care to difcharge what is charged: So I fay in this cafe. Haft thou known fuch dayes?and have there been fuch offers?and haft thou made fuch refufalls? do thou fo no more. You fhal find this cleerely in Heb. 3. 9. 15. Where the Apoftle intimates that God wil beare with men as he did with the Ifralites forty yeares in the wilderness: He wil give them a time after al their refufalls of him in which, if they accept, they fhal have falvation. To day if you wil beare his voice, harden not your bearts, as your fathers did, who grieved me forty yeares in the wilderneß. The Holy Ghoft doth prefs them upon this ground, because they had deferred it long, like unto their fathers in the wilderness, therefore that they would not deferre it a day, but beleeve on the Lord Jefus Chrift. Do not harden your hearts, fo much as to forbeare a day: This day, before it goes over thy head. Nay this houre as foon as thou goeft from the ordinance, take thy foul and fay, foul, is not this the word which God fpake many yeares, and which thou continually putreft off. Oh patience that would forbeare me! and Oh mercy that would be fo kind! Oh Soul, do not delay! Let my fins be never fo many, and beleeving be never fo great a work, yet I wil not difpute I wil not forbeare. This is al the time that thou haft to beleeve in.

And Confider that God wil take it as a glory to him, For thee to take him when thou haft tryed al other meanes: when thou haft fucked other means, and findeft nothing in them, that thou wilt come and lay thy mouth at his breaft of Confolation through Jefus Chrift. Although this hath been a difhonour to him that thou wouldeft not come to him fooner, yet he wil put this interpretation on it, that thou doft come to acknowledg more in him, then

then thou doft in al the world befides.

It is not

felf love neither, when thou feeft in him that which thou feeft in nothing but himself. And thou fhalt not be refused. The wanderings of the children of Ifrael in the wildernefs, and their unbeleife, was a meanes to cut many of them off from entring into the land which God prepared from them. And fo God might justly when men are fo unfatisfyed, leave them to their unfatisfa&tion: And when they wil do nothing but doubt, leave them to their doubtings. He might fay, fuch times have I fhewed my kindness to you, and you would refufe it, I wil fhew it to you no more. You fhal dye without fetling of your fpirits, if you be converted : but if you be not converted, you fhal never have it more. But he wil not do 1o. For in John, 6. God gave Chrift commandment that he fhould not reject any that comes to him. Look on thofe words as the feed of life and of faith to many a foul. In verf. 37. All that the father hath given to me, fhall come to me, for this is the fathers wil that fent me, that of all that he hath given me, I should loofe nothing. Mark it. It's not he that comes before he hath run into fin and hypocrifie : For that do&trine were not proper to that auditory, For they were hypocrites that made Chrift to beleeve that they beleeved, and carryed it in their profeffion, for they came to Chrift, but it was for loves: He doth not fay he that comes now or now, but at any time, he that comes to me. There is no time fer, becaufe there is no time fet for the refufal of any when they come. And he faith, this is the end of his comming. That as Abrabam ftood in the door to entertain thofe that paffed by: So Chrift faith to the foul, Oh pore foul, thou haft wandered forry yeares, Come. And thou that haft fortifyed thy foul with al the doubts that Satan could help

·H 2

thee

thee with,Come. And thou that haft gone from me, Come. And do not fay thou wilt come hereafter, but come now. Do not fay, thou haft not come: and therefore thou wilt not take me when I come No, come, and I wil receive thee, faith he: for I can but do what the Father hath laid on me, and this the Father hath laid on me, that al that come unto me, I fhould receive, and loofe none. And look into Ifa. 50. 11. You wil find none thal lye down in forrow, but he that kindles a fire of his own, and lyes down by it. Let a man be in darkness,and fee no light, and be in feare of the law, yet if he wil put away difcomfort, and take comfort from his God and reft upon his God, he fhal fee light. and although his bones may be fore a long while, yet he fhal lye down quietly.

Object. But you wil fay unto me, I do nothing in the world but fin, and is it fin for me not to beleeve? and not to come to Fefus Chrift?

Anfwer. Confider what you have In Rom. 4. 5. To bim that worketh not, but beleeveth on bim that juftifies the ungodly, bis faith is counted to him for righteousneß. Ungodly men therefore you fee are to beleeve. And faith doth not juftify a man or do him good as it is a quality, but as it is a relation, and not as it is that which doth alter the difpofition, but as it is that which doth alter the ftate. A man is an ungodly man according to the Law, when he is righteous by the imputation of the righreoufnefs of Chrift. He is not righteous by any inherent righteoufnefs after he beleeves,but becaufe that God imputes to him al that Chrift hath done. And therefore as Chrift faith in John, 6. 29. If thou wilt work the work of God, beleeve on Jefus Chrift.

CHAP.

CHAP. IV.

The Answer to the former object. continued. 1. Sinners are the object of Fuftification. 2. San&tification is not neceffary to the Effence of Faith 3 When we come to Fefus Chrift, we are not accepted for the dignity of any work we have done. 4. Neither are we received to pardon upon the condition of working for future. 5. The prefence of good works is not neceffary to make Faith faving.

Obje&t. It may be faid by a foul, I do nothing else but fin, The thoughts of my heart are only evil, and that continually: As foon as ever I do but begin to fet my felf and to stirre up my felf to any duty,you would not think wobat Legions of lufts do come forth: Is this a fin in me (that am fuch a one) that I beleeve not?

Ianfwer yes. For firft of al mark it, the object of justification, it is finners. The firft and the maine act of faith is to lay hold on Jefus Chrift for pardon. This makes unbeleife fo great a fin, that Chrift is not accepted to the pardon, or for the pardon of our fins, through beleeving in him when we feel that we are condemned.now this act of faith. is done by an ungodly man as the Apostle speaks in Rom. 4. 5. To him that worketh not but beleeveth on bim that juftifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Jutification, and Sanctification goe together, Though faith, and al other graces are together in regard of time, yet in order of nature, Faith is before them. But we are firft juftified!

juftified and then fanctified. Juftification refpects and regards not any grace in us, but looks upon us as guilty: For its a contradiction you know to pardon one that is innocent: or to forgive hini that doth not owe a debt. He must be a finner that is pardoned.

In juftification God doth nor look upon our grace: no not upon faith in any other refpe&t then as it is that motion of an humble and guilty perfon to himself for holiness,and juftification. No man can be pardoned,but he that is fuppofed to be guilty:fo no man can be juftified,but he that is fuppofed at the fame time by God in that a&t,& in that way of God communicating himself & giving out of himfelf,to be ungodly. It is not the vital and effential act of faith to bring forth good works to fan&tify, to make a man holy: That which is the very life of faith and by which it must be defined, is to go out of a mans felf unto Chrift for pardon and righteoufnefs. When we do beleeve in Jefus Chrift, we are to look upon him in al his offices: But how? Formally, as he is a Prieft: for fo he juftifies and as executing his other offices to this end that we may be holy. It is not our faith upon Jefus Chrift as a King that juftifies, whereby he rules al our corruptions, and fubdues al the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts to the obedience of him: no more then it is our faith upon Chrift as a Prophet that juftifies, whereby he teacheth us and maketh us to know the things of him. So Chrift Juftifies as he fatisfies for us: now that he did as a Prieft by offering up himself as a facrifice to God for us: The high Prieft in the Law was as wel a Judge in the Synedrion and Confiftory (For they were to bring the matters before the prieft that were hard and difficult, and that were to be punished) but the high Prieft did not make attonement for the people

but