because of its being the principal Part of Man and the Seat of the Affection is often compared to and called a House a Temple a Habitation God hath a secret and real commerce with the Soul of every true Believer He communicates much of himself and imparts his Heavenly Graces unto every such Person He sets up his Government in that Soul and he expresseth his gracious Concernment with that Soul by dwelling in it by making that Person his House and Habitation Jesus answered and said If a Man love me he will keep my Words and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him Joh. 14.23 see Isa 57.15 The Lord Jesus makes very gracious Proposals to us He offers us his Blessings his Graces his Spirit the Benefits of his Death and Passion Himself And entreats and beseeches us to accept of these and give them room in our Hearts His addressing of himself to us by way of instruction perswasion and tendering of these to us is called his knocking at the Door Our learning of him accepting of and closing with his Tenders is called our hearing his Voice and opening to him It may be proper here to take notice 1. Of our Saviour's Posture 2. Of his Gesture 1. His Posture Behold I stand Which notes both his Patience how long he doth wait to be gracious and what danger we are in if we do not make a good use and improvement of his Patience and long-suffering for he is in such a Posture as notes a readiness of departure if he be not admitted 2. His Gesture And knock Which notes his earnestness and importunity The Lord Jesus when he makes his visits unto the Soul is not willing to depart without bestowing some Blessing He seems resolved not to take a denial He will fasten some Good some Blessing on thee if there be any thing either of ingenuity or of modesty in thee The Phrase is taken from what is ordinarily observed in the Visits which People make to one another As the Person which goeth to see another doth commonly stand before the Door of that House where the other 's Abode is and desiring to have entrance knocks and makes a noise at the Door till if any one be in the House he be taken notice of which argues he hath a desire to have some discourse and converse with the Person he comes to visit Thus Christ sets forth his desire and his earnestness to have some commerce and familiarity with poor Sinners He waits he knocks he useth all kind of importunity with them The Doctrine I design to insist on a little from these words is this Doct. The Lord Jesus Christ doth wait long and useth much importunity with Sinners to prevail with them to accept of him and his Benefits He stands at the door long and knocks often before we will take notice of him and open unto him Indeed his own People and Servants are too apt to forget him and to suffer him to wait and stay long when he makes his after Addresses to them before they rise and let him in We are too prone to turn a deaf Ear to him and admit any thing as an excuse for our not giving him so speedy and grateful a reception as we owe him How often do even Believers forget themselves and grow so remiss and drowsy as to provoke him to withdraw himself and deny them the sence of his gracious Presence and Love So that they must seek long and undergo much trouble before he will be found of them again This you may see fully proved if you seriously read and weigh the fifth Chapter of the Song of Solomon from v. 1st to the 9th And if those who have in some measure understood their need of Christ and been affected with his Excellencies and tasted how good the Lord is may grow so negligent and careless it cannot be very much wondered at if Christ when he makes his Addresses to others who are still in their natural Estate be not presently hearkened unto but must use importunity before he find admittance But yet the Sinner's either refusing or neglecting to hear him and comply with him is a thing so ill nothing can excuse it Now this shews the weakness of Grace in many who are already regenerated And what need the Best have to be always on their watch And likewise how strangely stupid and stubborn People are till by the operation of the Holy Ghost their Hearts are effectually wrought on and awakened And O how wonderful is the Condescention of the Blessed Jesus in that he takes so much notice of and doth with such patience and earnestness court and strive to overcome such vile such sensless and such unworthy Creatures It is Christ that first takes notice of us not we of him We love him because he loved us first 1 John 4.19 If Christ did never love and importune us we should never love him Should not Christ come and knock at our Doors we should never think of nor look after him in good earnest How should we stand amazed at this It was when we were Enemies that Christ died for us and it is whilst we are in a state of Enmity that he comes and entreats us to be reconciled to him God might easily and fully have glorified his Justice in our eternal Damnation and yet how earnest is he with us to accept of the happy Fruits of his Kindness It is whilst we lie wallowing in our Blood without pitty that he sets his Love upon us and saith unto us Live It is Christ's Work to bring us to a compliance with himself He loves us first he manifests his Love first and he makes those