Blessed Jesus my only and most beloved Saviour here is my whole Heart I resign it entirely unto thee I desire no greater nor no other happiness than that thou wilt be pleased to make it thy Temple the place of thy gracious Residence It is my earnest request and shall be my diligent endeavour to have it cleansed and made pure from every Affection and Inclination which is any way contrary to thy Purity and Holiness O do thou be pleased to give in thy assistance dispose and prepare my Soul to thy own mind and blessed Lord take full possession of me dwell in my Heart and rule over my whole Man Canst thou truly say Lord Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth I desire besides thee Psal 73.25 Do'st thou not desire to know any thing but Jesus Christ and him crucified 1 Cor. 2.2 Do'st thou love Christ more than all the World more than all thy Relations more than all those things which are commonly esteemed the great Endearments of this World yea more than Life it self Luke 14.26 Jesus Christ is very precious unto them who believe 1 Pet. 2.7 Now canst thou for the sake of Christ deny thy Lusts thy Self thy best and most religious Performances Canst thou live for Christ and canst thou suffer yea die for Christ and is Christ above all in thy Heart Thus you have some little account what kind of reception it is the Lord Jesus doth call for or what our receiving Christ doth import It would be too great a digression here to insist on such Considerations as are proper to evince it to be our Interest and that we are under indispensible Obligations to yield up our selves in this manner unto him Much might be said to this purpose from the Excellencies of our Saviour how precious he is in himself how wonderful in his Condescension unto us and what unvaluable Benefits and Advantages do accrue unto Believers from Christ c. But having on other Occasions discoursed of these Matters more distinctly I wave the consideration of them now hastning to what I promised to take notice of in the third place Only by the way we may observe there is not any thing impli'd in what I have said concerning our receiving of Christ which can in the least countenance our refusal or justly discourage us from complying with his Calls and Entreaties And what shall the Eternal God our only Saviour importune us with all earnestness and we harden our selves against him resist and reject him in doing so we shall be uncivil ungrateful to the highest degree impious against God inhumane and barbarous to our power against Christ and actually so to our own Souls we shall be guilty of all that 's Evil of all that can deserve an hateful an ignominious reproachful Name Indeed if Mens ordinary practices did not fully and undeniably evidence that they have no real value for Christ and that they do stubbornly refuse to close with his Calls we might when meditating on this Subject be very apt to imagine and conclude that none could be so undutiful or so forgetful of themselves or so foolish so distractedly-fond and ambitious of Damnation as to purchase it by a stubborn hardening themselves against the powerful affectionate perswasions of the Son of God and a contemptuous despiteful throwing the gracious Offers the very Blood and tenderest Mercies of a loving compassionate Divine Saviour back into his own Face But alas People every where give too many and too frequent Demonstrations in the course of their Lives of their disaffection to Christ and how little influence his Love hath on them For this is certain where Jesus Christ doth reside by his gracious Presence there will be a vigorous and active Principle of Grace and Holiness which will manifest it self in the outward Conversation When Christ is received into the Heart doth settle his Abode there and doth command and govern there that Person with whom it is thus will be possessed with such a lively working Principle of Purity Righteousness and Goodness as will have a most powerful influence on all the parts of his Life It is indeed a very deplorable thing that amongst so many pretenders to Christianity with which the World doth abound is even throng'd and crowded there should be so few who give any serious real attendance to the Voice of Christ who give any tolerable discovery that they have opened their Hearts to receive him III. Let us now therefore in the third place enquire after some of those lets and hindrances which keep our Hearts shut against Christ Many might be mentioned but I will only take a brief notice of these few 1. Carnal Pride and Spiritual Self-conceitedness People are generally very unwilling to believe their condition so bad and helpless as naturally it is It goes against Mens Spirits and Stomachs to think so meanly of themselves as not to be able to do any thing to recover secure and save themselves They would fain find some prop or other in themselves to lean upon Indeed they would be their own Physicians and their own Saviours and are very difficultly driven out of their carnal selfish Confidence They will either please themselves with an opinion that they have no Wound or if they must own that they will find a Plaister for it at Home they cannot in this case endure to go abroad for help Corrupt Nature is very proud we are hardly brought to deny our Selves and to think so meanly of our Selves our Works our Performances our religious Duties as to be willing to be saved purely by free Grace We would fain have some share in this great Work our selves we would have our own Wings to carry us to Heaven At least we would have our own Works and Religious Performances to have some portion of the Glory Men would be contented to have Christ's Hand and Arm to help them out of the Ditch provided they may come out with some credit that though there was a fall and some dirt in the case yet vigor and strength continued and they were able with a very little help to recover themselves Their Power as they will have it was sufficient they only wanted a Staff or Cord to hold by that so they might exert that ability and strength they had in themselves As Pride did at first put Man upon aspiring to be as God so now it doth tempt him to usurp the Honour belonging to the Son of God Man would be his own Saviour yea his own God He cannot endure to stoop to drink of the Waters of Life But as God and Mammon Light and Darkness so Christ and carnal proud Self cannot dwell and agree together When the Gospel was first preached about in the World it was pride and selfishness which did most oppose it and resist Christ Rom. 10.3 They were all for establishing their own Righteousness When the Christian Religion was first recovered from the Superstitions and Darknesses which
the same sense experience and knowledge of his Excellencies they have who do indeed admit him into their Hearts we should have the like Love Zeal and Affection for him which they have Those who have received him do rejoice in and love him They account him the only Joy of their Hearts they esteem him their Portion their All and their only Good Have not those who for the sake of Christ have been exposed to all kind of Sufferings Hardships and ill Usages in the World rejoiced in the same Have not they found the satisfactions accruing to them from the Faithfulness and Love of Christ so exceeding great and full of inexpressible sweetness and comfort they have almost overlook'd they have really thought all the Sufferings of this Life very little and inconsiderable especially when Faith in Christ hath mounted and carried their Souls to take a view and prospect of what Christ will hereafter advance them unto Rom. 8.18 Gold and Silver Crowns and Earthly Kingdoms are of no value more vile and contemptible than the Dung and Mire of the Streets when made use of to bribe and hire one that has received Christ into his Heart to fall off from him and reject him I have served Christ said Polycarp fourscore and six Years and he never did me any harm and do you think said he to those who would have bribed and perswaded him to renounce Christ that now I will renounce and blaspheme and dishonour my King and Saviour Do you think the glorified Saints are sorry they chose and received Christ Why they can every jot as easily be weary of Heaven as repent of their entertaining such