1. It implies the special favour, and distinguishing grace, and goodness of Jefus Chrift, that he will stand, and knock at our doors, when he paffes by fo great a part of the world, never giving one such knock, or call, at other men's doors; it is certainly a moft glorious, and admirable condefcenfion, and favour of heaven, and wherever it is fuccefsful, it speaks a man highly favoured of God. O that when Christ passes by the fouls of thousands, and millions, that would certainly afford him as comfortable an habitation as our fouls can do, and will not give one effectual knock, or call, at their doors, all the days of their life; that he will please to turn afide to thy foul, and wait, and knock there for entrance: I fay, here is one of the greatest acts of favour that can be fhewn to the foul of a finner. How many fouls be there in the world, equal in natural dignity to yours, and of sweeter natural tempers, whom yet the Lord Jefus lets alone, in the quiet poffeffion of fatan, Luke xi. 21. There is a deep filence, and ftilnefs in their confciences, no ftirrings, nor disturbances by convictions, but, through a dreadful judgment of God, they are left in a deep fleep; and if their confciences at any time begin to grumble, how foon are they hushed, and quieted again, by fatan? What the condition of the world was in former ages, we may fee in Acts xiv. 16. "Who in times paft fuffered all nations to walk in their own "way." O! it is the greatest mercy in the world for the fleepy confcience of a finner to be rouzed by convictions, because it is introductive to all other fpiritual mercies. I confefs this act of grace is little apprehended by the fons and daughters of men ; much rather would poor finners be let alone, than be thus difturbed by troublefome convictions; and when Christ disturbs their reft, how do they startle at the knocks of his Word and Spirit? How angry be they that they cannot be let alone to enjoy their quiet fleep in fin, till the flames of hell awaken them? Mr. Fenner, that great and eminent inftrument of God in this work, tells us, in one of his fermons, how it fared with a certain man that came to hear him preach: It seems the word had got entrance into his confcience, and gave it a terrible alarm, and as he was going home, fome that followed him, heard him thus blaming and bemoaning himself: O what a fool, what

a beast was I, to come under this fermon to-day? I fhall never have peace and quietness any more.' And what is the reafon that fmooth and general preaching is fo much applauded and affected in the world, and clofe convincing doctrine so much fhunned and hated, but this, that finners are very loath to be disquieted, and have their confciences thoroughly awakened ?

Well, whatever your apprehenfions be, certainly it is an unfpeakable mercy for Chrift to knock, and difquiet the fouls of finners by his calls. That is the first thing.

2. The next thing implied in this action of Chrift, is this, That the first motions towards the recovery and salvation of finners begin not in themselves, but in Chrift: We never knock at heaven's door by prayer, till Chrift hath first knocked at our doors by his Spirit: Did not Christ move first, there would be no motions after him in our hearts; we move towards him, because he hath first moved upon our fouls. Christ might fit long enough unfought, and undefired, did he not make the first motion. All our motions are fecondary, and confequential motions. Ifa. lxv. 1. "I am found of them that fought me "' not." As we love him because he first loved us, fo we feek after him because he first fought us. Alas! poor finners are as well fatisfied, as any people in the world can be, to lie fast afleep in the devil's arms. When the Spirit of God goes forth with the word of conviction, he finds the fouls of men in the very fame posture which the angels, that had furveyed the world, reported the whole earth to be in. Zech. i. 11. "Behold all the earth fitteth ftill, and is at reft." Every man fettled, and fatisfied in his own way. What a strange stilnefs, and midnight filence is there amongst finners? Not a figh, not a cry to be heard for fin: So the Pfalmift, Pfal. xiv. 2. reprefents the cafe of finners. "The Lord looked down from heaven 66 upon the children of men, to fee if there were any that did "underftand, and feek God. They are all gone afide," &c. There is one thing that is admirably strange in this cafe, that even those men and women, whofe rattles of earthly pleasures and delights, which brought them into this fleep and fecurity, are taken away from them by the hand of Providence, I mean their eftates, health, children, &c. yet they awake not; there are no ftirrings after God. O what a dead fleep hath fin caft the fouls of finners into! You have a notable scripture to this purpose, in Job xxxv. 9, 10. they are the words of Elihu, concerning men and women under grievous oppression, persons fqueezed and ground by the cruel hands of wicked men: "By reafon of the multitude of oppreffions they make the oppreffed "to cry; they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty: But none faith, where is God my Maker, who giveth fongs "in the night?" i. e. Succour, comfort, and refreshment to the afflicted. Here are men turned out of their estates, thrown into prifons, caft upon all extremities, and miferies; and what VOL. IV. Q99

do thefe poor creatures do? Why, faith he, they cry by rea fon of their oppreffion: O my father, or my mother, my wife; my child, my eftate, my liberty; but none faith, where is my God? O my fin, or my mifery by reafon of fin!" Where is "he that giveth fongs in the night?" The people of God when they lie mufing upon their beds under affliction, they have their "fongs in the night;" in the midst of the multitude of their troubled thoughts within them, the comforts of God delight their fouls. Thefe are their fongs in the night, but no fuch word, or thought, in carnal men. How plain is it, that all the first motions of falvation have their first spring, and rife, in God, and not in us? That is the fecond thing im plied in Chrift's knocking.

