the letters were addressed later published them. Some of those friends have now fallen asleep.
The first letter may help you fulfill several duties, if God is pleased to add his blessing. The second may sustain you, if you are a sincere believer, against the fear of death. Death will certainly come upon you, even though that judgment of the plague has passed. The third may show you your misery, if you are living in a state of sin, and teach you the course you must take to be happy.
The duties urged in the first letter must be the practice of your life. The comfort offered in the second, or comfort of that kind, must be your only support when you come to die. And the misery described in the third will be your portion forever if you do not practice the necessary duties contained in all three.
The work you were then required to do for your happiness must not be postponed or neglected now that the judgment has been removed. Your work is the same, because you must die, even if you do not die from the plague. The same means that helped you then may benefit you now.
That these weak efforts may bear this fruit will be the prayer of one who wishes to have a strong desire for the salvation of your soul.
Thomas Doolittle
Selected Scripture
“But if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments” (Lev 26:14).
“And if you shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgements, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant” (Lev 26:15).
“And if ye walk contrary to me, and will not hearken unto me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you, according to your sins” (Lev 26:21).
“And if ye will not be reformed by these things, but will walk contrary unto me:” (Lev 26:23).
“I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you, and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy” (Lev 26:25).
“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall overtake thee” (Deut 28:15).
“The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it” (Deut 28:21).
“And also I have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord” (Amos 4:6).
“And I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest. And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon; and the piece whereupon it rained not, withered” (Amos 4:7).
“So two or three cities wandered to one city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord” (Amos 4:8).
“I have smitten you with blasting and mildew; when your gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord” (Amos 4:9).
“I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt; your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up into your nostrils: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord” (Amos 4:10).
“I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave to them, and to their fathers” (Jer 24:10).
“O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: For our backslidings are many, we have sinned against thee” (Jer 14:7).
“When they fast I will not hear their cry, and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them, but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence” (Jer 14:12).
“So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the morning, even to the time appointed; and there died of the people, even from Dan to Beer-sheba, seventy thousand men” (2 Sam 24:15).
“For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with the pestilence, and thou shalt be cut off from the earth” (Exod 9:15).
“And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab” (Num 25:1).
“And he went after the man of Israel, into the tent, and thrust both of them through; the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel” (Num 25:8).
“And those that died in the plague, were twenty and four thousand” (Num 25:9).
“Ye stand upon your sword; ye work abomination; and ye defile every one his neighbor’s wife: And shall ye possess the land?” (Ezek 33:26).
“Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, As I live, surely they that are in wastes shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field, will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that be in the forts and the caves, shall die of the pestilence” (Ezek 33:27).
“They joined themselves also unto Baal-Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead” (Ps 106:28).
“Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions, and the plague brake in upon them” (Ps 106:29).
“And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; and the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost part of the camp” (Num 11:1).
“And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague” (Num 11:33).
“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me” (Num 14:27).
“Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died of the plague before the Lord” (Num 14:37).
“Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, surely because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee, neither shall mine eye spare thee, neither will I have any pity” (Ezek 5:11).
“A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with the famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee, and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee: And I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them” (Ezek 5:12).
“Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them; and I will be comforted, and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them” (Ezek 5:13).
“For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Cor 11:29).
“For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor 11:30).
“And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered together against Moses, and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation; and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared” (Num 16:42).
“And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation” (Num 16:43).
“And Aaron took as Moses had commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague was begun among the people: And he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people” (Num 16:47).
“And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed” (Num 16:48).
“Now they that died in the plague, were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah” (Num 16:49).
“And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the plague was stayed” (Num 16:50).
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will send them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence. And will make them like vile figs that cannot be eaten, they are so evil” (Jer 29:17).
“And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach among all the nations whither I have driven them” (Jer 29:18).
“Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, but ye would not hear saith the Lord” (Jer 29:19).
“And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us, let us go we pray thee, three days journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword” (Exod 5:3).
Letter 1: Sin and Duty
Preparing for Eternity
Dear Friends,
Everyone in this world should take the greatest care, with tireless diligence, for what will become of their precious, immortal soul in the life to come. We should give this twice as much attention in a time of such widespread death. So many fall on our right and left. Death rages in every street, breaks in at every door, and climbs through every window. It robs parents of the children they brought into the world with sorrow and raised with care. It does not even spare the tender babies at their mothers’ breasts. It separates the loving husband from the wife who loves him just as deeply.
