hat brought your sins to mind again?

{341} HOPE. Many things; as,

1. If I did but meet a good man in the streets; or,

2. If I have heard any read in the Bible; or,

3. If mine head did begin to ache; or,

4. If I were told that some of my neighbours were sick; or,

5. If I heard the bell toll for some that were dead; or,

6. If I thought of dying myself; or,

7. If I heard that sudden death happened to others;

8. But especially, when I thought of myself, that I must quickly
come to judgment.

{342} CHR. And could you at any time, with ease, get off the guilt
of sin, when by any of these ways it came upon you?

HOPE. No, not I, for then they got faster hold of my conscience;
and then, if I did but think of going back to sin, (though my mind
was turned against it), it would be double torment to me.

CHR. And how did you do then?

HOPE. I thought I must endeavour to mend my life; for else, thought
I, I am sure to be damned.

{343} CHR. And did you endeavour to mend?

HOPE. Yes; and fled from not only my sins, but sinful company too;
and betook me to religious duties, as prayer, reading, weeping for
sin, speaking truth to my neighbours, &c. These things did I, with
many others, too much here to relate.

CHR. And did you think yourself well then?

HOPE. Yes, for a while; but at the last, my trouble came tumbling
upon me again, and that over the neck of all my reformations.

{344} CHR. How came that about, since you were now reformed?

HOPE. There were several things brought it upon me, especially such
sayings as these: "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."
[Isa. 64:6] "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
[Gal. 2:16] "When ye shall have done all those things, say, We are
unprofitable", [Luke 17:10] with many more such like. From whence
I began to reason with myself thus: If ALL my righteousnesses are
filthy rags; if, by the deeds of the law, NO man can be justified;
and if, when we have done ALL, we are yet unprofitable, then it
is but a folly to think of heaven by the law. I further thought
thus: If a man runs a hundred pounds into the shopkeeper's debt,
and after that shall pay for all that he shall fetch; yet, if this
old debt stands still in the book uncrossed, for that the shopkeeper
may sue him, and cast him into prison till he shall pay the debt.

CHR. Well, and how did you apply this to yourself?

HOPE. Why; I thought thus with myself. I have, by m