discoveries of his Love powerful of force to work upon our stubborn Natures and hard Hearts before we will yield and acknowledg either our own emptiness and need of him or his wonderful Love and Condescention towards us It is Christ that saith I will have Mercy upon her that had not obtained Mercy and I will say to them which were not my People Thou art my People and then they shall say Thou art my God Hos 2.23 You see Christ speaks first before we acknowledg him Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou hast such regard unto him What a Miracle of Condescention and Love is this that the Lord Jesus Christ that the Great and Eternal God should thus court and sollicit Dust and Ashes should represent himself so in love with sinful Worms In discoursing of this Truth I shall endeavour I. To explain and illustrate this of Christ's waiting to be gracious to Sinners and importuning them to accept of him II. To shew you what our receiving of Christ doth import III. To enquire what are the main Instances which hinder us from receiving of Christ into our Hearts IV. To offer a Reason or two why Christ is thus importunate with Sinners V. To make
CHRIST's IMPORTUNITY WITH SINNERS To accept of HIM By S. Bold Rector of Steple Dorset All day long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying People Rom. 10.21 As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the Wicked but that the Wicked turn from his way and live Turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die Ezek. 3.11 London Printed for Awnsham Churchill in Ave-Mary Lane and are to be sold by William Churchill Bookseller in Dorchester 1687. THE PREFACE TO THE READER READER THE Happiness and Glory of Heaven and the Horror and Anguish of Hell are most certain stable and durable Estates We have as great as convincing and as satisfying Evidence that wicked ungodly and impenitent Sinners shall be for ever inexpressibly and unconceivably miserable as is fit for reasonable Creatures to have in this World and as Infinite Wisdom hath thought meet to afford The Evidence is such that whosoever would pretend to require more suitable more proper and more powerful discoveries were he put to invent Methods of his own for his particular fatisfaction would have as reasonable as just and as good grounds after his Humour and Fancy were gratified to continue an Infidel as before see Luke 16.30 31. He that thinks it a disparagement to his Wit or a blemish to his Courage to acquiesce in the Testimony of God as delivered in our Bibles might with greater assurance refuse his assent to the Damn'd themselves did he see them in Flames and hear their personal acknowledgments that their Vices and Sins had wrought them all that misery For why should he heed and credit them who have not trick enough to disguise or obstinacy enough to deny their Guilt The subsequent Discourse was not design'd for them whose unnatural Immoralities or studied Incredulity has given them an elevation as they conceit above conviction If nothing but particular Experience will assure them of eternal and unsufferable Torments I leave them as Persons out of the reach of Ratiocination and Discourse to what will certainly overtake them and that before they are willing And therefore intending the following Discourse especially for the plain and ordinary sort who have not lost all sense I will briefly address to them in a Stile proportionable to the plainness and familiarity used in the Discourse it self I entreat you who retain any sparks of Humanity who have a sense that your Souls are Immortal who acknowledg there is some difference between Good and Evil Virtue and Vice and whom your general Profession do own that the Scriptures are the Word of God I say I do beg and most earnestly beseech you by all that should be dear and precious unto you to think seriously a little on the following Particulars Be so just to your selves so respectful to your Maker so civil and kind to them who do most passionately desire your everlasting Happiness as to allow a few sober thoughts about Matters which be of most necessary and unspeakable importance unto you Why should you rush upon God's Wrath precipitaâ—e and heedlesly throw your selves headlong into unquenchable Burnings and grieve and wound the Hearts of those who incessantly pray and desire and long and wait for your endless Good and Comfort Be prevailed with then to consider with some sedateness and calmness these few Instances 1. Though God made Man at first a very excellent holy upright and unblemish'd Creature yet now we are all by Sin defiled and made unholy and brought under Guilt So that as long as we remain in our natural and unregenerate Estate we are obnoxious and liable to God's Curse and have a just right to all the terrible Discoveries and most dreadful Effects of Divine and Infinite Justice see Rom. 5.12 1.18 Ephes 2.1 2 3. John 3.36 2. God hath not left us remedilesly in that sad and deplorable and as to all meer Creature-relief helpless Estate into which we are sunk by Sinâ— But of his abundant rich and free Grace He hath provided us an Alsufficient Saviour and Redeemer and hath opened unto us a Door of Hope He hath given his own Son to assume our Nature and to make Peace and Reconciliation for us By and through this Son of God Pardon Peace and Mercy deliverance from Sin Guilt Misery and Eterna Damnation is to be obtained and no other way see Rom. 5.8 9 10. 1 Tim. 1.15 Gal 4.4 5. 1 John 2.1 2. Act. 4.12 3. The Lord Jesus Christ having accomplished all that Work he undertook and which was appointed him to finish upon Earth and being entred into his glorious Administration doth make most gracious Offers of himself his Love his Mercy his Spirit and Benefits unto poor Sinners and is very importunate with them to entertain and accept of the same Ephes 4.7 to 14. Act. 13.26 2 Cor. 5.19 to the end 4. Multitudes who have the Gospel and partake of the Ministry of the Word and make a profession of Religion and have these gracious Offers made unto them do not suitably entertain but despise and reject Christ and his Benefits They stubbornly refuse to submit to his Authority to comply with his Terms and imploy themselves in his Service Nay many offer him the greatest abuses and contempt they can devise see Mat. 22.1 2 c. Luke 19.14 John 5.40 Act. 13.46 And do not the Lives and Practices of multitudes professing Christianity demonstrate all this Look into your Hearts and examine the ordinary course of your Conversations Shall you not there find sufficient and full proof that hitherto you have rejected him That yet he hath no room in your Hearts no influences on your Practices O what Ignorance what Rancor Malice Revenge Hatred Wrath unmortified powerful Lusts what Covetousness Earthly-mindedness Carnality Pride Hypocrisy what backbiting lying slandering evil-speaking prophane and common Swearing vain frothy foolish unedifying Words and Discourse what common constant neglect of the Worship and Service of God in Families and in Private What sleighting and contemning God's Word and Ordinances nay what ridiculing and making a sport of all serious Religion what Drunkenness and Whoredom Intemperance and Wantonness Oppression Injustice Violence and innumerable other most notorious and abominable wickednesses may multitudes of pretended Christians every where observe in and justly charge themselves with Now are these the Fruits of Christ's gracious and holy Presence Was Christ of such a Mind Did He do such Things Does he any where countenance and allow of such things Can those Hearts which cherish such Lusts and from which such polluted streams and corrupt Fruits do proceed be a Temple for the Holy Jesus to dwell in Are not these the Fruits of the Flesh which shut the Heart against Christ and exclude those who cherish and practise them out of the Kingdom of Heaven Gal. 5.19 20 21. Rev. 21.8 1 Cor. 6.9 10. Ephes 4.29 31. 5. All those who enjoying the Gospel do stubbornly and finally reject
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
destitute of true and sound Notions of God and without an interest in him as our reconciled God Ephes 2.12 Now what have such Persons to be proud of we who are dead in Trespasses and Sins Ephes 2.1 What have we to be conceited of that we should refuse to accept of Christ's Offers that we should think scorn to entertain him The discovery of our natural Estate should make us hasten to the Lord Jesus with all the speed we can But alas it is our not being sensible of our Condition our Infidelity our not believing that we are so worthless unclean and miserable as indeed we are that makes us slight Christ and refuse his gracious Offers 3. He makes known how real and extraordinary his Love is to us He does not complement us with words but hath a Heart for us O what demonstrations of Love hath he given us He hath done as much to approve the sincerity of his Love to us as can be desired or imagined Sinner there is no ground for thee to question the truth of his Love He hath vindicated and cleared his sincerity beyond all possibility of suspicion and doubt He pleads with the Sinner protests his Love to him and argues the matter with him Behold I have loved thee so long already with a transcendent Love And what is it thou wouldst or canst desire to make it appear my Love is hearty and real Do'st thou expect I should approve my Love by suffering some great hardships for thy sake Behold I have done that and more I have been scorned and contemned I have been abused and laugh'd at I have been derided and mock'd and spit upon nay I have sweat Blood for thee I have undergone inexpressible Agonies in my Mind such troubles and griefs in my Soul as no Tongue can explain for thy sake I have endured the frowns and born the displeasure of an angry God and incensed Father to preserve and save thee Here behold with thine own Eyes the Marks in my Hands and in my Feet those Nails have made which fastned me to the Cross see the Scars on my Forehead which were torn there by that Crown which was violently and reproachfully thrust on my Head Nay I did lay down my Life for thee I waxed not weary in compassing thy Salvation though the Pains and Sufferings I endured were very many very grievous and afflicting Death it self hath not quench'd nor conquered the Love I did bear unto thee Now who can resist the Arguings of a Saviour Do's Christ plead his Love and his Sufferings with thee do's he conjure thee by them to accept of him and wilt thou still stand out and reject him O how stubborn how invincible an Infidel how vile and unpitiable a Wretch wilt thou prove thy self to be if thou wilt not be moved by the entreaties and courtings of a bleeding Saviour 4. He doth urge his Authority over us and the right he hath unto us I do not mean only that which doth accrue to him by Creation or from our own particular promise and resignation of our selves unto him But that right he hath to us by purchase We are not our own to dispose of The Lord Jesus hath bought us out of the hands of our Enemies and is become on that account our rightful Lord and Master And how can we refuse him when he comes unto us but we must contract on our selves the dreadful guilt of the most detestable Rebellion rebellion against Heaven against the Lord of Love of Mercy of Life Our Hearts our Souls our Bodies our whole Man are purchased by him He has redeemed us unto himself he hath paid a sufficient price for us and shall we shut the Doors against him when he comes to dwell in his own House the Habitation he himself hath purchased Should a Servant keep any of us out of a House we have dearly bought with what indignation should we resent such usage And what may we expect from Christ if we will detain his own purchase from him and not admit him to have an abode with us 1 Cor. 6.19 20. Luke 19.27 It was a great Sin in the Jews that they slighted and disowned Christ when he came amongst them And their Sin was very much aggrevated on this account that they rejected him notwithstanding he had a peculiar and special right unto them John 1.11 O what will our Sin appear to be if after that Christ hath bought us with his most precious Blood we will not accept of and receive him when he knocks and pleads with us 5. He acquaints us with the necessity of our admitting him into our Hearts in order to our own happiness What shall we sin against our Lives and our Blessedness Shall we cast away our Souls and all that is justly dear to us and have nothing to say for our selves in our own vindication and excuse Is there any thing of prudence or of reason in doing thus Doth not our Nature doth not that Principle which differences us from Brutes detest such a thing Why if we would not be such Prodigals it highly concerns us to accept of Christ He comes to us and intreats us to accept of him for our own benefit He cannot receive any advantage or profit by it he doth not need us It is for our good he comes to us he importunes us thus because without accepting of him we must be eternally ruined We are in the way to Hell Satan and Lust are hurrying us apace to everlasting Misery and we cannot be delivered and saved any other way than by accepting of him Acts 4.12 6. He sets before us the Glory and Inheritance he hath provided for us and will certainly bestow on us if we do receive him The Things Christ hath treasured up for Believers are not the little transitory Things of this World These Things he casts abroad with a seemingly indifferent hand he never designed to make up a Portion for his own People of these perishing Things He hath greater and better Things to reward us with even an Inheritance incorruptible undefiled and which fadeth not away but is reserved for us in Heaven 1 Pet. 1.4 He hath taken possession of glorious Mansions and will come again and receive us unto himself to be for ever where he is John 14.2 3. We have no ground to question our Saviour's Faithfulness or Bounty It is alledged as a strong and convincing Argument that God will not deny any useful thing unto his People because he hath given up his Son for them Rom. 8.32 And can we imagine that he who hath suffered for us and triumphed over all our Enemies and hath made such glorious Promises as are recorded in his Word and doth still testify such strong Affection and Love towards us will if we accept of him refuse to confer on us the great and the glorious Things he hath purchased for us by his bloody Sufferings Our Blessed Saviour when he was on Earth prayed that his Servants might be
with him where he should be John 17.24 And he still intercedes now he is in Heaven for such that they may be with him and will certainly conduct them to and possess them for ever of that Glory and Happiness which infinitely exceeds all Imagination and which is fully understood by no Creatures but those who do enjoy it A Happiness which is absolutely free from all evil and unpleasant Mixture and which is every way compleat and full of every thing that is grateful pleasant and can administer any satisfaction A Happiness that is stable sure and certain which shall last to all Eternity and never cease decay nor cloy but always entertain with raptures of Joy ravishing Pleasures and Satisfactions which arise to uninterrupted and constant Extasies These are some of the Arguments which are strongly urged to prevail with Sinners to accept of Christ But his Importunity will yet further appear if we consider the Instruments he doth imploy and make use of about this Work The Instruments are many which are employ'd to entreat and perswade and move Sinners to close with the gracious Tenders made them by the Son of God I will name but four 1. The Holy Spirit is appointed to be Christ's Advocate and is employ'd to plead Christ's Cause with Sinners This Holy Spirit hath not