We cannot be sure of tomorrow, or even of the next hour. We do not know how soon we must leave, and our departure into eternity will be the greatest move we have ever made. In his providence, God has moved my family and me beyond the sound of your death bells and the sorrowful laments that fill the ears of those still there. Yet I seem to see the living laboring day and night to bury their dead. Meanwhile, the other half still remain, partly mourning those who have died and partly awaiting their own death. I seem to see many people repeatedly inspecting their bodies, looking for the plague marks. I seem to see one person sick and dying in one room, and another in another. Those who are still well take every step on the brink and border of another world.
Surely, then, now is the time, if ever, to be serious with God and earnest about the concerns of another world. Now we should pray as people who may be arrested while speaking and taken from their knees to God’s judgment seat. Now we should hear God’s Word and perform every duty as people so near, so very near, to an eternal, unchangeable state.
Oh, what havoc the plague makes among people’s bodies! What slaughter sin makes among their souls! How quickly people pass into eternal torment when the plague catches the drunkard or the person who swears in their open wickedness, and the hypocrite in their hidden hypocrisy! If only I could adequately mourn the sorrowful condition of unbelieving, unrepentant souls, without Christ or grace. They cannot remain in this world, yet they are unfit to enter another. Still, when death comes with its commission in hand, they must, poor souls, must enter another life. It is indeed a living death and a dying life.
Oh, now those who have walked closely with God are the blessed people, whatever the world has thought of them. They are washed in the blood of Christ and have received the pardon of their sins. Now Christ is a gift indeed, and saving grace is a mercy indeed! Grace is the truest, most fitting, most lasting wealth. Neither death, nor people, nor devils can strip us of it. Will not that Christ whom sinners failed to value in life become supremely precious to them when they come to die?
Oh, souls in a dreadful condition, who now have no share in God and no right to his kingdom! Miserable men and women, who have spots of two kinds: spots on their bodies, marking them as people who will not remain alive, and spots on their souls that are not the spots of God’s children! They die in this life from the plague upon their bodies and die eternally from the plague upon their hearts.
My friends, now bless God, who moved your hearts to embrace Christ before this day of great distress came. Do you now regret all the effort you made to reach heaven? Do you not now think your best time was spent on your knees, conversing with your God and looking deep into your hearts? Or do you rather regret that you spent no more time there, that God had no more of your hearts and time, that you have done no more for him and received no more of his sustaining influence? Who, while waiting and looking for death, does not wish they had managed their life better and made more of it?
Do you not now recognize the difference between Christ and earthly friends? Earthly friends are afraid to approach those they love when the deadly plague strikes them. But Christ does not refuse to enter his people’s hearts when neighbors and friends are afraid to enter their houses. If the door of your house is shut, keep the door of your heart open, and the King of glory will come in (Ps 24:7, 9). It is the spots of sin, not plague spots, that keep Christ at a distance from your soul. Yet how wonderful and astonishing is the love of a holy Christ! He will come under the roof of a heart stained with sin if that sin is the sinner’s grief, burden, and complaint.
Draw nearer, then, to your Lord. Pursue earnestly the enjoyment of your God. Learn your duty, and what God especially requires and expects of you at a time like this. Then you may entrust yourself and all your concerns to him with greater comfort. Above all, devote yourself to practicing the following duties. As someone who wishes your souls health and happiness, I want to remind you of them.
Duty 1: Self-Examination
At a time like this, examine yourself frequently and seriously (Ps 119:59). Searching the heart is everyone’s unquestionable duty (Jer 8:6; Lam 3:40; 2 Cor 13:5). Multitudes are lost eternally through willful neglect of it. Many lay claim to God, Christ, and heaven without any right to them (Matt 7:21-23). God forbid that you should be among them when the Lord comes to judge. To carry out this necessary and timely duty well, consider how to do it, why it matters, and what you should examine for signs of saving grace.
How to Examine Yourself
First, solemnly. Approach this work as judges do when deciding a matter of life and death. The following practices belong to this solemnity.
1. Give this work your undivided attention. For the time being, do only this. If you want to search your heart solemnly, exclude other things while you do it. Leave your worldly thoughts at the door of your private room. Remember that you are now investigating the condition of your soul. The question is, “Do I believe, or do I not? Do I love God, or do I not?” and so on.