a Guest Now do thou exercise thy Thoughts about these things with the greatest seriousness and answer these Questions distinctly and impartially unto thy Conscience and press on thy Soul such Considerations as thou findest have the greatest tendency to startle to awaken and move thee that thou mayst not continue under the dreadful guilt of slighting Christ and rejecting the gracious Motions he doth make thee of his Love And O that I knew what Words would excite thy drowsy Soul and what Arguments would influence and make some kind of impressions on thy Mind Affections and Heart I would urge them for thy good with all the life and fervency that is possible Consider Sinner doth the Son of God condescend to plead and argue with thee for thy Benefit and Comfort This is a very wonderful thing indeed the Heavens may well be called to attend and the Earth to give ear such a prodigy of Love may make impressions on the very Mountains and Rocks And what wilt thou still resist his Courtings and be the more contemptuous by how much the more importunate he is with thee O how justly may we call to the Heavens to be astonished and the Earth to be horribly afraid at the manifestation of such stupidity and ingratitude How will all the Creatures inanimate and sensless things upbraid such sottish sturdiness and finally bear witness and give in evidence against it But alas after all what signifies the Discourse of a poor Mortal Melancthon found by experience that he had reason to say The old Man in the Hearts of Sinners was too strong for young Melancthon It is not in the Minister's Power to reach the Heart But Glorious Almighty and most Gracious God thou art above all and thou canst speak to the Conscience and overcome the most perverse and stubborn Heart thou canst and dost ordinarily make thy Strength and power to appear in the weakness of thy meanest Servants Lord to thee we turn and of thee we beg that that Power and Plenty of thy good Spirit may be sent forth that poor Sinners may not walk in darkness and be held any longer in bondage by Satan and their Lusts but that they now may cast away from them their Idols may yield up themselves to Christ in the sincerity of their Hearts and not oppose and resist him any longer Lord do thou look down in thy Power and Strength and do thou mightily perswade and prevail on the Hearts of those who have hitherto stood out against the Calls and Entreaties of their Saviour exert thy Power stretch forth thy mighty Arm descend in the abundance of thy Grace and bring thy Word and Exhortations to Peoples Souls and Consciences with thy special Efficacy and then shall People hear thy Son's Voice and knock and open unto him Now Sinner if thou art at all affected with any of these Considerations and dost truly desire to receive Christ into thy Heart I will conclude all I have at this time to say unto thee by proposing a few Directions for thy help and assistance I. Labour to get a deep affectionate sense of thy own insufficiency emptiness and misery without Christ Study the Law of God how strict and punctual it is How many Duties are commanded how many Sins forbid what Curses and Judgments threatned how weak and impotent thou art how far the Law is from either communicating Strength or providing thee a Pardon How powerful and severe infinite Justice is how liable thou art and this upon innumerable accounts to all the Vengeance and Horror infinite Justice can inflict How dreadful how miserable how helpless thy state is without a Mediator Think on these things till thou art throughly sensible of thy need of Christ and how impossible it is for thee to escape any other way than by Christ We need Christ to present our best Services to God and obtain them acceptance with the Father O what need have we then of Christ to save us from our manifold Sins and from the direful Punishments they deserve Rev. 3.18 Luke 15.21 Christ will be welcome indeed when we truly see our need of him II. Strive to get thy Heart cleansed from every thing which is contrary to Christ and hath a tendency to keep him out of thy Heart Get every Sin imbittered to thy Soul that thou mayst hate every thing which is an Enemy to Christ Oppose Christ to every Lust and sinful stirring of Heart harbour no Lust nor Sin in thy Heart fight against Temptations learn to overcome Temptations and Sins by reviving in thy Mind the opposition and enmity there is betwixt Christ and Sin curb and check mortify and subdue every sinful Inclination by alleadging against it Thou art an Enemy to my Saviour to allow and entertain thee would be to fight against Christ O I will not for a World do any thing that may offend and displease the Son of God III. Pray earnestly that the Spirit of God may mould and form thy Heart into a right frame and temper for Christ When a Prince comes to take up his residence at any Place or House it is not only necessary that the Luggage and Lumber and Filth be removed and cast out of Doors but that all places be righted up and have their proper Furniture So when Christ comes to take up his abode with
lose your Lands be rob'd of your Mony have your Houses and Goods all burnt about your Ears and yet not be undone nor irreparably miserable But if you are ignorant of Christ and regardless of his Visits and destitute of an Interest in his Love you are poor deluded miserable unhappy Wretches whatever Portion you have of the Wealth and Honour and Applause of this World Indeed too many slight Christ and make no account of his Love People who are sunk in their Lusts whose Understandings Satan hath blinded in whom Satan rules and by whom they are hurried away headlong towards Hell as the Gadarens Swine were into the Deep But O! let us take heed we do not tread in their Steps lest we drink of their Cup and partake of their Portion The Apostle tells you It is a faithful Saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the World to save Sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 What is it then that after all his Sufferings and being ascended into Glory he doth still continue to express and testify as great Love as ever to us Shall we despise the choicest offers of his Love Shall we despise or take no notice of such a Truth as this that Christ doth stoop to visit us and importunes our acceptance of him O what vile what unworthy what ungrateful Persons shall we then approve our selves In how forlorn and deplorable a State are all the stubborn and obstinate despisers and contemners of Christ Heb. 2.3 O Sirs did you understand the worth of those precious Souls you are intrusted with were you truly sensible of the sad and miserable Estate you are in by Nature this Love express'd but by Piety and Obedience If ye love me keep my Commandments John 14.15 Ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you John 15.14 What an incouragement is it to a Holy Life when we can truly say we are hereby testifying our Love to our dear Saviour in such a way as he doth most approve Whom should we serve whom should we obey if not him who hath and doth love us still in so extraordinary a manner We are 't is true too prone to serve Satan and our Lusts but what reason have we to do so Is Damnation and Hell so sweet and so obliging we should drudg and toil all our time for such a Purchase Can you seriously think Satan who tempts and sollicites you to Sin hath any love for you And will you serve him who seeks your eternal ruin so industriously before the Lord Jesus Christ who hath given you so many convincing Testimonies of his Love It is an amazing and very sad thing to observe how People do prefer the drudgery and vassalage of Satan before the liberty and freedom their Saviour hath purchased for them That notwithstanding Christ doth love them so affectionately yet Satan should have so many to run violently after him to Hell and Christ should have so few to follow him to the Mansions of Bliss and Glory It is a sad but yet too just a representation of Man's Folly Ingratitude and Wickedness which St. Cyprian makes when he brings in the Devil boasting against Christ and insulting over People in this manner Ego pro istis nec sanguinem fudi c. Serm. de Elymos I have not shed one drop of Blood for any of all these my Followers I never took any pains to do them