Application

Application.

The use that I shall make of what has been said, is to move sinners to this resolution, with respect to those amongst us that have lately turned to God, and joined themselves to the flock of Christ. It is now through the abundant mercy and grace of God to us in this place, that it may be said of many of you, that are in a Christless condition, that you have lately been left by those that were formerly with you in such a state. There are those that you have formerly been conversant with, that have lately forsaken a life of sin, and the service of Satan, and have turned to God and fled to Christ, and joined themselves to that blessed company that are with him. They formerly were with you in sin and in misery, but now they are with you no more, in that state or manner of life: They are changed, and have fled from the wrath to come: They have chosen a life of holiness here, and the enjoyment of God hereafter. They were formerly your associates in bondage and were with you in Satan's business; but now you have their company no longer in these things. Many of you have seen those that you live with under the same roof, turning from being any longer with you in sin, to be with the people of Jesus Christ. Some of you that are husbands, have had your wives; and some of you that are wives have had your husbands; some of you that are children, have had your parents; and parents have had your children; many of you have had your brothers and sisters; and many your near neighbours, and acquaintance, and special friends; many of you that are young have had your companions: I say, many of you have had those that you have been thus concerned with, leaving you, forsaking that doleful life, and wretched state that you still continue in. God of his good pleasure, and wonderful grace, has lately caused it to be so in this place, that multitudes have been forsaking their old abodes, in the land of Moab, and under the gods of Moab, and going into the land of Israel, to put their trust under the wings of the Lord God of Israel. Though you and they have been nearly related, and have dwelt together, or have been often together, and intimately acquainted one with another, they have been taken, and you hitherto left! O let it not be the foundation of a final parting! But earnestly follow them; be firm in your resolution in this matter. Don't do as Orpha did, who though at first she made as though she would follow Naomi, yet when she had the difficulty of it set before her, went back: But say as Ruth, I will not leave you, but where you go I will go: Your People shall be my People, and your God my God. Say as she said, and do as she did. Consider the excellency of their God, and their Savior, and the happiness of their people, the blessed state that they are in, and the doleful state that you are in.

You that are old sinners, that have lived long in the service of Satan, have lately seen some that were with you, that have traveled with you in the paths of sin, these many years, that with you enjoyed great means and advantages, that have had calls and warnings with you, and with you passed through remarkable times of the pouring out of God's Spirit in this place, and have hardened their hearts, and stood it out with you, and with you have grown old in sin; I say, you have seen some of them turning to God, that is, you have seen those evidences of it in them whence you may rationally judge that it is so. O! let it not be a final parting! You have been thus long together in sin, and under condemnation; let it be your firm resolution now if possible you will be with them still, now they are in a holy and happy state, and that you will go with them into the holy and pleasant land.

You that tell of your having been seeking salvation for many years though without doubt, in a poor low way, in comparison of what you ought to have done: You have seen some that have been with you in that respect, that were old sinners, and old seekers as you are, obtaining mercy. God has lately roused them from their dullness, and caused them to alter their hand, put them on more thorough endeavors; and they have now after so long a time, heard God's voice, and have fled for refuge to the Rock of Ages. Let this awaken earnestness and resolution in you. Resolve that you will not leave them.

You that are in youth, how many have you seen of your age and standing, that have of late hopefully chosen God for their God, and Christ for their Savior! You have followed them in sin, and perhaps followed them into vain company; and will you not now follow them to Christ?

And you that are children, there have lately been some of your sort that have repented of their sins, and have loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and trusted in him, and are become God's children, as we have reason to hope: Let it stir you up to resolve to your utmost to seek and cry to God, that you may have the like change made in your hearts, that their people may be your people, and their God your God.

You that are great sinners, that have made yourselves distinguishingly guilty, by the wicked practices you have lived in, there are some of your sort that have lately (as we have reason to hope) had their hearts broken for sin, and have forsaken it, and have trusted in the blood of Christ for the pardon of it, and have chosen a holy life, and have betaken themselves to the ways of wisdom: Let it excite and encourage you, resolutely to cleave to them, and earnestly to follow them. Here let the following things be considered.

