4. Tho thou art a great sinner yet thou art not a sinner in hell; thou art a sinner upon earth still. And there is this difference betwixt sinners upon earth, and sinners in hell; that the first are yet under hope, while the others are past it. It is thy great misery, that thou art yet among the unconverted; but 'tis great mercy, that thou art not among the damned. The place in which thou yet art, is the place of repentance, and not of punishment. We must look upon no sinners as past hope, that are not past this life: Why, thou livest yet; Christ hath not denounced the final sentence against thee; thou hast not yet stood before his Judgment-seat, and heard him say to thee, Depart thou cursed into everlasting fire. What is the patience and long-suffering of God towards thee for, but to show thee that they condition is yet recoverable? 2 Pet. 3:9. It is enough to answer thy despairing thoughts, to tell thee, that yet the Lord waits to be gracious. Dost thou not see how God doth lengthen out the thread of thy life day after day? He could snatch thee away in an instant, but yet he continues thee where thou hast Calls, and Means, and Opportunities for the good of thy Soul. Why, 'tis not thus with those that are in Hell; they are beyond all help, and beyond all hope; but thou art not, through the riches of the goodness of God. The great thing that thou wantest, is but a heart to know the things of thy Peace, in the day of thy Visitation.
Nathanael Ball, Spiritual Bondage and Freedom (London: Printed for Jonathan Robinson, at the Golden Lion in St. Pauls Church-yard, 1683), 88–89.
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