in time and through eternity. Now, the hardness and difficulty of believing and accepting of this noble offer, does not ly in fome great work that you have not power to do, for faith and works are oppofite here; believing is not working: He that believeth, is he that worketh not, but believeth on him that juftifies the ungodly, Rom. iv. 5. but the difficulty rather lies in fome great worth, and apprehended good, that you have no will to quit, till a day of power make you willing; fuch as, your own wit and wisdom, which you oppofe unto Chrift as a Prophet; your own works and righteoufnefs, which you oppose unto Chrift as a Prieft; your own ftrength and power, together with your own felf-love and fin-love, which you oppofe unto Chrift as a King. In receiving this offer, the man not only quits his fin and luft, which is very hard; but quits his righteoufnefs and works, which is yet harder. Need I to explain this, for preventing miflakes, in this critical age and day of reproach ? When I fpeak of quitting our works, I mean, a quitting them, not in point of performance, but in point of dependence; it is a quitting of the law, not as a rule of obedience, but as a rule of acceptance, or as a covenant of works. Now, I fay, it is the hardest of all for a man to quit his works and righteoufnefs, and have no hope of any favour or acceptance with God for them; for the light of nature will tell him, that he fhould quit his fins; but the light of nature, and the remainders of the legal covenant in him, will never tell him that he fhould quit his works and righteoufnefs; nay, it will tell him, on the quite contrary, that he muft do, or be damned; that he muft do and live; and work fo and fo well, and God will accept of him. This is the way of the covenant of works, the natural way; and to quit that way is right hard, fo as to venture all upon the works of another, the righteoufnefs of another; Indeed it is not fo hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, with his bunch on his back, as for a rich man; I mean, one that is rich in his own conceit, rich and increased with goods, and standing in need of nothing; nay, it is impoffible for him with his bunch of duties and works of righteoufnefs on his back, to enter into heaven. Some by the needle

eye

eye understand the wicket of the gate of Jerufalem, no camel with his burden could go in; fo it is here. Others, by the camel, understand a cart-rope, as they think the word we tranflate camel, may be rendered; and as a cart-rope cannot go thro' the eye of a needle, unless it be untwifted, and put through the needle's eye, thread by thread; neither will any get to heaven, unless the cart-rope of his righteoufnefs be untwifted and diffolved piece-meal; for otherwife his cart-rope will be fit for nothing, but cafting anchor on the fandy bank of the law, where his veffel will be broken to pieces, and his foul will fink into the fea of God's wrath: for, By the deeds of the law, no fefb living can be justified.

So that, I fay, the difficulty here lies not fo much in fome great thing that you have not power to do, but in fome great thing that you have not will to undo: and fo the greatest knack of true religion lies in being made willing; and the great power of God is neceflary for that end; "Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power;" and when this day of power comes, then, to receive the offer of Chrift for the ends for which he is offered, becomes as eafy as ever before it was hard; why, the offer takes hold of the man's heart, and the offering hand takes hold of the receiving hand: like a child, that never had a pen in his hand, and cannot write a word, the father takes the child's hand within his, and leads it; fo here, the Lord takes the man's hand, and leads it to write down his name, to fign the offer, faying, I accept.

Now, what fhall we fay? Is there any here to whom the offer is come with power? The external difpenfation of this gofpel, and revelation of this offer, make it the unquestionable duty of every one of you to accept and receive it; but it is the internal effectual revelation of it only, that will determine you actually to accept and receive it freely, without money, and without price: without terms and conditions on your fide; renouncing all the good qualifications you dreamed of having to recommend you to him, and coming to him for all; like a black and ugly monfter coming to accept of an offer that can make you fair and clean. It is an offer of all

me.

things in Chrift; and nothing makes it hard and uneafy but yourself, that you will not quit an all, that is nothing, and take an all, that is all things. The natural man finds it hard, because it is a quitting all the good that he has; but the enlightened foul finds it easy, because it is just a taking all the good that he wants; and when he is taking all things in Chrift, he does not find it hard to quit all in himfelf: why, he fees all things lofs and dung, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift; and when he fees that, he finds it is not hard to relinquish a heap of jewels, and a pearl of infinitely great price in the midst of them. O! is there any here welcoming God's offer? Here is his offering hand, where is your receiving hand? Here is the hand of grace offering, where is the hand of faith accepting? Is any here taking God's offer off his hand? Do you fee the offer is to you; to you, man; to you, woman; whether young or old? "To you is the word of this falvation sent." The greater gift it is that is offered to you, the lefs will you be ready to take, as long as you think, it cannot be to But to you, I fay, it is, man, woman; whoever you are, the promife is to you; the offer is to you, be who you will.-Now, are you receiving, are you taking God's offer? Why, if you be doing fo, it is eafy, through grace, to know that you are doing fo. How do you know when you are taking a gift that a man offers you, in an outward fenfe? The man holds it out in his hand, faying, Take it; and if you receive, then you hold out your hand to his, faying, Content, I will take it or, if your hand be fhort, and cannot reach his, yet you will hold it out in teftimony of your acceptance, faying, Well, come and give it. So here, in a fpiritual fenfe, if you be taking God's offer off his hand, then your heart will be determined to fay, Content, Lord; even fo I take the unspeakable gift that thou offereft: or, if your hand be fhort, or withered, that you think you cannot get the offer embraced as you would, yet you will be stretching out heart and hand as you can, faying, Come, Lord, and give what thou offereft; even a whole Chrift to be wifdom, righteousness, fanctification, redemption, and all to me. O! is this the lan