1. That your soul is as precious as theirs. It is immortal as well as theirs; and stands in as much need of happiness, and can as ill bear eternal misery. You were by nature in the same miserable condition that they were, and had the same wrath of God abiding on you. You must stand before the same Judge, who will be as strict in judgment with you as with them; and your own righteousness will stand you in no more stead before him than theirs; and therefore you stand in as absolute necessity of a Savior as they. Carnal confidences can no more answer your end than theirs; nor can this world or its enjoyments, serve to make you happy without God and Christ more than them. When the Bridegroom comes the foolish virgins stand in as much need of oil as the wise, Matthew 25 at the beginning.

2. Unless you follow them in their turning to God, their conversion will be a foundation of an eternal separation between you and them. You will be in different interests and in exceeding different states as long as you live; they the children of God and you the children of Satan: and you will be parted in another world; when you come to die there will be a vast separation between you, Luke 16:26. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that they that would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. And you will be parted at the day of judgment. You will be parted at Christ's first appearance in the clouds of heaven. While they are caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, to be ever with the Lord, you will remain below confined to this cursed ground, that is kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. You will appear separated from them, while you stand before the great judgment seat, they being at the right hand, while you are set at the left, Matthew 25:32-33. And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left. And you shall then appear in exceeding different circumstances: While you stand with devils, in the image and deformity of devils and in ineffable horror and amazement, they shall appear in glory, sitting on thrones, as assessors with Christ, and as such passing judgment upon you, 1 Corinthians 6:2. And what shame and confusion will then cover you, when so many of your contemporaries, your equals, your neighbours, relations and companions, shall be honored, and openly acknowledged and confessed by the glorious Judge of the universe, and Redeemer of saints, and shall be seen by you sitting with him in such glory, and you shall appear to have neglected your salvation and not to have improved your opportunities, and rejected the Lord Jesus Christ the same person that will then appear as your great Judge, and you shall be the subjects of such wrath, and as it were trodden down in eternal contempt and disgrace, Daniel 12:2. Some shall rise to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And what a wide separation will the sentence that shall be then passed and executed make between you and them! When you shall be sent away out of the presence of the Judge, with indignation and abhorrence as vile and loathsome creatures, and they shall be sweetly accosted and invited into his glory, as his dear friends, and the blessed of his Father! When you, with all that vast throng of wicked and accursed men and devils, shall descend with bitter lamentings, and horrid shrieks, into that dreadful gulf of fire and brimstone, and shall be swallowed up in that great and everlasting furnace while they shall joyfully, and with sweet songs of glory and praise, ascend with Christ, and all that beauteous and blessed company of saints and angels into eternal felicity, in the glorious presence of God, and the sweet embraces of his love; and you and they shall spend eternity in such a separation, and immensely different circumstances! And that however you have been intimately acquainted and nearly related, close-united and mutually conversant here in this world; and how much soever you have taken delight in each other's company! Shall it be so after you have been together a great while, each of you in undoing yourselves, enhancing your guilt, and heaping up wrath, that their so wisely changing their minds, and their course, and choosing such happiness for themselves, should now at length be the beginning of such an exceeding and everlasting separation between you and them? How awful will it be to be parted so!

3. Consider the great encouragement that God gives you, earnestly to strive for the same blessing that others have obtained. There is great encouragement in the word of God to sinners, to seek salvation; in the revelation that we have of the abundant provision made for the salvation even of the chief of sinners, and in the appointment of so many means to be used with and by sinners, in order to their salvation; and by the blessing which God in his word connects with the means of his appointment. There is hence great encouragement for all, at all times, that will be thorough in using of these means. But now God gives extraordinary encouragement in his providence by pouring out his Spirit so remarkably amongst us, and bringing savingly home to himself, all sorts, young and old, rich and poor, wise and unwise, sober and vicious, of self-righteous seekers, and profligate livers; no sort are exempt. There is now at this day, amongst us, the loudest call, and the greatest encouragement, and the widest door opened to sinners, to escape out of a state of sin and condemnation, that perhaps God ever granted in New England. Who is there that has an immortal soul, that is so foolish as not to improve such an opportunity, and that won't bestir himself with all his might now? How unreasonable is negligence, and how unseasonable is discouragement at such a day as this! Will you be so stupid as to neglect your soul now? Will any mortal amongst us, be so unreasonable, as to lag behind, or draw back in discouragement, when God opens such a door! Let every single person be thoroughly awake! Let every one encourage himself now to press forward, and fly for his life!

4. Consider how earnestly desirous they that have obtained are that you should follow them, and that their People should be your People, and their God your God. They desire that you should partake of the great Good that God has given them, and that unspeakable and eternal Blessedness that he has promised them. They wish and long for it. If you don't go with them and are not still of their Company, it won't be for Want of their Willingness, but your own. That of Moses to Hobab, is the Language of every true Saint of your Acquaintance to you. Numbers 10:29 We are journeying unto the Place of which the Lord said I will give it you: Come thou with us, and we will do thee Good; for the Lord hath spoken Good concerning Israel. As Moses, when on his Journey through the Wilderness following the Pillar of Cloud and Fire, invited Hobab, that he had been acquainted with, and nearly allied to, out of the Land of Midian, where Moses had formerly dwelt with him, to go with him and his People to Canaan, to partake with them in the Good that God had promised them; so do those of your Friends and Acquaintance, invite you out of a Land of Darkness and Wickedness, where they have formerly been with you, to go with them to the heavenly Canaan. The Company of Saints, the true Church of Christ invite you. The lovely Bride calls you to the Marriage Supper. She hath Authority to invite Guests to her own Wedding; and you ought to look on her Invitation and Desire as the Call of Christ the Bridegroom; for it is the Voice of his Spirit in her, Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the Bride say come. Where seems to be a reference to what had been said, Chapter 19:7, 8, 9 The Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine Linen clean and white; for the fine Linen is the Righteousness of Saints. And he saith unto me, Write; Blessed are they which are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb It is with Respect to this her Marriage Supper that she, from the Motion of the Spirit of the Lamb in her, says Come. So that you are invited on all Hands; all conspire to call you. God the Father invites you: This is the King that has made a Marriage for his Son; and he sends forth his Servants the Ministers of the Gospel, to invite the Guests. And the Son himself invites you: It is he that speaks. Revelation 22:17. And let him that heareth, say come; and let him that is athirst come: and whosoever will, let him come. He tells us who he is in the foregoing Verse. I Jesus, the Root and Offspring of David, the bright and morning Star. And God's Ministers invite you, and all the Church invites you; and there will be Joy in the Presence of the Angels of God, that Hour that you accept of the Invitation.

5. Consider what a doleful Company that will be that be left after this extraordinary Time of Mercy is over. We have Reason to think that there will be a Number left. We read that when Ezekiel's healing Waters increased so abundantly, and the healing Effect of them was so very general; yet there were certain Places where the Waters came, that never were healed. Ezekiel 47:9, 10-11. And it shall come to pass, that every Thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the Rivers come, shall live. And there be a very great Multitude of Fish, because these Waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed, and every Thing shall live, whither the River cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the Fishers shall stand upon it, from En-gedi, even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a Place to spread forth Nets: There Fish shall be according to their Kinds, as the Fish of the Great Sea, exceeding many. But the miry Places thereof, and the Marshes thereof, shall not be healed, they shall be given to Salt. And even in the Apostles Times, when there was such wonderful Success of the Gospel, yet wherever they came there were some that did not believe. Acts 13:48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the Word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal Life believed. And Chapter 28:24 And some believed, and some believed not. So we have no Reason to expect, but there will be some left amongst us. It is to be hoped it will be but a small Company: But what a doleful Company will it be! How darkly and awfully will it look upon them! If you shall be of that Company, how well may your Friends and Relations lament over you, and bemoan your dark and dangerous Circumstances! If you would not be one of them, make haste, delay not, and look not behind you. Shall all Sorts obtain, shall every one press into the Kingdom of God, while you stay loitering behind in a doleful, undone Condition? Shall every one take Heaven, while you remain with no other Portion but this World? Now take up that Resolution, that if it be possible you cleave to them that have fled for Refuge to lay hold of the Hope set before them. Count the cost of a thorough, violent and perpetual Pursuit of Salvation, and forsake all, as Ruth forsook her own Country, and all her pleasant Enjoyment in it. Don't do as Orpha did; who set out, and then was discouraged, and went back: But hold out with Ruth through all Discouragement and Opposition. When you consider others, that have chosen the better Part, let that Resolution be ever firm with you, Where thou goest I will go; where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy People shall be my People, and thy God my God.

Application.

I will use what has been said to urge sinners toward this resolution, with respect to those among us who have recently turned to God and joined themselves to the flock of Christ. Through God's abundant mercy and grace to us in this place, many of you who are still without Christ can now say that people who were formerly with you in that condition have recently left you behind. Some of the people you used to spend time with have recently abandoned a life of sin and the service of Satan. They have turned to God, fled to Christ, and joined themselves to the blessed company that is with Him. They were formerly with you in sin and misery, but now they are no longer with you in that condition or way of life. They have changed and have fled from the wrath to come. They have chosen a life of holiness here and the enjoyment of God in the life to come. They were formerly your partners in bondage and were with you in Satan's work, but now you no longer have their company in these things. Many of you have watched people living under the same roof turn away from being with you in sin to join the people of Jesus Christ. Some of you who are husbands have had your wives turn; some of you who are wives have had your husbands; some of you who are children have had your parents; and some parents have had your children. Many of you have had your brothers and sisters, many your close neighbors and acquaintances and special friends, and many of you who are young have had your companions. Many of you have had these people -- with whom you were so closely connected -- leave you and forsake the miserable life and wretched condition that you still continue in. God, by His good pleasure and wonderful grace, has recently caused multitudes in this place to leave their old homes in the land of Moab, under the gods of Moab, and travel into the land of Israel to take refuge under the wings of the Lord God of Israel. Even though you and they have been closely related, lived together, or spent much time in close friendship, they have been taken and you have so far been left behind! Do not let this be the foundation of a permanent separation! Instead, follow them earnestly. Be firm in your determination. Do not do as Orpah did, who at first seemed willing to follow Naomi but turned back when she saw the difficulty of it. Instead, say as Ruth said: I will not leave you, but where you go I will go. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Say what she said and do what she did. Consider the excellence of their God and their Savior, the happiness of their people, the blessed state they are in, and the miserable state you are in.

You who are older sinners and have lived long in the service of Satan -- you have recently seen some who were with you, who traveled with you in the paths of sin for many years, who enjoyed great opportunities and advantages with you, who received calls and warnings with you, who lived through remarkable seasons of the pouring out of God's Spirit in this place with you, who hardened their hearts and held out with you, and who grew old in sin with you. You have seen some of them turning to God. That is, you have seen the kind of evidence in them from which you can reasonably conclude this is so. Do not let this be a permanent separation! You have been together this long in sin and under condemnation. Let it be your firm resolution to be with them still, if at all possible, now that they are in a holy and happy state. Resolve to go with them into the holy and pleasant land.

Some of you say you have been seeking salvation for many years -- though no doubt in a poor, half-hearted way compared to what you should have done. You have seen some who were in the same situation, who were old sinners and longtime seekers like you, finally receive mercy. God recently stirred them from their sluggishness and caused them to change their approach. He put them on more serious efforts, and now, after so long, they have heard God's voice and fled for refuge to the Rock of Ages. Let this stir up earnestness and determination in you. Resolve that you will not leave them behind.

You who are young -- how many people your own age have you recently seen choose God as their God and Christ as their Savior! You followed them in sin and perhaps followed them into foolish company. Will you not now follow them to Christ?

And you who are children -- there have recently been some your age who have repented of their sins, loved the Lord Jesus Christ, trusted in Him, and become God's children, as we have reason to hope. Let this stir you up to do your best to seek and cry out to God, that the same change may be made in your hearts, so that their people may be your people and their God your God.