2. Place yourself before the Searcher of hearts. You cannot deceive him, even if you deceive yourself (Jer 17:9-10; Ps 139:1, 14). Think, “I am now in the presence of an all-knowing God, who sees the condition of my soul perfectly.” Ask God to search you (Ps 139:23-24; Ps 26:2).
3. Bring forward the laws by which your heart must be judged. Take your Bible and recognize that this is the book by which you must be condemned or saved, and live or die eternally (Rom 2:16; Rev 20:12).
4. State the case for and against yourself. Explain why you think and hope that you believe, and why you doubt and fear that you do not (Rom 2:15). What are your doubts, and how do you answer them?
5. Bring forward the witnesses who must give their evidence. These are God and your own conscience (2 Cor 1:12). They alone can tell you whether you are truly religious, whether you pray sincerely, and whether you intend and aim at God’s glory in all your actions.
6. Proceed to pronounce the verdict. Whether it is for you or against you, say, “Oh, my soul! After a serious search today, I have found that you are outside Christ and a stranger to God.” Or say that you have found that you have sincerely embraced and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
7. Keep a record. Store this in your memory or write it in your diary, so that it may help you when you need to look back on it.
Second, with sound judgment. Do not be rash. Weigh your condition in the sanctuary’s scales. Take care that pride and self-love do not blind you to the evil within you. Take equal care that unbelief and excessive self-loathing do not cloud your sight, so that you cannot see the grace God has planted in your heart.
Third, bring it to a conclusion. Resolve the question if you can. Do not leave until you have reached an answer. If your heart begins to slip away, command it in God’s name to remain and face the trial.
Fourth, humbly. Beg for the help and testimony of the Spirit of God. You cannot have grace until he gives it, and you cannot see the grace you have until he shows it to you (1 Cor 2:12). My friends, though the work is difficult and displeasing to the flesh, do not let that keep you from it. Urge yourself to undertake it by considering the following reasons.
Why You Must Examine Yourself
First, many people now in hell once thought their condition was good, until they found themselves lost beyond recovery.
Second, it is easy to be deceived about the sincerity of your heart, for three reasons.
1. The highest degree of common grace closely resembles the lowest degree of saving grace. There is something in hypocrites that looks like faith in Christ and love for God, but is neither faith nor love.
2. Most people lack the skill to judge where the difference lies.
3. The worst heart is inclined to think the best of itself. Some people think they are worse than they are, but most think they are better.
Third, a mistake about the condition of your soul is extremely dangerous. To die in this mistake is to be lost beyond recovery.
Fourth, it is possible for you to know whether you will be saved.
Fifth, knowing this will bring you great comfort.
Sixth, a heart unwilling to be searched gives strong grounds for suspicion.
To help you discover whether your heart is sincere toward God, I advise you to examine three things: sin, grace, and duty.
Your Heart’s Attitude toward Sin
There are three matters to examine concerning sin.
First, do you hate sin? Can you truly say, appealing to God, that sin is the object of your hatred (Ps 97:10; Ps 119:113, 163)? What, above all, does your soul abhor? Every unregenerate person does indeed hate God, Christ, and the power of true religion (Rom 1:30). Every sanctified person sincerely hates the sins they cannot shake off (Rom 7:15). A wicked person may be angry with themselves for sin without hating it. They may speak against sin with their tongue while still loving it in their heart. But just as God hates nothing more than sin, everyone born of God hates nothing more than sin (Prov 8:13).
True hatred of sin has three signs.
1. It cannot be reconciled to sin. In this it differs from anger. Anger may be soothed, but hatred cannot be reconciled to its object, especially when there is a deep-rooted opposition, as there is between grace and sin. A person may be angry with a friend and still acknowledge them as a friend. A father may be angry with his child and still love that child. Anger and love can coexist, but love and hatred cannot.
2. It is universal. Hatred extends to the whole kind (Ps 119:104, 128). Someone who hates a toad hates every toad. Anyone who hates something for what it is hates everything of that kind. Love for one sin proves that there is no hatred of any sin. So examine yourself seriously: is there one sin you love with a love that rules you? You may have no liking for extravagant spending, but do you not love greed? You may have no liking for sinful amusements, but do you not love gratifying the flesh by letting your bodily appetites rule you?