any good my study and care and diligence hath ever been and ever shall be to bring them to Death and Damnation and yet notwithstanding all this Tuos tales demonstra mihi Christe Shew me O Christ so many such busy such painful and such dutiful Servants of thine any where as I can shew thee every where of mine Shall the Envy and Malice of Satan be more powerful with you to draw you into Damnation than the prodigious Love of the Son of God to win you unto Holiness and Glory O! were we but duly affected with the Love Christ bears to us we should not be able to resist its Charms O what pious exemplary praising Christians would this make us Who ever hath a true and real sense of this Love in his Heart will be transformed by it into the likeness of him who doth thus love him The reason why we are no better that we resemble Christ so little is because we are ignorant of his Love tho we may know somewhat of it notionally so as to tincture and adorn our Discourse yet our Hearts are not touched with it and brought under its Efficacy and Power Were our Hearts but melted with the consideration and sense of this Love O how powerfully would it engage us in the Ways and Work of our Saviour With what vigour and delight should we be carried through the whole course of Christian Duty and new Obedience 3. It is of exceding great use for our support and comfort under Trials Temptations Sufferings and Troubles in the World and when we are exercised with deep apprehensions of our own sinfulness and vileness Affliction doth try Friends A Man whilst he doth prosper and flourish in the World shall have many pretended Friends who will fall from and disown him in Adversity We are subject to Trials and Temptations under which all those things that flatter our Senses and which People court and labour for with all their might will either take their flight from us or at best lie by us as insipid useless things Nothing but a sense of Christ's Love will then befriend us And I know not any sort of People more exposed to Trials and Assaults in the World than the People of God nor are there any whom Satan doth ordinarily set upon with fiercer violence than poor Sinners when first beginning to look out after and listen unto Christ And as these are liable to such Calamities so God provides for their support and comfort under them If it be a great relief to a Person under outward trouble that he hath a Friend to stand by him and counsel him and appear for him what is it to a true Believer to be assured of the Love of Christ That he hath one on his side who is alsufficient for him be his Circumstances what they will and who will never fail him nor forsake him What tho I be poor and miserable and destitute and afflicted in the World What tho I be made as the filth and the off-scouring of all things Christ loves me never the less for that Nay suppose I have great Doubts in my Mind and my Soul is full of heaviness for my Sins and I am ready to cry out O! my Sins are not ordinary and usual Sins they have been aggravated above measure I cannot see any thing in my self but impurity filth and guilt I do not perceive how any thing but Damnation can belong to me O my Misery O my Unhappiness O my Guilt I am so laden with Sin my Guilt lies so heavy upon my Spirit Terror and amazement
Lord I throw my self into the Arms of thy Grace O reject me not but grant I may be found in thee and may have thy Righteousness to commend me 4. Our receiving Christ doth note our complying with his Terms Most would be willing to be saved at last provided they might have liberty to live as they list at present But Christ must be accepted on his own Terms He calls us to Repentance Faith and new Obedience If we will conclude on good ground that we have received Christ we must see to it that we sincerely forsake our former Lusts and Sins which so long separated betwixt us and our God and for which Christ did undergo and suffer such pressing and astonishing Sorrows and Punishments Let the Wicked forsake his Way and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts c. Isa 55.7 We must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that he is the Son of God that out of pure Love he did assume our Nature that he hath performed all that is necessary to put us into a capacity of Salvation and to reconcile us unto God that he is the only Author of Eternal Life and Salvation And we must rely and depend upon him only for Mercy and Salvation We must devote our selves to live godly righteously and soberly and make Conscience of attending to and walking in all Christ's Commandments And we must take care to get all this cleared and evidenced to our selves from Scripture-Grounds Art thou truly willing to part with all thy Lust to mortify thy corrupt Affections and to die every day more and more to sin to be crucified to the World and to oppose and resist all that fights against thy Soul Do'st thou labour to exercise Faith vigorously is it thy Business to eye Christ continually do'st thou fetch all thy Strength and Supplies from Him are all thy Hopes and Expectations laid up in him do'st thou without any reservation give up thy self to Christ is it thy heartiest desire study care and endeavour continually to imitate and please Christ 5. Our receiving Christ doth import our submitting to him in all his Relations It was a great Reflection on some who followed Christ when he was here upon Earth that they followed him for the Loaves with which he fed them and not for the Miracles which they saw him work whereby his Divinity was attested and the Truth of the Doctrines he taught undeniably evidenced and confirmed And it would be as severe a Reflection upon us should Christ lay it to our Charge that though we pretend to submit to Him in one Relation yet we refuse to own and acknowledg Him in his other Relations That we are willing to admit him to be our Priest to suffer for us but will not have any thing to do with his Yoke but do resolutely cast his Laws behind our back and determine that we will not have him to reign over us But it is our Duty to be ready and willing for his sake to take up the Cross as well as to wear the Crown to submit to do his Work as well as to expect and receive the Recompences and Wages he doth bestow We must take him as our King as our Husband as our Lord and as our Owner and perform to him all those Duties which concern us as we are his Subjects his Spouse his Servants and People in whom he hath an undeniable property We should complain to Christ of our hard and inflexible Hearts our unruly and tumultuous Affections of those Lusts and Wickednesses which we find strongest in us we should be earnest with him in desiring his powerful governing Presence in and with us that our Lusts may be conquered our Affections tamed made moderate and sanctified and that our stubborn Hearts may be made soft and pliable We must take him for our Priest expecting nothing but Wrath as what is due to what we can do of our selves and therefore relying wholly on Christ We must not look for any Pardon but what Christ's Blood hath purchased nor any fellowship and communion with God but what Christ doth by his intercession obtain for us We must take him for our Prophet to teach direct and guide us and to advise and counsel us We are naturally ignorant of God and our selves and the things which most of all concern us and we cannot get a sound and perfect knowledg of them but by his instruction who is the great Revealer of them even Jesus Christ as Prophet Those who will receive Christ aright must learn to know and understand his Voice and Dialect that whensoever they hear it they may follow him John 10.4 Christ is the Truth the Way and the Life and there is no coming to or knowing of the Father but by him John 14.6 We must take him for our great Teacher we must be willing to learn whatever he shall instruct us in and embrace and receive every direction he shall give us Consider therefore with your selves whether it be thus with you Whether you have sincerely given up your selves to his Government do willingly submit to his Laws do chearfully consent that he should rule over you Do you depend only on his Sacrifice and Merits and do you rejoice in his Light Do you receive him as a Master a Father a Brother