guage

guage of your foul, I have nothing, but let Chrift come and be all to me; I can do nothing, but let Christ come and do all for me; I have a world of felf-enmity, and innumerable evils, that oppofe Chrift within me, but let Christ come in and put all to the door that hold him out; I cannot take him, but let him take me, and take my bleffing for ever? Why, if that were the language of your heart and foul, I hope there hath been fome fecret power working in you to make you thus far to receive the offer of God.And thus I have confidered the offer which the receiving of Christ relates unto. Now, I told you that as to this act of receiving we would confider what it relates to, and what it confifts in. Having then thewed what it relates to, namely, the offer, I come to fhew,

2dly, What it confifts in. Here I need not tell you, that receiving and believing are all one, according to John i. 12.; and this believing is not a mere notional perfuafion, or dogmatical opinion concerning Chrift; for that is too flight a thing to be accounted a receiving of Chrift; but this receiving of Christ,

(1.) In general, to exprefs it in a word, if poffible, it may be called (as one of our renowned commentators expreffes it) a fiducial knowledge; that is, fuch a knowledge of Chrift as leads the foul to an affured confidence in him. Our Shorter Catechifm defines faith to be, a receiving of Chrift, and refting on him, for falvation, as he is offered in the gofpel. And this refting is not fo much a different act from that of receiving, as it is a continuation of that act of receiving; for when we receive him for falvation we begin our refting on him; and when we rest upon him for falvation, we continue our receiving of him, or believing in him. The reception is the rest begun; and the refting, is the reception continued. And therefore whatever application of Chrift is imported in refting on him, the fame is imported in receiving of him. Chrift is offered to every one in particular, that hear the gofpel; fo it is the duty of every one to receive the offer by applying Christ to himself, for his own particular good, benefit, and falvation. I could here lay before you feveral terms or expreffions whereby this faith,

And as

or

things in Chrift; and nothing m

but yourself, that
and take an all, that

finds it hard, ber

he has; but th

it is just a tal

he is taking to quit all dung, for

when h heap e

the God

rec

W

you

fcripture, but of Chrift is "

will r

to a man's.

mole fout, to.

a

clofe with Chrift for as he is offered in

myfelf; and therefore I remyfelf, according to the of

"and to the language of faith is, Here is

7 tak by God to me.

cete Card by lalvation to.

fer, and that with my whole heart and foul; for,

the heart man

"With

lieveth unto righteoufnefs: My heart helped," faid the pfalmift. Some

trulted in him, and I am.

exclude from the nature of faith that perfuafion which yet make faith to be only an act of the will, that they may cannot be excluded. In oppofition to fuch we affert, foul; the understanding, will, and affections: and hence thefe and the like fcriptures, make faith to be an act of

That, according to

the foul, Pfal. Ivii. 2.

thee."

nent

fcripture, faith is an act of the whole

66

"O my God, my foul trufteth in Pfalm xvi. 2. "O my foul, thou haft faid unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord. O my foul, wait thou only maketh her boaft in the Lord. My foul thirfteth for the upon God, for my expectation is from him. My foul living God. Return to thy reft, O my foul." All emiexpreffions of faith. Now, I fay, this receiving of Chrift is the foul's clofing with him; the foul's going out toward him; or going in to him as offered, fo as to become one with him. As you fee how grafts are knit to the ftock, fo as to become one with the stock, and one in the ftock, or else it cannot live in a vegetative manner; fo the foul is by faith knit and unite to Chrift, the root, to be one with him, and one in him: for true faith fo clofes with Chrift, as not merely to have a Chrift without the man, but a Chrift within him; and therefore the foul by faith, goes in to Chrift, fo as not only to unload his debt, and leave his fin and guilt upon him, but also to furrender himself into his poffeffion and property.

But that I may further open up this act of receiving Christ, I would,

(2.) And more particularly confider the nature thereof, in the following qualities of it.

1. This act of receiving Chrift is a spiritual act, in oppofition to all natural acts done by natural wit and

ftrength: