minifters commendations of him move thee? Then hear how he commends himself; I am the rofe of Sharon, and the lily of the vallies I am the true vine ; I am the good shepherd, &c. And, will you not believe his own report, who cannot lie? Surely he is in good earnest with you when he takes this course.

Will not this do? then hearken how mournfully he complains when he wants fuccefs, and paffionately regrets your folly in rejecting him. He fighs when he mentions it, Pfal. lxxxi. 13. O that my people had hearkned unto me! He bitterly laments it, Matth. xxiii. 37. 0 Jerufalem, Jerufalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, and ye would not! He doubles the name, to shew his tender affection; as David when he regrets his fon Abfalom, O my fon Abfalom, my fon, my fon! &c. How often would I have gathered you under my wings? How many an affectionate fermon, call and invitation have I given you, but all to no purpose? Shall I go through a fea of wrath and blood to fave you, and will ye not accept of me when I have done it? Shall I thed my blood in vain? Shall I bear the wrath of God, the fcorns of men, the terror of death and curfe of the law to no effect? Will ye ftill prefer your fins before me, and hear Satan's knocks fooner than mine? Hear that compaffionate complaint, John v. 40. Te will not come to me, that ye might have life. As if he had faid, Why run ye fo faft from, your Saviour? Why come ye not to me, who am come from hea ven to feek and fave you? It is not an enemy, but a friend, ye run from: the worst turn I would do you is to fave your lives: ye will go without much preffing to the devil, to get death and eternal damnation; but ye will not come to me to get life and eternal falvation. O what inexpreffible 'madness are ye guilty of!'

Behold how he wept for felf-defroying Jerufalem, rejecting his offers, Luke xix. 41. When he fat down to confider their cafe, his bowels yerned with pity,

his

his tongue broke forth in lamentation, and his eyesgushed out with tears; fo that his weeping even interrupted his voice, and made him utter fhort and ab. rupt expreffions, If thou hadst known, even thou, at leaft in this thy day, &c. where he seems to paufe at every other word, and drop firft a word, and then a tear. What a moving fight was this, to fee the fon of God in luch a pang of grief, and flood of tears for loft finners? Had he been enquired at, as he did Mary, John xx. 15. Bleft Lord, what feekeft thou? why weepeft thou? His anfwer readily would have been, Ifeek not myself, I weep not for myself; for I fhall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, the' finners be not gathered: but I weep to fee finners fo mad as to reject their Saviour and falvation, rather than " part with their lufts, that have damnation following them at the heels: it is my grief to fee them content rather to caft themselves headlong into the devil's arms, than throw themselves into my arms of mercy, or embrace me in the arms of their faith? O! did Christ weep for you, poor finners; and, will ye not weep for yourselves? Did his heart melt with pity for you; and, will not yours melt with defires towards him?

Can he do more to win your hearts than this? Yea, if this do not, he is pleafed to expoftulate the matter with you, and lay your danger before you; Turn ye, turn ye (faith he) for why will ye die? Yea, he condefcends to reafon the matter with you in a familiar way; Come (fays he) let us reafon together, Ifa. i. O my people, what have I done unto thee? Mic.vi. 3. What iniquity have ye found in me? What want or unsuitablene's have ye feen in me? Have I been a barren wilderness to you? Are not my ways equal? Thus he feeks to draw you with the cords of a man, and with the bands of love, Hof. xi. 4. And if there arife objections in your heart against coming to Chrift, and receiving him for your Saviour, fee how care. fully he lays out himself in his word to answer them.

all;

all; for he well forefaw every one of them: Produce your caufe, (faith the Lord) bring forth your strong. reafons, I am ready to hear and answer all your fcruples.

O! faith fome poor humbled foul, I have no right to come to Chrift, for I am a great finner. O! faith Christ, I came not to call the righteous but finners to repentance.

Obj. But I am the Chief of finners, my fins are red as crimson. O faith Chrift, I can make thee white as wool: nay, it was my errand into the world, to fave fuch as thou art, 1 Tim. i. 15.

Obj. But I am fick and wounded; what hath Christ to do with me? O ! faith Chrift, it is my proper employment to be taken up with you; for, the whole need not a phyfician, but they that are fick, Matth. ix. Am not I the good Samaritan, who am come to pour oil into thy fores, and tenderly bind up thy wounds? Pfal. cxlvii. 3.