a Friend c. And do you demean your selves to him in all the Duties and Offices of your Relations as by the Obligations arising from such Relations you are bound unto Mal. 1.6 6. Our receiving Christ into our Hearts doth import our having a transcendent and extraordinary love for Christ No Man is worthy to follow Christ or be owned by him that cannot deny himself and take up his Cross for his sake Christ will not take up his abode in that Heart which is not entirely given up and resigned to him Our loving other things either with an equal or a greater Love than what we have for Christ renders us wholly unfit to enjoy him and deprives us of those special Communications he would otherwise vouchsafe unto us When Christ comes to us and calls for admittance he comes not like a Stranger to stay for a little while but as a Friend nay an Owner to take up his fixed residence and make his constant abode with us A little outward Ceremony and common Courtesy doth suffice for the entertainment of such as make Visits accidentally or for whom there is no very great respect But Love is necessary that there may be a personal constant abode and a mutual friendly converse together Christ must have our whole Hearts he cannot endure a Rival If we love other things it must be for his sake and in subordination to him or else this will exclude him and evidence that we refuse to receive him Call your selves now to an account and see whether your Hearts are free and disengaged from all other things or whether you are willing to receive Christ according to this sense of the Phrase Can you say in sincerity
Christ and his gracious Offers as their Guilt doth unmeasurably exceed other Peoples who have not the Light and Means the Calls and Offers they have so they may justly expect that their Damnation Misery and Torment will exceedingly outweigh and be increased beyond other Peoples O Sirs who can think of your Danger your Misery that dreadful Portion which is in store for you without Tears and Groans without Trembling and Fainting of Heart and Soul read with attention Prov. 1.24 c. Heb. 12.25 Matth. 11.21 to 25. 6. Those who do truly receive and entertain Christ and close with his gracious Offers are very much changed and altered from what they themselves were and all are by Nature It is not a change of Name or a change of Opinion or a change from a Party or a change as to any thing which is purely External which will serve turn to prove that you have indeed closed with Christ It must be a real change of the Heart a change of Principles of Ends and Purposes a change of the whole bent and exercise of all the Faculties and Powers of the Soul and a change of Life and course of Conversation He that truly receives Christ loves him with all his Heart gives him the preheminence in every thing delights in his Laws resigns up himself entirely to his Disposal and Government depends and relies on his Merits Alsufficiency and Faithfulness rejoices in his Comforts and acquiesces in a patient expectation of his coming and the accomplishment of his Promises Gal. 6.14 15. 2 Cor. 5.17 Rom. 8.8 9. Tit. 2.11 12 13 14. Tit. 3.4 to 9. Now do you think on these things seriously especially examine search and consider diligently the Scriptures you are referr'd unto and apply them faithfully and impartially to your own Consciences and Lives Make no delay stand not out in opposing Christ any longer Do not deceive and flatter your own Souls Remember that God is True and Faithful and Just That the Blood and Love and calls of Christ will not be lost but if they be not carefully improved and closed with they will bring Vengeance upon you to the uttermost Remember that Christ's Invitations and Intreaties will not be very much longer continued unto you It will not be long before you must lie down in the Dust 't will be but a little time more that you shall hear these Calls and Intreaties In a little while you will be past reading the Scriptures hearing Sermons having Opportunities to cry and pray for Mercy and Grace with Hope O how fearful will your Estate be if you resist all Christ's Calls to accept of Him and Grace till he withdraws himself in anger and resolves he will never speak a word more of Peace or Incouragement unto you or entertain a favourable thought towards you You must before long quit all you set your Hearts on here Riches Applause carnal Delights Sports and Merriments will in short time take their leave and fly away from you Alas get what you can here if you are without Christ you are miserable comfortless helpless E're long you will see Death and Judgment and Hell plainly before you now what will relieve and support you then O what Trifles what Torments will your Lusts and all worldly Enjoyments and Entertainments appear and be then What will you do if you persist to deny Christ admittance when the Lord Jesus shall come in flaming Fire c. 2 Thess 1.7 8 9. O what a dreadful Spectacle will Christ in Glory be to all the obstinate Despisers Contemners and Sleighters of Him his Grace his Spirit his Word his Ordinances his People his Messengers How full of horror amazement and terror will the appearance of Christ be to all those against whom his Blood will rise and plead for Vengeance Press these things on your own Hearts shew some love now at last to your own Souls Build not your Hopes and Confidence on your belonging to any Congregation or Party nor on the enjoyment of outward Gospel-priviledges but hasten to Christ indeed and never be at rest till savingly united unto him Do not only read but practise good Books Be not only hearers but doers of the Word lest you deceive your own Souls Jam. 1.22 If you get any good by this Discourse give God all the Praise and Glory And when you have got an interest in Christ make use of it at the Throne of Grace not only for your self but to further the spiritual Happiness and eternal Salvation of him who earnestly desires and prays for your everlasting Walfare S. B. REVEL iii. 20. Behold I stand at the Door and knock if any Man hear my Voice and open the Door I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me THE Condescention of our Blessed Saviour to poor Sinners is very extraordinary and miraculous That reiterated Affronts and multiplied Provocations do as it were but only lengthen out his Patience and add warmth and earnestness to his Importunity is indeed the highest demonstration imaginable of astonishing Kindness and a Love which cannot be parallel'd But this is not to encourage our Obstinacy and Refractoriness It should overcome our Sturdiness and conquer and master our Stubborness it should soften and make us tractable and compliant O the hardness of that Heart the searedness of that Soul and Conscience which will not be melted into a remorse for Sin and a joyful unfeigned closure with the Offers of Salvation and Mercy at the earnest Entreaties and passionate Courtings of the Eternal and Almighty God! What shall we say then shall we continue in Sin because Grace doth abound God forbid Rom. 6.1 2. How shall we who are thus solicited from Heaven thus importuned by the Blessed Jesus live any longer in a contradiction unto him The Love and Condescention of Christ is such and doth so eminently appear in many Instances especially in these mentioned in the Text our Blessed Saviour himself seems to be almost transported at the consideration of the same That the Son of God who thought it no robbery to be equal with God should take such notice of Enemies forlorn despicable Wretches miserable Sinners who at best whilst in their natural Estate can lay claim to nothing but Wrath and Damnation as to stand before them come unto them and use all manner of earnestness with them to prevail with them to yield him admittance into their Hearts that by this means they may be advanced and have Communion and Fellowship with him is so strange so unheard of a piece of Condescention so wonderful so surprizing so amazing an Instance of Love our Saviour himself at the mentioning of it seems to be in a kind of rapture He doth Preface it with a Note of Admiration Behold If we should look upon it as a mighty Condescention in a great Prince or Emperor to descend from his Throne and come personally to visit some poor Subject who has no habitation or place of Aboad but some
