3. What got ye? If you come indeed you receive, if you receive not, you come not. Say not, you have received nothing, because you have not got all you would have. It is necessary, that such as come, get somewhat; but it is not fit that they should receive all that they want. A life of faith must be lived, and dependence and begging still kept on foot. But somewhat is still given and got, though the gift be not always seen and owned. But tell me, Christians indeed, have you not sometimes got that at the throne of grace, that ye would not take a world for? Did you ever apply to this throne in earnest, and found it in vain? Have you not sometimes got a glance of Christ through the lattice, Song ii. 9. that hath made you forget your poverty, and remember your misery no more? Know ye not what it is to have a smile of his countenance, and a token that you have found favour in his eyes? Have you not got at this throne, a word of promise, that hath fed and feasted thy faith? Jer. xv. 16. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart; for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. Have you not sometimes got the door of faith opened, and the eye of faith sharpened, that ye could see within the vail, and behold the good land, and the blessed Lord of it, and thy happy interest in both? Let not this throne be disparaged, both by the true emptiness of hypocrites that are about it, rather than at it, and by the peevishness of real believers. There are no poor courtiers at this court; they are all rich, Rev. ii. 9. They are only poor in spirit; but not so poor is better than all

as they think; for a kingdom is theirs, that kingdoms under heaven, Matth. v. 3. The world count believers poor, because they see they often have not outward riches; and they are blind, and cannot see their spiritual riches in possession and reversion. The believer thinks himself poor, because he seeth not all he hath in possession, 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23.; and because he would so fain have all he hath a right to, Phil. iii. 12, 13, 14. and the hope of ; or because his charters are hid, or his eyes are dim, that he cannot read them.

Quest. 2. Will ye come? All is ready; come to this throne,

Matth. xxii. 4. If ye have never come, begin just now; if ye have come often, come oftener, and come better, come nearer and closer still. Is there any thing wanting in you? Come; for all supply is here. Are you guilty? Come for pardon. Many drawn pardons are at this court, drawn up sweetly by free grace, sealed with the blood of Jesus. Come to this throne, and add your seal of faith to one for yourself; and it shall be a charter for glory to you, lying warm at your heart, as long as you live, and will be your passport at death. But because the following words of the apostle in this verse. contain arguments for coming, I say the less now.

So much for the first head of doctrine in the text.

HEAD II. The second head is, How we should come to this throne of grace? Come boldly, saith the Holy Ghost, by Paul's

pen.

The point I would speak to from it, is this:

DOCT. That there is a boldness in men's approaching to the throne of grace, that is allowed and commanded.

For the apostle doth not only mention it as a privilege allowed, but as a duty or frame enjoined and commanded. So that he that comes not with this boldness, not only sits down short of his allowance, but sins in disobeying a plain command. The privilege is spoke of in Eph. iii. 12. In whom (our Lord Jesus Christ, as ver. 11.) we have boldness and access with confidence, by the faith of him. In Heb. x. 19, 22. both the pri vilege is asserted, and the improvement of it commanded, in drawing near with full assurance of faith, and that to the holiest of all.

On this point I would shew,

I. What this boldness is that is allowed in approaching to the throne of grace.

II. What are the grounds of this boldness.

I. What is the boldness allowed in coming to the throne of grace? There is a boldness that is not allowed, and that I would warn you of.

their hearts may be too much set upon. It is about such that believers should watch against this presumptuous boldness. But if the pleading at the throne of grace be about salvation and spiritual blessings, the difference betwixt faith and presumption appears in this: Presumption can never plead with God, neither in deep distress, nor in the view of sin; but it is the excellent property of faith, that it can plead with God in both cases: Psal. Ixv. 3. Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away: Spoken like a believer; and Psal. cxxx. 3, 4. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? (But can David stand? Yes, and he stands on this ground); but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be feared. There is just cause to suspect, that there is presumption in that man's heart, when his boldness is only kept up, when sin is out of sight, and disappears. A believer believes most humbly, and often most strongly, when his sinfulness and unworthiness is best seen: for true boldness of faith is not supported by any good or worth in us, but by what is in Christ. The boldness of faith cannot be entertained with regarding of iniquity in the heart, Psal. lxvi. 18. 1 John iii. 20.; yet it can, with the being and seeing of iniquity in both heart and life, Rom. vii. 24, 25. 1 Tim. i. 15. But of this farther from the next head, of the boldness of faith. I now touch it only as it differs from the presumptuous boldness that is allowed to none. Again, faith can stand under that distress that breaks the back of presumption; Job xiii. 15, 16. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him; but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. "He hath taken away my children all at once, my estate in one day; hath taken "away my health, and made me miserable, to a proverb in all "ages: although he should proceed, and slay me with his own