You who are great sinners and have made yourselves especially guilty by the wicked practices you have lived in -- there are some among you who have recently, as we have reason to hope, had their hearts broken over sin. They have forsaken it, trusted in the blood of Christ for the pardon of it, chosen a holy life, and taken up the ways of wisdom. Let this stir and encourage you to hold on to them with determination and to earnestly follow them. Here, consider the following things.

1. Your soul is just as precious as theirs. It is immortal, just like theirs. It needs happiness just as much, and it can bear eternal misery no better than theirs. You were by nature in the same miserable condition they were in, with the same wrath of God hanging over you. You must stand before the same Judge, who will be just as strict with you as with them. Your own righteousness will be no more useful before Him than theirs. Therefore, you stand in just as absolute a need of a Savior as they do. Worldly confidence can serve your purposes no better than it served theirs. This world and its pleasures cannot make you happy without God and Christ any more than it could make them happy. When the Bridegroom comes, the foolish virgins need oil just as much as the wise ones do, Matthew 25 at the beginning.

2. Unless you follow them in turning to God, their conversion will be the foundation of an eternal separation between you and them. You will have different loyalties and vastly different conditions as long as you live -- they the children of God, and you the children of Satan. You will be separated in the next world too. When you come to die, there will be a vast divide between you. Luke 16:26: And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there cross over to us. You will also be separated at the day of judgment. You will be separated at Christ's first appearance in the clouds of heaven. While they are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and be with Him forever, you will remain below, confined to this cursed ground that is stored up and reserved for fire against the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly people. You will appear separated from them as you stand before the great judgment seat -- they at the right hand, while you are placed at the left. Matthew 25:32-33: And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on His right hand but the goats on the left. You will then appear in vastly different circumstances. While you stand with devils, bearing the image and ugliness of devils, in unspeakable horror and dread, they will appear in glory, sitting on thrones as co-judges with Christ, passing sentence upon you. 1 Corinthians 6:2. What shame and confusion will cover you then, when so many of your peers, equals, neighbors, relatives, and companions are honored and openly acknowledged by the glorious Judge of the universe and Redeemer of saints! You will see them sitting with Him in such glory, while it becomes clear that you neglected your salvation, failed to use your opportunities, and rejected the Lord Jesus Christ -- the very One who will then appear as your great Judge. You will be the subject of such wrath and, as it were, trampled down in eternal disgrace and contempt. Daniel 12:2: Some shall rise to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. What a vast separation the sentence passed and carried out that day will create between you and them! When you are sent away from the presence of the Judge with anger and disgust as vile and loathsome creatures, they will be warmly welcomed and invited into His glory as His dear friends and the blessed of His Father! When you, along with that enormous crowd of wicked and cursed people and devils, descend with bitter cries and horrifying screams into that dreadful pit of fire and sulfur, swallowed up in that great and everlasting furnace -- they will joyfully ascend with Christ, with sweet songs of glory and praise, together with that beautiful and blessed company of saints and angels, into eternal happiness in the glorious presence of God and the sweet embrace of His love. You and they will spend eternity in such a separation, in immensely different circumstances! And all of this despite how closely you were connected, how nearly related you were, how you lived together, how intimately acquainted you were, and how much you enjoyed each other's company in this world! After you spent so long together, each of you ruining yourselves, increasing your guilt, and piling up wrath -- will their wise decision to change their minds, change their course, and choose such happiness for themselves now become the beginning of such a vast and everlasting separation between you and them? How dreadful it will be to be separated like this!

3. Consider the great encouragement God gives you to earnestly strive for the same blessing others have received. There is great encouragement in the word of God for sinners to seek salvation -- in the revelation of the abundant provision made for the salvation of even the worst of sinners, in the many means God has appointed for sinners to use toward their salvation, and in the blessing God promises to connect with those means. Because of this, there is great encouragement for everyone, at all times, who will be serious about using these means. But now God gives extraordinary encouragement through His providence by pouring out His Spirit so remarkably among us and saving all kinds of people -- young and old, rich and poor, wise and foolish, morally upright and openly sinful, self-righteous seekers and reckless livers. No group is excluded. Right now, among us, there is the loudest call, the greatest encouragement, and the widest open door for sinners to escape from a state of sin and condemnation that God has perhaps ever granted in New England. Who has an immortal soul and is foolish enough not to seize such an opportunity? Who will not put forth all their strength now? How unreasonable is laziness, and how out of place is discouragement at a time like this! Will you be so foolish as to neglect your soul now? Will any mortal among us be so unreasonable as to lag behind or shrink back in discouragement when God opens such a door? Let every single person be completely alert! Let everyone take courage now to press forward and run for their life!