fear and horror do so prevail in my Soul I am not able to bear up under the same my Heart fails me and my Spirit is gone Why now one glimps of Christ one taste of his Goodness a sense of his Love will revive and exhilerate the Soul and disperse all these Clouds these Darknesses and Storms There is no condition a Person can be in but if Christ will dart into him a Ray of his special Love he will thence receive mighty even inexpressible support and comfort The continued Love of Christ is the most sovereign Cordial in every Estate and Condition We may go through Fire and Water we may adventure upon any suffering for the Name of Christ being assured of his Love O! what an excellent chearing Scripture is that of the Epistle to the Romans Chap. 8. v. 35 to the end What would the Scripture be to us how should we be effectually excited and encouraged to a course of Piety Or what could support us under Burthens and Troubles if Christ did not continue his Love to Sinners 2ly In the second place we are to consider the extraordinary strangeness of the thing it self We commonly take as particular notice as we can of strange and unwonted Occurrences How do People view and observe Comets and Blazing Stars How do they flock to see any strange sort of Beast when exhibited to be seen We admire and wonder at things which are considerable only by reason of their strangeness and rarity Things which are not of any great worth nor cannot produce us any profit and real advantage O! therefore let us be so wise as to turn all our admiration unto that which is truly strange and equally advantagious and comfortable The Love of Christ to Sinners is the strangest thing that ever was Without controversy great is the Mystery of Godliness God was manifest in the Flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the World and received up into Glory 1 Tim. 3.16 This is a thing so strange even in the first Instances of it the blessed Angels stand amazed at it and desire to look into it 1 Pet. 1.12 If a Prince the only Son of a King or Emperor should condescend to take notice of a mean traiterous Wretch ready to have all the Torments and Punishments his Treason deserved inflicted on him and plead for this Person yea deny himself all the Pleasures Honours and Satisfactions in his Father's Court yea submit himself to all manner of Indignities for many Years together to procure the other's Pardon And being at last received to Court again and living in the greatest pomp and splendour should come to this Person whose Life he had saved at the forementioned rate and entreat and beseech and court him to be reconciled to him and that an intimate familiarity and correspondence may be setled betwixt them promising him all the Entertainments and Satisfactions he doth participate of himself Would not this be looked on by all as a most prodigious Instance of Affection and Love But alas what is this to that we are now discoursing of Here is the Son of God who is equal with God God blessed for ever who is the Brightness of his Father's Glory and the express Image of his Person whose Name is Wonderful Counsellor The mighty God The Everlasting Father The Prince of Peace This is the Person who condescended to take on him our Nature who lived for many Years together a Life that was very mean and to outward appearance very contemptible What Indignities did he suffer from Men how deep did he drink of the Cup of God's Wrath when groaning and praying and sweating Blood in the Garden when expostulating so earnestly with his Father on the Cross He submitted to Death yea he became obedient to Death even the Death of the Cross The most painful the most lingering the most ignominious and cursed sort of Death then known in the World And all this was to reconcile Sinners and Enemies unto God and to save them from that eternal Misery and Damnation they could no other way be saved from And after all this having raised himself to Life and being received into Glory he continues his Love to these Sinners and many ways importunes and sollicites them to accept of the Mercy and Blessings which cost him so dear and to yield themselves up into the Bonds of Friendship that a constant mutual correspondence may be maintained betwixt them Is not this an incomprehensible astonishing Prodigy of Love what can be compared unto it What Heart so hard such Condescention such Love such passionate courting will not soften and overcome What so strange what so obliging as this that the Son of God should entreat and beseech Rebels to accept of Pardon should court and make so much ado be so importunate and keep such a stir with us who are only held by his Hand from falling into Hell to accept of Heaven There is nothing so strange as this unless it be that cursed Heart which is too obdurate and stubborn to be overcome and won by so kind so winning and so mighty a Force as this is Applic. What care now should we take to be throughly instructed and setled in this great Truth Do not labour only to be acquainted with it in the Theory but endeavour and pray that a saving Knowledg and Belief of it may be wrought in you by the Spirit of God This is a Matter concerns thee much thy Salvation depends upon it If thou lose thy Soul thou losest all If thou art ignorant of the Love of Christ if this Love have no influence on thee thou art miserable indeed All true Comfort is wrap'd up in this Acts 4.12 O study this great Truth and do not desist or leave off till it have its proper influence on thy Affections Heart and Life Let the Love of Christ constrain thee Resolve to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified Admire and adore the Love of Christ Improve the knowledg and consideration of it to fix and promote thy Faith thy Love thy Hope thy Patience and every other Grace But I will not insist any longer on this first word which is introductory and should lead us attentively unto that which followeth The rest of the Verse acquaints us with our blessed Saviour's seeking for and endeavouring to get admittance with us and the Priviledges which shall accrue to those who hearken to him and receive him I shall confine my self now unto the first of these which is represented to us in these words I stand at the Door and knock Though in discoursing of this I shall have occasion to acquaint you with the main Importance of some of the following words viz. If any Man hear my Voice and open the Door Our Saviour's seeking and endeavouring to get admittance with us is here exprest by three words 1. Standing 2. Knocking 3. The word Door The Person or rather the Heart of the Person
Canst thou endure the eternal Displeasure of Almighty God Canst thou bear up under the direful and astonishing Punishments which contemned Grace and abused Patience and Goodness expose to Canst thou dwell with everlasting Burnings O let the Long-suffering the Patience and the Goodness of thy Saviour lead thee to Repentance and prevail with thee to accept of and close with him and his gracious Offers This shall serve at this time concerning Christ's waiting to be gracious unto Sinners I proceed to say something II. In the second place of his importuning Sinners for admittance This is noted by the word knock Jesus Christ doth not only wait long but useth much importunity and is very earnest to get admittance with Sinners He knocks and knocks again he repeats his Entreaties and often renews his earnest Sollicitations that we will not reject and despise him but admit him into our Hearts and bid him welcome Now what Condescention is this that the Son of God should court and perswade us with so much warmth and fervour That he who cannot receive any advantage from us should thus importune us for our own advantage Indeed this doth plainly manifest our baseness and stupidity in that we are so hard to be wrought on and affected with our most important Interests And it doth as certainly and fully display and upbraid our wilfulness and impiety when we stand out and finally resist Christ as it doth demonstrate the unparallel'd condescention and kindness of our Saviour O! what Demonstrations have we of the tenderness of Christ to Sinners How do his Bowels yearn over us when we are inconsiderately ruining our selves How often doth he