ul for heaven, hath his heart full of heart-choking and
soul-damning sin.

Slothfulness hath these two evils: first, to neglect the time in which
it should be getting heaven; and by that means doth, in the second
place, bring in untimely repentance. I will warrant you, that he who
should lose his soul in this world through slothfulness, will have no
cause to be glad thereat, when he comes to hell. Slothfulness is
usually accompanied with carelessness; and carelessness is for the
most part begotten by senselessness; and senselessness doth again put
fresh strength into slothfulness; and by this means the soul is left
remediless. Slothfulness shutteth out Christ; slothfulness shameth the
soul.

Slothfulness is condemned even by the feeblest of all the creatures.
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise." "The
sluggard will not plow, by reason of the cold;" that is, he will not
break up the fallow ground of his heart, because there must be some
pains taken by him that will do it; "therefore he shall beg in
harvest;" that is, when the saints of God shall have their glorious
heaven and happiness given to them; but the sluggard "shall have
nothing;" that is, be never the better for his crying for mercy;
according to that in Matthew xxv. 10-12.

If you would know a sluggard in the things of heaven, compare him with
one that is slothful in the things of this world. As 1. He that is
slothful is loath to set about the work he should follow; so is he
that is slothful for heaven. 2. He that is slothful, is one that is
willing to make delays: so is he that is slothful for heaven. 3. He
that is a sluggard, any small matter that cometh in between, he will
make it a sufficient excuse to keep him off from plying his work; so
it is also with him that is slothful for heaven. 4. He that is
slothful doeth his work by the halves: and so it is with him that is
slothful for heaven. He may almost, but he shall never altogether,
obtain perfection of deliverance from hell; he may almost, but he
shall never (without he mend) be altogether a saint. 5. They that are
slothful do usually lose the season in which things are to be done:
and thus it is also with them that are slothful for heaven; they miss
the seasons of grace. And therefore, 6. They that are slothful have
seldom, or never, good fruit; so also it will be with the
soul-sluggard. 7. They that are slothful, are chid for the same: so
also will Christ deal with those th