4. Consider how earnestly those who have received salvation want you to follow them, so that their people will be your people and their God your God. They want you to share in the great good that God has given them and in the unspeakable and eternal blessedness He has promised them. They wish and long for it. If you do not go with them and remain in their company, it will not be because they are unwilling, but because you are. What Moses said to Hobab is the same message every true saint among your acquaintances speaks to you. Numbers 10:29: We are journeying to the place of which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come with us, and we will do you good, for the Lord has spoken good things concerning Israel. Just as Moses, while on his journey through the wilderness following the pillar of cloud and fire, invited Hobab -- someone he knew well and was closely related to -- out of the land of Midian where Moses had formerly lived with him, to go with him and his people to Canaan and share in the good God had promised them, so your friends and acquaintances invite you out of a land of darkness and wickedness where they once lived with you, to go with them to the heavenly Canaan. The company of saints, the true Church of Christ, invites you. The lovely Bride calls you to the marriage supper. She has the authority to invite guests to her own wedding. You should see her invitation and desire as the call of Christ the Bridegroom, for it is the voice of His Spirit in her. Revelation 22:17: The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. This seems to refer to what had been said in Chapter 19:7, 8, 9: The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was granted to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is for this marriage supper that the Bride, moved by the Spirit of the Lamb within her, says Come. So you are invited from every direction. Everyone is calling you. God the Father invites you. He is the King who has prepared a wedding for His Son, and He sends out His servants, the ministers of the Gospel, to invite the guests. The Son Himself invites you. He is the One who speaks. Revelation 22:17: And let the one who hears say, Come. And let the one who is thirsty come. And whoever is willing, let him come. He tells us who He is in the preceding verse. I, Jesus, am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and morning Star. God's ministers invite you, the whole Church invites you, and there will be joy in the presence of the angels of God the very hour that you accept the invitation.

5. Consider what a sorrowful group those will be who are left behind after this extraordinary season of mercy is over. We have reason to believe that some will be left. We read that when Ezekiel's healing waters increased so abundantly and their healing effect was so widespread, there were still certain places where the waters came but healing never happened. Ezekiel 47:9, 10-11: And it shall come to pass that everything that lives and moves, wherever the rivers come, shall live. And there will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come there; for they shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes. And it shall come to pass that fishermen will stand along it from En-gedi to Eneglaim. It will be a place for spreading nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. Even in the Apostles' times, when the Gospel had such amazing success, wherever they went there were some who did not believe. Acts 13:48: And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And Chapter 28:24: And some believed, and some did not believe. So we have no reason to expect that everyone among us will be saved. Some will be left. We can hope it will only be a small group. But what a sorrowful group it will be! How dark and terrifying their situation will appear! If you are part of that group, your friends and relatives will have every reason to grieve and mourn over your dark and dangerous circumstances! If you do not want to be one of them, hurry. Do not delay, and do not look back. Will every type of person find salvation? Will everyone else press into the kingdom of God while you linger behind in a miserable, ruined condition? Will everyone else take hold of Heaven while you are left with nothing but this world as your portion? Now make this resolution: if it is at all possible, you will hold on to those who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them. Count the cost of a thorough, passionate, and lifelong pursuit of salvation, and give up everything, just as Ruth gave up her own country and all its pleasant comforts. Do not do as Orpah did, who started out but then became discouraged and went back. Instead, hold firm with Ruth through every discouragement and obstacle. When you consider others who have chosen the better part, let this resolution always be firm within you: Where you go, I will go; where you stay, I will stay; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.