knock and entreat us to yield to him and accept of him and his Benefits O how hard and stubborn are our Hearts what will not all the Divine Methods and Artifices win us and bring us into a compliance with him that loveth us above Life and Death I need mention but two Generals to evidence more distinctly unto you how earnest and importunate the Lord Jesus is to be received by us 1. The Arguments he doth use to perswade us to accept of him 2. The Instruments he doth imply about this Work viz. to win us to comply with his gracious Motions and offers 1. The Arguments he doth use to prevail with us to accept of Him He urgeth the strongest Arguments and presseth on us those Considerations which carry along with them the greatest force and weight imaginable And these are managed with all the heartiness and affectionateness that is possible Arguments many strong various and such as are most proper to have an influence on our Affections Judgments and Minds Were any Motions urged that had but the thousandth part of the reason the least of these hath to engage us to strike in and close with any thing for our secular Advantage how effectual would they prove No Difficulties no Straights no Discouragements would affright or dishearten us But when the greatest and most weighing Instances as the Divine Wisdom can pitch upon are urged by the Lord himself to engage us not to forsake our own Mercies to attend to and close with our only Happiness Alas how unapprehensive how unconcerned are we We are then as little moved as if the Arguments had no weight in them or we had no Souls to take care of and be saved If Satan hath a mind to draw us unto any Sin or engage us in some destructive and damning course how easily doth he prevail how soon doth he gain our Ear our Hand our Heart How suddenly doth he hurry us into what he pleaseth Yea Men like our selves can easily work upon our Affections and prevail with us to do those things which will hasten our Misery our Shame our Destruction But alas Christ may stand and call and warn and entreat us by ever so many Considerations and yet have no admittance amongst us We deal with our Saviour as the wanton and undutiful Child doth when he lets an Enemy into the House at the first word But when his Parent calls and knocks he sits unconcerned turns a deaf Ear and never takes any notice though that Relation knock never so loud and be very importunate to be let in We are ready to follow Satan and do what he would have us to do if he do but promise us a little Pleasure or Wealth c. But Christ is shut out and not hearkned unto though he is most importunate and doth urge the weightiest Arguments to prevail with us to attend unto him The Arguments he doth urge are very many It shall suffice at present to name a few of them with a brief intimation of their worth and excellency 1. He lays before us his own transcendent Excellencies and Perfections The Dignity of his Person and how wonderful his Condescention is in that he is pleased to make such Vouchsafements unto us He is the Brightness of the Father's Glory and the express Image of his Person and he upholdeth all things by the Word of his Power Heb. 1.3 He is God over all blessed for ever-more Rom. 9.5 And what shall the Eternal God be repulsed when he makes such importunate Addresses to most miserable Worms Shall we deny admittance to the high and lofty One who inhabiteth Eternity whose Name is Holy and dwelleth in the high and holy Place when he condescendeth to come to us and earnestly entreateth us to let him have his abode with us He is not a mean contemptible Person which maketh Love to us whose Favour we may lose and be never the worse whose Kindness and Love if withdrawn may be made up another way or by another Person He is God He is the Lord of Glory The Angels adore and reverence glorify and worship him He can and will make thee truly and unspeakably blessed and happy if thou hearken to his Voice and entertain him Thou must needs be unconceivably miserable without him he has Power to make thee happy or miserable If thou receive him he will conduct thee to Heaven and constitute thee perfect and unalterably blessed But if thou stubbornly and finally despisest him and tramplest under thy Feet the offers of his Love and Grace he is able to punish thee for thy contempt and he will cast thee into and burn thee in Hell to all Eternity 2. He represents unto us the miserable and undone condition we are naturally in That whilst without him we are Aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel we do not belong to the Society of those the Lord hath chosen and set apart for himself we are Strangers from the Covenant of Promise we have nothing to do with those great and precious Priviledges which are made over to them who are interested in the Divine special Love We have no hope we are in a desperate condition as to hereafter without any true and solid ground to encourage our selves to hope it shall be well with us We are without God in the World we are
sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thy Children together even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her Wings and ye would not Matth. 23.37 4. Christ doth importune us for admittance by every Mercy and Judgment How often are we brought to some sense of our need of Christ and to some kind of resolutions to yield and open to him by the straights and exigencies and sufferings we are involved in though it is our very great Fault that we are apt to forget all as soon as our pain is over But what is the true end of every Affliction but to make us see more of the Excellencies of Christ and to endear him unto our Souls O happy Sufferings might they all have such an influence on us And what is the end of all God's Mercies but to lead us to Repentance and bring us to Christ Why are you thus long preserved out of Hell Why are you not at this time tormented and frying in eternal Burnings Is any reason to be assigned why you should enjoy the Gospel yea the common Mercies of your Lives but only this that Christ is still waiting to be gracious to you and that by these means he is inviting and importuning you to accept of him and fly from that Damnation which doth not slumber but is hastning apace upon the whole World of ungodly Sinners God could as easily have dismissed you to the Regions of Darkness the Places of most dreadful and insupportable Horror many Years ago as any others who are now in Torments All the Mercies and all the time you have had in the World were the Fruits of Christ's Love Testimonies of his Patience and Instances of his pleading with you to accept of him and not ruin and undo your selves How small a thing would it be for Christ to send thee to Hell to say unto thee Go thou cursed Alas one frown from him would immediately sink thee into the Earth into the bottomless Pit And what is it that preserves thee but the tenderness of thy Saviour And for what end doth he express so much regard unto thee but to try whether his Patience and Lenity and his allowing thee so much time strength and so many Mercies will prevail with thee to prize and receive thy Saviour II. I am now in the second place to shew you what our receiving Christ into our Hearts doth import But before I speak positively to this I will take notice of two or three things with which People do too commonly falsly please and satisfy and consequently deceive themselves We should observe these as Mariners do the Rocks and Shelves where others have suffered Shipwrack before them 1. This receiving Christ doth not consist in a bare notional knowledg of him A Man may by common instruction and ordinary diligence and study acquire from the Holy Scriptures such Notions concerning Christ as Men do usually obtain by study and diligence in any Point of Philosophy But this is only such a knowledg as doth float in the Head and may be in that Person who hath not any love and affection to Christ Such may have a knowledg of Christ so as to give a plain account of the common sense or ancient use of the Words wherein the Doctrines concerning Christ are communicated and conveighed unto People They may give an account of the Grammatical meaning and sense of the words as well as any others and yet these People may not entertain Christ They may not understand nor cannot dive into the Spiritual meaning of those Doctrines 1 Cor. 2.14 Julian knew a great deal concerning Christ and so did Colsus but they were great Enemies to Christ The only Principle which enableth a Man for the right judging and discerning of Heavenly Things is the Grace of God's Spirit which the natural Man wanteth and hence it followeth that as a Man cannot live without a Soul nor see without an Eye nor hear without an Ear because these are the Grounds and Principles from which Life and Sight and Hearing do flow So no Man can know and serve God aright without God's Spirit enlightning and enabling him by his Grace because this is the Principle from which all both spiritual Actions and Abilities do spring Mason of Hearing and Doing p. 328. 