hand, my slayer is my Saviour, my death shall be my salva"tion." Great words, and hard to be spoken in the day of heavy trial! God slaying Job, is Job's salvation. God slays, Job trusts, and maintains his cor fidence under the stroke. No hypocrite can do this; and many believers do but bungle at the doing of it. There is an extremity a-coming on every man, that will try and discover what metal there is in his faith; prepare for it.

What then is the boldness allowed in coming to the throne of grace? It must not be an ignorant, peremptory boldness. What must it then be ?

Ans. It is only the boldness of faith, Eph. iii. 12. Heb. x. 19. The boldness of faith hath this in general in it, that it is grounded and bottomed on somewhat without a man, and on nothing in him. It is grounded on Jesus Christ, as we shall hear farther. It is a great mistake in Christians to think, that they cannot come to the throne of grace with boldness, because of the many infirmities in their hearts, and in their addresses. Your complaint may be just and true; but the inference is not good. Do you never, in your counting your infirmities, put in this great one amongst them in your confessions, the want of boldness of faith? for this boldness stands not in any thing in us, and done by us. We must not come boldly, because we can pray well, and plead hard; we must not think to be heard in heaven, neither because of our much speaking, nor well speaking, Matth. vi. 7. as the Pharisees did. The boldness of faith hath a higher, and more noble and firm foundation, even Jesus Christ.

I shall conclude this discourse with these three acts of this allowed and commanded boldness of faith.

1. Believe firmly that the throne of grace is erected for poor, empty, sinful creatures, just such as you be. As Paul saith of the law, 1 Tim. i. 9. It is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient; so may we say of the throne of grace, It is not made, framed, and revealed for the holy and happy, but for miserable creatures that want mercy, and sinful helpless creatures that want grace. By what is dispensed here, we may know for whom, and for what sort of folks, it was designed and erected.

2. Believe firmly, that coming to the throne of grace by you is allowed and commanded by the Lord. Say confidently, While I am coming to the throne of grace for mercy and grace, I am in the work that the Lord would have me to be in. Take in all discoveries you have made unto you, or that you can find out by searching, of the weakness and infirmities that are in your way of addressing to it; own them humbly; but maintain this stedfastly, that though you cannot do as

Now, may not the are coming, when

you would, as others do, nor as you are bid, that yet you are doing what ye are bid. They are called, Luke xiv. 21. who are the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind! See a promise looking that way, Jer. xxxi. 8, 9. halt and maimed be confident, that they called, although they cannot go so fast and straight as others. do? Every believer walks in the steps of the faith of Abraham, Rom. iv. 12. though not his pace. When you draw near to the throne of grace, assure your hearts you are in your duty, though many do it better than you do.

3. Believe firmly, that upon coming you shall speed. This is coming with the boldness of faith. We should not come with a May be the Lord will be gracious. It is true, that in some particulars, not absolutely promised, nor simply needful to salvation, this may be is all we can have, or should seek. But in addressing for saving mercy and grace, people should come expecting success. It had been a cold word, if it had been said, Let us come to the throne of grace, it may be we shall obtain mercy and find grace. No; the apostle speaks in another dialect, Let us come that we may obtain. Never doubt of obtaining, if you come. I say not, that the confidence of good entertainment at this throne is common to all comers to it; but only that it is the duty of all that come for God's mercy and grace in Jesus Christ, to persuade their hearts that they shall obtain and find it. And good grounds there are for it, as we shall hear.

How is it with you, Christians? You often come to this throne: What are the thoughts of your hearts as to the issue of your addresses? It may be you think it is well if you can reach so far as this, "It may be the Lord will receive and "welcome me, and therefore I will try." Though there is often faith lurking under such doubtings, and though a may be should stir up men to come; yet this is far from the boldness of faith, which glorifies this throne, and him that sitteth on it, and which is so becoming and profitable to all that approach it. See how an Old Testament saint speaks, Job xxiii. 3,—6. O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat: (that is, this throne). I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. But cannot God easily