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amending, will do the cure; these must be attended to, but thou art undone if thou restest in them. Thou art a lost man, if thou hopest to escape drowning on any other plank but Jesus Christ. Thou must unlearn thyself, and renounce thine own wisdom, thine own righteousness, thine own strength, and throw thyself wholly upon Christ, as a man that swims casts himself upon the water, or else thou canst not escape. While men trust in themselves, and establish their own righteousness, and have confidence in the flesh, they'll not come savingly to Christ. Can the lifeless carcase loose the bands of death? Then mayest thou recover thyself, who art dead in trespasses and sins, and under an impossibility of serving thy Maker acceptably in this condition. Therefore when thou goest, to pray, or meditate, or to do any of the duties to which thou art here directed, call in the help of the Spirit, as despairing to do any thing pleasing to God in thine own strength; yet neglect not thy duty, but lie at the pool, and wait in the way of the Spirit. Strive to give up thyself to Christ; strive to pray, strive to meditate, strive a hundred and a hundred times, try to do it as well as thou canst; and whilst thou art endeavouring in the way of thy duty, the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and help thee to do what of thyself thou art utterly unable to perform, Prov. i. 23.

Direct. V. Forthwith renounce all thy sins. If thou yield thyself to the practice of any sin, thou art undone. In vain dost thou hope for life by Christ, except thou depart from iniquity. Forsake thy sins, or else thou canst not find mercy. Thou canst not be married to Christ, except divorced from sin: give up the traitor, or you can have no peace in heaven. Cast the head of Sheba over the wall: keep not Delilah in thy lap. Thou must part with thy sins or with thy soul: spare but one sin, and God will not spare thee. Never make excuses; thy sins must die, or thou must die for them. If thou allow of one sin, though but a little, a secret one, though thou mayest plead necessity, and have a hundred shifts and excuses for it, the life of thy

soul must go for the life of that sin. And will it not be dearly bought?

O sinner! hear and consider: If thou wilt part with thy sins, God will give thee his Christ. Is not this a fair exchange? I testify unto thee this day, that if thou perish, 'tis not because there was never a Saviour provided, nor life tendered, but because thou preferedst (with the Jews) the murderer before thy Saviour, sin before CHRIST, and lovest darkness rather than light. Labour therefore to find out thy sins, enter into thy closet, and consider, What evil have I lived in? What duty have I neglected towards God? What sin have I lived in against my brother? And now strike the dart through the heart of thy sin, as Joab did through Absalom's. Never stand looking upon thy sin, nor rolling the morsel under thy tongue; but spit it out as poison, with fear and detestation. Alas! what will thy sins do for thee, that thou shouldst stagger at parting with them? They will flatter thee; but they'll undo and cut thy throat while they smile upon thee, and poison thee while they please thee, and arm the justice and wrath of the infinite God against thee. They will open hell for thee, and pile up fuel to burn thee. Away with them, crucify them, and let Christ only be Lord over thee.

Direct. VI. Make a solemn choice of God for thy blessedness. With all possible devotion and veneration avouch the Lord for thy God. Set the world, with all its glory, with all its pleasures and promotions, on the one hand; and set God, with all his infinite excellencies on the other; and see that thou deliberately make thy choice. Take up thy rest in God; sit thee under his shadow; let his promises and perfections turn the scale against all the world. Settle it upon thy heart, that the Lord is an all-sufficient portion, that thou canst not be miserable whilst thou hast God to live upon take him for thy shield, and exceeding great reward. GOD alone is more than all the world. Content thyself with him; let others carry the preferments, the riches, and glory, of the world; place thou thy happiness in his favour, and the light of his coun

tenance. Take him as God, to be the chief in thy affections, estimations, intentions, for he will not endure to have any set above him. In a word, thou must take him in all his personal relations, and in all his essential perfections.

First, In all his personal relations. God the Father must be taken for thy Father. O come to him with the prodigal: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am not worthy to be called thy son: but since of thy wonderful mercy thou art pleased to take me, that am of myself a dog, a swine, a devil, to be a child, I solemnly take thee for my Father, commend myself to thy care, and trust to thy providence, and cast my burden on thy shoulders. I renounce all confidence in myself, I repose my confidence in thee.— Again, God the Son must be taken for thy Saviour, for thy Redeemer, and Righteousness. He must be ac cepted as the only way to the Father, and the only means of life. Lastly, God the Spirit must be taken for thy Sanctifier, for thy Advocate, thy Counsellor, thy Comforter, the Teacher of thy ignorance, the pledge and earnest of thy inheritance.