Obj. But I have no ground to hope, for I am a loft wretch. O! faith Chrift, I came for this very errand, to seek and fave that which is loft, Luke xix. 10. and many a loft theep have I fought and found.

And a

Obj. But I am paft cure, for I am quite dead and rotten in the grave of fin. O! faith Chrift, I am the refurrection and the life; he that believes in me, tho' he were dead, yet Jhall he live, John xi. 25. gain he faith, Eph. v. 14. Asake thou that fleepest, and arife from the dead, and Chrift shall give thee light.

Obj. But I am a flave to fin and Satan, and a prifoner to juftice. O! faith Chrift, I am come to pro claim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prifon to them that are bound, Ifa. lxi. 1. Yea, I have the key of David, that opens and none can fhut; I have the blood of the covenant, that brings prifoners out of the pit. Turn ye, to the strong hold, ye prifaners of hope, Zech. ix. II, 12.

Obj.

Obj. But I have heavy burdens that weigh me down. O faith Chrift, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft.

Obj. But my hand is withered and I cannot receive Chrift, or any thing from him. Then do as the man who had the withered hand, make a mint upon Chrift's call, and he will enable thee to stretch out thy hand.

Obj. But I am lame, and cannot walk in Chrift's ways. O! faith Chrift, I will put my Spirit within you, and caufe you to walk in my flatutes, Ezek. xxxvi. Then Shall the lame man leap as an hart, Ifa. xxxv. 6.

Obj. But what if Chrift withdraw his Spirit and grace from me again? No, faith Chrift, I will never leave thee nor for fake thee, Heb. xiii.

Obj. But may not I, notwithflanding leave him, and make apoftacy? No, faith Christ, the covenant runs otherwife, Jer. iii. 19. Thou shalt call me, My father, and shalt not turn away from me. Christ is furety for

thy perfeverance.

Obj. But I will be overcome by trong temptations. No, faith Chrift, My grace fhall be fufficient for thee.

Obj. But (faith fome poor fenfible finner) alas! my cafe is not yet touched, for it is fingular: my fins are heinous and peculiar; they are against light, love, confcience, vows, and a thousand obligations: there is none that knows what a finner I have been, but God and my own confcience: Will Chrift ever accept of fuch a wretch as me ?

Anf. Art thou worse than a devilish Manaffeh, or a perfecuting Paul, whom Chrift pitied and faved? Art thou worfe than Mary Magdalen, who was a most notorious vile wretch? yet feven devils and an army of lufts could not keep Chrift out of her heart. Nay, tho' thy heart were as foul and black as hell, and thy life did warm with the molt abominable fins; yet Chrift is both able and willing to fave thee, if thou come to him. Are you worse than those in that black catalogue? 1 Cor. vi. 9. 10. Read and

fee

fee what a fad roll is there; and yet the apoftle faith to the believing Corinthians, ver. Ir. Such were fome of you, yet ye are washen, &c. The blood of Chrift is a powerful fountain, and is able to wash away the greatest fins that ever were committed, be they never fo black or bloody: God gave full proof of this by the first fin we read of that was cleanfed by this blood after it was fhed, even the murder of the fon of God, Acts ii. 36, 38. This was the moft prodigious wickedness that ever the fun faw: (yea, the fun fainted at the fight, as afraid to look on it) for fuppole a man were able to pull heaven and earth to pieces, deftroy the Angels, and murder all mankind, he would not contract fo monstrous a guilt as thofe did in crucifying the fen of God, whofe perfon was infinitely fuperior to the whole creation: yet thoufands that were actors in this black tragedy, were wathen by this blood, to give us a convincing experiment of its infinite value and virtue, and that no fin or guilt whatsoever was too ftrong for it; the blood of Christ (laith John, 1 John i. 7.) cleanfeth us from all fin.

Obj But tho' Chrift's blood be fufficient, yet I have no right to it.

Anf. Be what you will, you have a full and fufficient warrant from the gospel call to flee to it. See, what Chrift injoins his apofties to do, Mark xvi. 15. Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea ure, q. d. Make offer of my blood to all witho diftinction, even to the worst of finners, every creature, be they never fo wicked; yea, tho' they have finned themselves into the likene's of beats or devils, yet, if they be creatures of Adam's race, of. fer my blood, my mercy and merits to them: in'vite and prefs them to come unto me, and him that • cometh I will in no ways caft out.' O finner accept of the gospel offer; and, whatever you have been, you fhall find. there is mercy enough in God's bowels to pity you, merit enough in Chrift's blood to

purchase