2. It doth not consist in an outward professing to own the Faith of Christ Alas how many make a general Profession of Christianity and of embracing the particular Doctrines of the Gospel who take no care to depart from Iniquity The very Devils have made as honourable a Profession of Christ's being the Son of God as any meer words we can devise will amount unto Luke 4.41 3. It doth not consist in a bare performance of some Duties in the Name of Christ Performing Duties in the Name of Christ and speaking honourably and much of Christ are very good and commendable when they proceed from a right Principle and spring from a real and very ardent Affection to Christ But we must take heed lest we content our selves with these things whilst they may have a false Original or are used to improper Ends. However we must be sure we do not stay here without proceeding further People have used the Name of Christ to very ill purposes Acts 19.13 Many pretend to perform Duties with earnestness in his Name for whom he hath no respect and who did never truly bid him welcome into their Hearts Mat. 7.22 23. Indeed where Christ is received aright there will be all these things in some degree and measure but these will not be all which will be there There must be some knowledg of Christ tho not that which doth only soar aloft in the Head and evaporate and manifest it self only at the Mouth but such as will influence the Heart and Life Many who receive Christ aright may not be able to express and discover their knowledg to others in such apposite free and voluble Expressions as some others can who have nothing of the true Spiritual sense of Divine Truths or the saving Knowledg of Christ The one sort are more beholden to their natural or acquired Abilities the other to the inward and effectual workings of the Holy Spirit Every Person who hath a true sense and firm perswasion of Spiritual Matters hath not the Gift of Utterance There is no necessity a true and sound Believer should be eloquent or have a voluble Tongue Much Knowledg and Memory and Utterance and lively Affection as a worthy reverend Person hath said are all very desirable but you must judg your Estate by none of those for they are all uncertain And who-ever truly receives Christ will acknowledg and profess his owning of Christ For as Men believe with the Heart so with the Mouth confession is made unto Salvation Rom. 10.10 But now I come to speak more positively to this Point Our receiving of Christ is expressed in my Text by these words If any Man hear my Voice and open the Door So that two
things are required to and imported by our receiving of Christ according to the express Letter of the Text 1st Hearing his Voice 2dly Opening unto him But before I speak particularly to these things let me observe to you from the general indefinite Expression here used That Jesus Christ doth not exclude any one Person from enjoying Him and the Benefits of his Death and gracious Presence provided he will but comply with Him and accept of his gracious Offers He is willing to come to and dwell with any Person who will but hearken to his Voice and give Him admittance He will not refuse you for any personal unworthiness or because you have been very grievous and notorious Transgressors He would have all Men to be saved and come to the knowledg of the Truth 1 Tim. 2.4 He invites all without exception Isa 55.1 2. If any Man hear my Voice any Man though ever so poor or miserable in the Eye of the World nay notwithstanding he hath been ever so violent and fierce against me though his Sins be never so many never so great never so hainouâ— yet if he will but hear my Voice obey my Call and open unto me I will accept of him I will be his Guest and impart unto him my Self my Merits and the Comforts Satisfactions and Benefits arising therefrom We have very signal Evidences of this in the Holy Scriptures Peter after his most detestable denial of Christ is received into Favour Paul though he had been such an outragious Persecutor findeth Mercy and is made a most excellent and useful Apostle The general Doctrine of the Scripture doth confirm this Truth That Christ is ready and willing to communicate Himself and the Benefits of his Death and Passion to any that will accept of him Christ hath put no Bar no Impediment no Hindrance in any Man's way If we do not accept of Him if we reap not the Benefits of his Death the fault is our own even because we would not receive Him when he came unto us and entreated for admittance He comes to and seeks after the most unworthy Mark 2.17 He came to save Sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 He came to seek and to save the Lost He excepts none if they renounce their Wickednesses and Sins Isa 55.7 The Terms he proposeth to us in order to our reaping all this Advantage are but hearing his Voice and opening the Door 1st Hearing his Voice This imports two things 1. Attending to and taking notice of those Arguments he doth urge to obtain admittance I have given you before a short account of these Arguments But this instructs us that an heedful attentive frame of Spirit is ordinarily requisite to a due receiving of Christ into our Hearts An unruly froward temper that is impatient of Spiritual Advice Instruction Reproof c. and fumes and chafes on all such occasions and applies to any sort of courses to divert from serious considerations is a very dangerous and unhappy Temper But this is not all that hearing Christ's Voice doth import People may attend to Matters of this nature and design no more than to obtain some embellishments in their Discourse or they may have some design not truly useful and commendable Indeed God may make his Word to fasten and prove effectual to those who have none of the best purposes in hearkning to the Word of Christ and therefore I dare not discourage any Man absolutely from attending whatever he may propose to himself in so doing because the Word may take hold of him beyond expectation Mr. Bilney reports of himself that he bought and read the New Testament not because it was the Word of God but because Erasmus had translated it into excellent Latin yet it pleased God when he read 1 Tim. 1.15 that his Mind was particularly fixed on those words so that God made them effectual for his Conversion and Reformation But such Instances are something out of the usual and common road therefore we have reason to conclude that hearkning to the Voice of Christ doth note something more than bare attendance to his Voice 2. It doth note the Influence the Arguments our Saviour doth use have on our Affections and Hearts Attention is a very useful Expedient for the making of those things which are proposed unto us to have some efficacy on us When we diligently attend to any thing that is spoken we have Impressions ordinarily made on our Minds which bear some proportion with what hath been discoursed And this seems to be imported here by hearing Christ's Voice those Impressions which the serious considering what he hath propos'd occasion to be fastned on our Hearts and Minds the Affections and Dispositions of Soul which do result from our hearkning to his Voice Which is something betwixt bare hearing his Voice and opening unto him It is the Result Fruit and Consequent of the former and a good and proper Preparative to the latter 2dly Opening the Door This is the other Expression in the Text to note our receiving of Christ And it doth import our compliance with him our free and sincere