Secondly, In all his essensial perfections. Consider, how the Lord hath revealed himself to you in his word: will you take him as such a God? O sinuer, here's the most blessed news that ever came to the sons of men, The Lord will be thy God, Gen. xvii. 7. Rev. xxi. 3. if thou wilt but close with him in his excellencies. Wilt thou have the merciful, the gracious, the sin-pardoning God, to be thy God? O yes, (saith the sinner) I am undone else. But the Father tells thee, I am the holy and sin-hating God; if thou wilt be owned as one of my people, thou must be holy, 1 Pet. i. 16. holy in heart, holy in life, thou must put away all thy iniquities, be they ever so near, ever so natural, ever so necessary to the maintaining thy fleshly lusts. Unless thou wilt be at defiance with sin, I cannot be thy God. What doth thine heart answer?" Lord, I desire to have thee as such a God: I desire to be holy as thou art holy, to be made partaker of thy holiness. I love thee not only for thy goodness and mercy, but

for thy holiness and purity. I take thy holiness for my happiness; O be to me a fountain of holiness; set on me the stamp and impress of thy holiness; I will thankfully part with all my sins at thy command: my wilful sins I do forthwith forsake; and for mine infirmities, I will strive against them in the use of the means; I detest them, and will pray against them, and never let them have quiet rest in my soul." Beloved, whosoever of you will thus accept of the Lord for his God, shall have him.

Again he tells you, I am the all-sufficient God, Gen. xvii. 1. Will you lay all at my feet, and give it up to my disposal, and take me for your only portion? Will you own and honour my All-sufficiency? Will you take me as your happiness and treasure, your hope and bliss? I am a sun and a shield; all in one: will you have me for your all? Gen. vi. 1. If thou art willing to sell all for the pearl of great price-if thine heart answer, "Lord, I desire no other portion but thee; take the corn and the wine, and the oil, whosoever will, so I may have the light of thy countenance; I pitch upon thee for my happiness, I gladly venture myself on thee, and trust myself with thee; I set my hopes in thee, I take up my rest with thee: let me hear thee say, I am thy God, thy salvation, and I have enough, all I wish for; I will make no terms with thee, but for thyself: let me but have thee sure, let me be able to make my claim, and see my title to thyself, and for other things I leave them to thee; give me more or less, any thing or nothing. I will be satisfied in my God." Take him thus, and see he is thy own.

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Direct. VII. Accept of the Lord Jesus in all his offices, with all his inconveniences, as thine. Upon these terms Christ may be had. Sinner, thou hast undone thyself, and art plunged into the most deplorable misery, out of which thou art never able to climb up; but Jesus Christ is able and ready to help thee, and he freely tenders himself to thee. Be thy sins ever so many, ever so great, or of ever so long continuance, yet thou shalt be certainly pardoned and saved, if thou

dost not wretchedly neglect the offer that in the name of God is here made to thee. The Lord Jesus calleth to thee; look to him, and be saved. Yea, he is a suitor to thee, and beseecheth thee to be reconciled. He crieth in the streets, he knocketh at thy door, he wooeth thee to accept of him, and live with him. If thou diest, 'tis because thou would not come to him for life.

Direct. VIII. Resign up all thy powers and faculties, and thy whole interest, to be his. They gave their own selves unto the Lord, 2 Cor. viii. 5. Present Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. The Lord seeks not yours, but you; resign therefore thy body, with all its members, to him; and thy soul, with all its powers; that he may be glorified in thy body, and in thy spirit, which are his, 1 Cor. vi. 20. In a right closure with Christ, all thy faculties give up to him. The judgment subscribes, Lord, thou art worthy of all acceptation, chief of ten thousand; happy is the man that finds thee. All the things that are to be desired, are not to be compared with thee, Prov. iii. 13, 15. The understanding lays aside its corrupt reasonings and cavils, and its prejudices against Christ and his ways. 'Tis now past questioning, and carries it for Christ against all the world. It concludes 'tis good to be here; and sees such a treasure in his field, such a value in his pearl, as it is worth all, Matt. viii. 44. "O here's the best bargain that ever I made, here is the richest prize that ever man was offered; here is the most sovereign remedy that ever mercy prepared; he's worthy of my esteem, worthy of my choice, worthy of my love, worthy to be embraced, adored, admired for evermore, Rev. v. 12. I approve of his articles; his terms are righteous and reasonable, full of equity and mercy." Again, the will resigns: it stands no longer wavering, nor wishing and woulding, but is peremptorily determined: "Lord, thy love hath overcome me, thou hast won me, and thou shalt have me: come in, Lord; to thee I freely open, I consent to be saved in thine own way. Thou shalt have any thing, nay, have all, let me have but thee." The memory gives

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