3. It seeks separation from sin. Hatred fights with the strongest opposition and longs for the complete removal of the sin you hate. It makes you strive and struggle for victory, abstain from the very appearance of evil, and hate the temptation to sin as well as the act itself. Do you take daily pains to subdue and conquer it? Do you strive to weep it out through your eyes? Though remnants remain, does your soul yearn and long to have it rooted out? Does it sometimes make you willing to leave the world, if God should call you, so that sin may leave your heart?
Second, how do you regard your particular sin? What is your heart’s attitude toward the sin you could especially call your own? Indeed, nothing belongs to us so truly as our sin. Yet one sin is dearer to us than all the rest. All the others merely attend it, and we will part with them all rather than part with this. One beloved sin has kept many away from Christ and out of heaven. David establishes the sincerity of his heart by keeping himself from his own iniquity (Ps 18:23).
Do you love the part of God’s Word that most clearly exposes your cherished sin, even if it is (1) the sin of your temperament, (2) the sin that has become your darling through repeated acts to which you have long grown accustomed, or (3) the sin of your occupation, which has brought you the greatest profit? If you are sincere, the sin that once had most of your love now has most of your hatred.
Third, how does your heart oppose secret sin? Can you mourn and grieve in secret for sins that have always remained secret? Do you know of a sin in yourself that no one else has ever known about, and that has never exposed you to public shame? Can you grieve, weep, and mourn for it as sincerely as for sins that have revealed your weaknesses to the world? Does God’s seeing you matter more to you than the whole world’s seeing you?
The Reality of Your Grace
Examine your grace. There is a great deal of counterfeit grace in the world. Many think they have grace when they are actually under the power of their sin and lust.
First, examine whether your faith is true. There are three signs to consider.
1. Does it make you prize, value, and esteem the Lord Jesus Christ above everything in the world (1 Pet 2:7)?
2. Are you sincerely willing to receive Christ on the terms of the gospel, as Lord and Savior (John 1:12)?
3. Does it move you to daily diligence in purifying your heart and cleansing your inner self from sin (Acts 15:9)?
Second, examine your love for God and Christ. Is it a love above all other loves (Matt 10:37)? Does Christ hold the chief place in your heart? Do you love his person as well as his benefits? Does your love make you strive to be like him? Does it compel you to sincere obedience that is universal? Such obedience has four marks.
1. In what you obey: all of God’s commands, however displeasing they may be to the flesh (Ps 119:6).
2. In the heart that obeys: obedience with your whole heart (Ps 119:34, 69).
3. In its duration: obedience that is constant (Ps 119:33, 112).
4. In its place: a willingness to obey God wherever you are, with others or alone.
Does your love for God appear in your love for his people, his ways, his Word, and his ordinances?
Sincerity in Your Duties
Examine your duties. Judge them less by the outward acts than by the circumstances surrounding them. There is no outward duty, considered simply as an act, that a hypocrite cannot perform as well as you, and even surpass you in. Do you pray? So does a hypocrite. Do you hear and speak of God? So does a hypocrite. Do you sometimes fast and sometimes feast at the Lord’s Table? So does a hypocrite. Examine these three things about your duties.
1. Their source. What is the principle from which all your duties proceed? If that principle is wrong, your heart is not right. Is it only natural conscience, custom, a religious upbringing, worldly profit, or human praise? If so, none of these duties can comfort you in sickness or at death. Many people now in hell have prayed and heard the Word of God for these reasons. Or can you say that you pray from a principle of love and fear: that you pray to him because you love him and love to converse with him?
2. Their manner. What care do you take over the manner in which you perform your duties? It is their manner that, in Christ, will commend you to God. Examine its six qualities.
(1) Humbly. Do you perform them with self-loathing, as befits a worm, dust and ashes mingled with sin, before a pure, holy, perfect God (Luke 18:13)?
(2) In Christ’s name. Do you trust his merits alone for favor and acceptance?
(3) Seeking the Spirit’s help. Do you look to the Spirit for assistance, believing that you can do nothing pleasing to God without his help (2 Cor 3:5)?
(4) Watchfully. Do you watch against Satan, sin, and the world, so that they may not turn your thoughts away from what you are doing (Matt 26:41)? Even if you do not always keep watch to prevent distractions in holy duties, do you at least watch for them so that you may be humbled by them?
(5) Earnestly. Do you labor in prayer as someone should who prays for God’s favor, the pardon of sin, and eternal life, and against everlasting flames (Luke 13:14)?