resignation of our selves unto him As a Person who being in an House when another who is the right owner of it comes and knocks at the Door and declares to the Party within his claim to that House and makes it appear he is the true owner of that House and has Authority to require the Possession to be delivered up unto him the Party within hearkning to what he hath to say and being convinced and fully satisfied of his Right and Authority to make that Demand he opens the Door to him and admits him into the House not only in point of common civility but so as owning his Propriety and delivering up the Possession to him Thus opening to Christ doth note our giving up our Hearts to him and owning him for the only true lawful Soveraign Owner and Governour of them Our receiving Christ is not right till we arrive at this Point People may give attendance to Christ's Voice and have their Affections and Hearts in some measure moved and influenced by the same and yet Corruption may prevail and keep them from resigning up the Possession to him Nay it falls out too often thus with the truly Godly that they do not immediately upon some affection and sence begot in them upon their hearing the Voice of their Saviour resign up themselves and comply with his Demands as they should The Spouse Cant. 5.2 4 c. heard the Voice of her Beloved she knew it to be his Voice and seemed to attend to what he said vers 2. And though she made several Excuses yet we may easily perceive his Voice had some influence on her Ver. 4. My Bowels were moved for him Yet notwithstanding all this she did not open unto him He was provoked to withdraw and went his way vers 6. But I will not confine my self strictly to a minute enquiry into the extent of these Phrases used in the
us we are not only to cast away our Lusts and Sins but our Hearts must be fitted and disposed to receive him by the powerful Operation of his Holy Spirit beautifying and enriching them with Divine and Heavenly Qualifications And therefore it will concern us to be earnest in our Prayers that the good Spirit of God may come down upon us and make our Hearts and Souls meet Temples for the Son of God to dwell in IV. Go forth unto Christ by the actings of Faith upon all occasions Let Christ dwell in your Hearts by Faith Ephes 3.17 according to every alteration in your condition and according to all the diversities of Providence do you look unto Christ exercise Faith on him and by Faith fetch supplies of Grace from him V. Meditate much and often on the Love of Christ to Sinners Read over the Gospel the several Apostolical Epistles and the many Prophecies concerning Christ especially Isa 63. take notice of the many remarkable Passages there relating to Christ declaring his Condescention and Love weigh them seriously and press them upon thy own Soul and Conscience dwell on these Matters in thy Thoughts and expostulate with thy self about them What hath the Son of God taken my Nature has the King of Glory condescended to live here in the form of a Servant did he patiently undergo all the unjust Affronts and Contempts of lewd and prophane People did he bear the weight of God's Wrath and actually lay down his Life in the most open scandalous cursed linguering and painful kind of Death then known in the World and was all this for my sake O incomprehensible Love What shall I return unto my Saviour for all this I can never love Christ enough may I never cease admiring the many Instances wherein his Love hath broke forth unto me may I so wonder at and be affected with all these things that love to Christ may shine through all the passages of my Life May I never be at rest till I do arrive at the full enjoyment of my Saviour in his own Kingdom What has the Lord Jesus Christ done so much for me has he revealed such Truths made such Promises suffered such Sorrows submitted to such a Death as are recorded in the Holy Scriptures are so many glorious and wonderful Things related concerning him Doth he now reign in Heaven and hath he purchased such blessed Inheritance and satisfying Treasures for poor Sinners Nay doth he still importune and entreat me to accept of Him and his Benefits God forbid that I should oppose his Motions and resist his Love any longer Shall the King of Glory be slighted and excluded still by me Shall I wilfully cast away my own Soul and stubbornly neglect this great Salvation God forbid Shall it be writ on my Grave Here lies the sturdy ungrateful Wretch that did wilfully resist Jesus Christ the Wretch that resolved to force his way to Hell through all the Impediments and Discouragements infinite Justice and infinite Mercy had laid in his way that vile unpitiable Miscreant that would damn himself in spite of Love it self VI. Converse much with those who are experienced Christians and have much acquaintance with Christ He that walketh with wise Men shall be wise but a Companion of Fools shall be destroyed Prov. 13.20 Such People will very much assist thee in thy closing with Christ by their Discourses Exhortations and Practice They can tell thee such things concerning Christ from their own experience as will warm and melt thy Heart and inflame thy Affections They will contribute much to thy help by their advice and counsel by the accounts they can give thee off their own experiences by their watchfulness over thee and by their fervent effectual Prayers for thee VII Labour to be acquainted with and to observe all the Motions and Workings of Christ towards Sinners and close with and improve every one of them when he is pleased to exert any of them towards thy self Take notice of the Calls he doth give thee in his Word and the awakening visits he doth make thee by his providential Occurrences and improve these to put thee on a more diligent search and close walking after him and to excite and quicken in thee more fervent desires after Communion with him VIII Conscientiously frequent those Ordinances wherein Christ hath promised his more especial Presence Prepare thy self carefully to meet thy Lord and come with passionate Desires and confident Expectations grounded on his Faithfulness Word and Promise that he will exhibit himself unto those Souls that sincerely long and wait for him IX Lastly Faithfully resign and give up thy self to Christ When thy Heart is affected truly with a sense of Christ's Love then desire him by fervent Prayer that he will be pleased to take thee into Covenant with himself and make a hearty faithful entire resignation of thy self unto him O Blessed Jesus most Holy Saviour I am unworthy I acknowledg to make use of thy Name I have often resisted and sinned against thy constraining Love but I am heartily sorry now that ever I did so O compassionate and tender-hearted Saviour reject not an humble returning mourning Penitent embrace me the unworthiest of all others in the Arms of thy Mercy and admit me into thy favour the more stubborn and head-strong and wilful I have been the more abundantly let thy Grace be manifested toward me and bring me under the more powerful influences of thy Love Lord seize by the Power of thy Grace and take possession of this Soul Gracious Saviour whose Bowels have ever yearned over the miserable and who hast been always compassionate and gracious to the unworthy favourably accept of this poor Oblation Lord it is the purchase of thy own Blood O reject not despise not cast not away what thou hast bought at so dear a rate Lord here is my Soul my Body my Heart my Affections my Mind my Judgment my Will Lord here is all that I have Lord I resign up all unto thee without any reservation do with all as pleaseth thee best only accept of them O Lord I love thee above all I desire with my whole Soul to love thee every Day more and more Lord dwell in my Heart rule over my whole Man bring all my Powers unto a true and sound subjection unto and compliance with thee in every thing May my Soul always admire thee my Heart love thee my Tongue praise thee my Lips speak of thy Glory and Goodness May my Life glorify thee may I in every part of my practice serve and honour thee may all my Faculties and Members be ready and faithful Servants for and unto thee Lord I long to be with thee my Soul panteth after thee For me to live is Christ and to die is gain Phil. 1.21 FINIS