only in a miraculous way convinc'd the World of Sin of Righteousness and of Judgment but he doth plead often with particular Persons Sometimes he works pious Inclinations and desires in the Soul sometimes he affects with a penetrating apprehension of the wretchedness of a natural Estate Sometimes he convinces powerfully of a necessity of looking after Christ sometimes he moves and perswades the Soul to close with Christ and accept him upon his own terms The Spirit of God works variously secretly and powerfully on the Heart and doth often testify of Christ even to those who do a long time nay it may be finally stand out and refuse to close heartily with him But it is a great aggravation of a Person 's Sin to grieve the Spirit of God Ephes 4.30 and to quench the Spirit 1 Thess 5.19 To take no notice of Christ but stubbornly oppose and resist him when he comes to us and pleads with us and entreats us by his Spirit to accept of him O to what a height doth our Guilt ascend when Christ sends his Spirit to treat with us and we despise or take no notice of the workings and witnessings of this Holy Spirit What a heightned Crime and Wickedness is this to contemn and make light of Christ after that the Holy Spirit hath been treating with us and explaining to us the Dignity of Christ his unvaluable transcendent Excellencies and the necessity of a Saviour This is certainly a very great proof and demonstration of our Saviour's earnestness to be admitted by us that he pleads with us by such an one and employs his Holy Spirit to transact and manage this Business with us 2. He sends his Ministers on this Errand The Ministers of the Gospel are appointed to be the Preachers of Reconciliation unto the World They are intrusted by the Lord Jesus to plead with Sinners and endeavour to prevail with them to receive Christ and yield up themselves to him And therefore as you hear or refuse to hear them so Christ interprets your readiness or unwillingness to receive him Luke 10.16 The great Work and Business of the Ministry is to beseech you in the Name of Christ to lay down your Enmity which you have unjustly conceived against him and hearken unto his wholsom saving Advice and Counsel even to accept of him that he may dwell with you and you with him Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled unto God 2 Cor. 5.20 Now how often and with how much earnestness have you been entreated this way to embrace Christ and his Gracious Offers Were not Christ very importunate for admittance what need would there be that a particular sort of People should be appointed and set apart for this very Business to invite and perswade and intreat People to accept of Christ and his Benefits Ephes 4.11 c. 3. Jesus Christ doth importune you by his Word When you read or hear the Holy Scriptures what urgings and entreatings have you there from Christ to accept of him It is Peoples great Sin that they slight the Scriptures as they do Ministers and Ordinances and are not willing to observe Christ speaking in them But O what a zeal and earnestness doth Christ manifest there in beseeching and calling Sinners to embrace and accept of him Consider and weigh these few Particulars amongst the many you may meet with in reading the Word of God which plainly shew how much Christ is concerned for your closing with his gracious Tenders 1. His free and solemn Invitations What frank and liberal Promises doth he make to all who will but comply with his Call Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Matth. 11.28 Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the Waters and he that hath no Mony come ye buy and eat yea come buy Wine and Milk without Mony and without Price Wherefore do ye spend Mony for that which is not Bread and your Labour for that which satisfieth not Hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your Soul delight it self in Fatness Incline your Ear and come unto me hear and your Soul shall live and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you even the sure Mercies of David Isa 55.1 2 3. You see here that he excepts none and that he assures of the best the most useful the choicest and most valuable Blessings 2. His vehement and affectionate Protestations He swears by Himself that his Love is cordial and sincere He importunes us often and condescends to argue and expostulate with us As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the Wicked but that the Wicked turn from his way and live turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die O house of Israel Ezek. 33.11 Cast away from you all your Transgressions whereby ye have transgressed and make you a new Heart and a new Spirit for why will ye die O House of Israel For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth saith the Lord God wherefore turn your selves and live ye Ezek. 18.31 32. 3. His passionate Lamentation over those who do stubbornly reject him and will not accept of him notwithstanding he pleads with them thus earnestly He wept over them of Jerusalem after he had long importuned them in vain How does he express by groans and sighs his mournful sorrowful Resentments on the account of the destruction they were wilfully drawing on themselves O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are