(6) Constantly. Do you pray only now and then, or do you maintain these holy duties as regularly as you eat and drink (Luke 18:1, etc.; 1 Thess 5:17; Job 27:10)?
3. Their purpose. Examine the aim of all your duty. Your heart is of the same character as your aim. A thief may arm himself just as an honest person does, but for different purposes. Ask your own heart, then, whether you perform religious duties for the following five ends.
(1) To bring glory to God. Is this the target on which you chiefly fix your eye (1 Cor 10:31)? Even when people slight you, think little of you, and lower you in their esteem, does your heart express this longing: “Oh, that I could pray now so that God might be glorified through me! That I could hear now so that his honor might be advanced through my hearing!”
(2) To have communion with God. Is your aim to meet with him (Ps 63:1-3)? Do you count the duty lost, and the time you spent in it lost, if you did not meet with God? Do you go away weeping and complaining when you fail to find him?
(3) To gain more power against your sins. Is this your aim, rather than feeding your lust for pride and empty glory?
(4) To walk more closely with God. Is your aim in all your duties to become better able to walk closely with him and to grow in grace, so that you may delight and rejoice more in God?
(5) To become more fit to live with God in glory. Is your aim in all your duties to become increasingly ready for this? Do you seek to have every prayer, sermon, and sacrament make you more fit to share in the “inheritance of the saints in light”?
My friends, answer all these serious questions that you put to your own souls as dying people would. Answer as people who do not know how soon the plague may seize them, who have death staring them in the face wherever they walk. Search, then, and do not rest until you can find these things true of you. Then you may have a solid foundation for peace and comfort, whether you live or die, whether you fall into the grave with the others or remain alive when this visitation is over.
Duty 2: Assurance of Forgiveness
This duty concerns the forgiveness of sin: first, ten questions for those who do not know that their sins are forgiven; second, seven signs of a forgiven sinner; and third, why some whose sins are forgiven do not recognize their forgiveness.
The second thing you should now strive for is assurance of God’s love for your soul and of salvation when you die (2 Pet 1:10; 2 Cor 5:1). When you go to pray, it is distressing not to know whether the God you approach is your God. But to doubt this when you are approaching your grave will be terrifying. Doubt at the point of death will fill you with overwhelming fears and cause you to dishonor God greatly at the very end of your life.
Oh, what is death, even death by the plague, to someone who knows they have eternal life? They can look toward heaven and say, “There is the place where I will live forever, with God and Christ there. Soon I must be there in heaven and glory.” Oh, make sure now that God and Christ are yours, for you can be sure of nothing else.
Above all, obtain clear evidence that your sins are forgiven. Oh, have your guilt removed before you die! If you can clearly recognize its removal before sickness comes upon you, assurance of your forgiveness will lighten your afflictions: “The Inhabitant,” etc. (Isa 33:24). Would it not revive your departing soul to hear the Spirit’s quiet whispers saying to you what Christ said to the sick man: “Son, be of good cheer, thy Sins are forgiven thee” (Matt 9:2)?
You know you have sinned, but do you know you are forgiven? You can read the record of your sins, but can you read your pardon? If not, please answer the following questions. Each may give you a reason to seek forgiveness.
Ten Questions About Forgiveness
1. How can you think of God, or anything in God, if you have no hope or assurance of forgiveness? How do you know that his justice will not condemn you, that his power will not break and crush you, or that his patience will not stand against you in judgment? But if you know your sins are forgiven, all God’s attributes will give you a sure foundation for solid comfort in every circumstance and in the severest afflictions.
2. How can you read God’s Word with comfort? Can you read his commands when you consider how you have broken them? Can you read his promises when you question whether you have a share in them? Can you read his threats when you fear they describe what awaits you, and do not know whether you are reading your own sentence? This is meant to stir you to seek forgiveness, not to discourage you from studying God’s Word.
3. How can you look forward with delight to the joys of heaven when, for all you know, unforgiven sins may bar its gates against you?
4. How can you think ahead to the torments of the damned without terror and fear when you cannot see that you have been delivered from them? Can you seriously think of the eternity and intensity of those torments while doubting whether you will escape them, and still not fear and tremble?
5. How can you think of death’s certain and imminent approach while you do not know that you are forgiven? Is death all around you, coming nearer and nearer every day, while you remain unable to say that your sins are forgiven?