3. Chrift's knocking at the door of the heart, implies the method of the Spirit in converfion to be congruous, and agreeable, to the nature of man's foul. Mark Chrift's expreffion in the text; he doth not fay, "Behold I come to the door," and break it open by violence; no, Chrift makes no forcible entries, whether finners will or no; he will come in by confent of the will, or not at all. I ftand and knock; if any man open the door, I will come in to him. There is a great difference between a friendly admiffion by confent, and a forcible entrance! In a forcible entrance bars of iron are brought to break open the door; but in a friendly admiffion one knocks, and the other opens. Forcible actions are unfuitable to the nature of the will, whofe motions are free and fpontaneous; therefore it is faid, Pfalm cx. 3. The people fhall be willing in the day of "thy power." It

of man in the true, the power of God is upon the will

of his converfion, or else it would never open to Chrift; but yet that power of God doth not act against the freedom of man's will, by co-action and force; no, but of unwilling he makes it willing; taking away the obflinacy, and reluctancy of the will by the efficacy of his grace, which fome divines call victrix delectatio, a sweet and pleasant victory; and fo the door of the will ftill opens freely. Hofea xi. 4. "I drew

them with the cords of a man, with the bands of love." I drew them, there is almighty power; but how did this power draw them? with the cords of a man, i. e. with rational arguments, convincing the judgment. Beafts are driven, and forced, but men are drawn by reafon, and will not move without it, if they act like themfelves. It must be confeffed, that when the day of God's power is come for the bringing home of a poor finner to Chrift, he cannot refift the power of God's Spirit, that draws him effectually: "Every one that hath

"heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me;" yet ftill the foul comes freely by the confent of his will; for this is the method of Chrift in drawing fouls to him. There is in the day of a finner's converfion a kid, an offer made for the will, both by fatan and Chrift; fatan bids riches, honours, and plea fures, with cafe and quietness to the flesh, in the enjoyment of them: Abide where thou art, faith fatan, remain with me, and thou shalt efcape all the perfecutions, loffes, and troubles of the world, which confcience entangles other men in; thou fhalt draw thy life through peace and pleasure, to thy dying day. O, faith the flesh, this is a good motion, what can be better for me? But then faith Chrift, doft thou not confider that all thefe enjoyments will quickly be at an end, and what fhall become of thee then? Behold, I offer thee the free, full, and final pardon of thy fins; peace and reconciliation with God, treasures in heaven, all thefe fhall be thine, with troubles, reproaches, and perfecutions in this world. The understanding, and confcience of a finner, being convinced of the vanity of earthly things, and the indifpenfable neceffity of pardon and peace with God; I fay, when a convinced judgment hath duely balanced these things, and laid them before the will, and the Spirit of God puts forth his power in the renovation of it; it moves towards Chrift freely, and yet cannot, according to its natural order, act otherwife than it doth. And, doubtless, this is the true meaning of that expreffion, fo often mistaken and abufed, in Luke xiv. 23. " Compel them to come in. What! by forcing men against the light of their confciences? No, no; to the fhame of many Proteftants let us hear the glofs of Stella, a Popish commentator upon the place. Chrift (faith he) com, pels men to come in, by fhewing to their will fuch an excelling good as it cannot but embrace: For voluntas naturaliter fertur in bonum, the will is naturally carried to the best good. And thus the Spirit works upon the foul harmoniously, and agreeable to its own nature. That is the third thing im plied in Chrift's knocking.

"

4. Chrift's knocking at the door of the foul, manifeftly implies the immediate accefs of the Spirit of God unto the foul of man; that he can come to the very innermoft door of the foul at his pleasure, and make what impreffion upon it he pleaseth. As for other inftruments used in this work, they have no fuch privilege, or power; Minifters can but knock at the external door of the fenfes. Thine eyes fhall fee thy teachers, we can fee their perfons and hear their voices; we can reason with

finners, and plead with their fouls; but awaken them we can not, open their hearts we cannot; we can only lodge our meffages in their ears, and leave it to the Spirit of God to make it effectual. This is a royalty belonging unto the Spirit of God, incommunicable to angels, or men; if an angel from heaven were the preacher, he could not give one immediate stroke to the confcience, much less can man; we have no dominion over your confciences. The key of the doors of your fouls hang not at our girdles, but are in the hands of Chrift, Rev. iii. 7. "He hath the key of David, he openeth, and no man fhutteth;

and he fhutteth, and no man openeth." The confcience, and all the faculties lie naked and open to the stroke of God's Spirit; he can wound them and heal them, and make what impreffions he pleaseth upon them. Learn hence what need there is, both for minifters and people, before they enter upon the folemn ordinances of God, to lift up their hearts by prayer for the bleffing, and power of the Spirit upon them. Lord, fend forth thy Spirit, pour it forth upon, and with thy word. Ah! how many fermons have we preached, and you heard, and yet there is no opening! Thefe are the four things implied in Chrift's knocking at the door, viz. condefcending grace: All first motions being in God, the motions of his Spirit are congruous, and agreeable to the nature of the foul; and that his Spirit can have immediate accefs to the innermoft faculties, and powers of the foul, at his pleasure. Now in the next place let us confider,

Thirdly, By what inftruments Chrift knocks at the doors, that is, the judgment, confcience, and will of a finner. thefe are two, viz.

And

Here my work will be to fhew you how the Spirit of God makes ufe both of the word and works of God, to rouze and open the confciences and hearts of finners. These are the two hammers or inftruments of the Spirit, by which he knocks at the door of the heart.

I. The word written or preached, but efpecially preached; to this Christ gives the preference above all other inftruments employed about this work; and, anfwerably, the word is called God's hammer, Jer. xxii. 29. "Is not my word like fire, and "as the hammer which breaketh the rocks in pieces?" By this hammer Chrift raps at the door of a finner's foul, to give warning that he is there. The Spirit of God can open the heart immediately if he pleaseth; but he will honour his word in this work. And therefore, when Lydia's heart was to be