hand of mercy put forth to pull in fhelterlefs doves that can find no reft elsewhere: I fay, ftrive to come near by the wings of faith, make your neft (at least) befide the hole's mouth: Be not found hovering without, left the flood wash you from the fides of the ark, and ye perish miferably. If you be fo foolish, you will wish eternally that you had never heard of Chrift, or that you had been born among the wild Indians or Mahometans, that never heard a fermon, or witneffed a communion.

VI. Confider how importunate Chrift is in his offers, and how much he preffeth you to receive him. "Wildom crieth in the ftreets," Prov.i. 20. Chrift makes loud and open proclamation of himself, and oft repeats his calls, Ifa. li. 1. "Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat, yea come," &c. Behold, how earneft he is with finners, that he bids them come to him three times in one verfe, Come, come, come. What alluring methods hath he taken to gain your hearts! How tenderly and affectionately doth he call and court backward fouls! Ifa. li. 4. "Hearken unto me, my peo

dle, give ear unto me, my nation." What melting expreffions are thefe? My people! My nation!

But, if calls do not prevail, he comes himself to feek and fave that which was loft. He came perfonally in the days of his flesh, and now he comes by his Spirit in his word and ordinances. The three wife men came from the east a long journey to feek Chrift; but now Chrift hath come from heaven to earth, a long journey; yea, come to every one of your congregations to feek you: And, are you not willing to be found of

him?

Nay, he is content to follow you when you run away from him, and pursue you with his gracious offers. As the rock followed the Ifraelites in the wilderness with its running ftreams of water, fo Chrift, our fpiritual rock, follows you now with the ftreams of his mercy and blood, to wath and fave you. O finner, if you will not hear the words of his mouth, hearken to the call of his wounds, which are opened as fo many mouths to

plead

plead with you. He hath fuffered his bleffed fide to be opened, that ye might look into his bleeding heart, and fee it panting with love, and alfo hear the founding of his bowels towards you. Will not this prevail? Then behold him by faith with a heavy crofs on his back, weighed down with your fins, and the curfes of a broken law, following you, and calling after you. Hear him knocking with his nailed hands, at the door of your hearts, faying, Open to me, poor perishing finner; give me harbour in thy heart, behold what I have fuffered from heaven, earth, and hell, for thee; look what justice hath done; look what the devils, the Romans, the Jews, and my own difciples, have done. View my head, my fide, my hands and my feet, my wounded body, and my bruised foul. Oh, canft thou find in thy heart to keep Chrift at the door, when thus wounded, bleeding, mangled for thee? Wilt thou let him flay all day long, when he hath put on his dyed garments, and red apparel, to court thy backward heart, and when he is faying, O finner, if thou wilt not believe, reach hither thy hand, and feel the print of the nails; yea, thruft it into my pierced fide, and feel my warm bleeding heart, and fee if I love you not? Wilt thou deny him accefs, who has done fo much for thee?

Will not this prevail? Then behold him difplaying his glorious beauty and excellency before thine eyes in a preached gofpel, to win thy heart. Will not minif ters commendation of him move thee? Then hear how he commends himself; "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys; I am the true vine; I am the good Shepherd," &c. And, will you not believe his own report, who cannot lye? Surely he is in good earneft 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 lighs when he mentions it, Pfal. Ixxxi. 13. "O that my people had hearkened unto me!" He bitterly laments it, Matth. xxiii. 37. "O Jerufalem, Jerufalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, and ye would not!" He doubles the name, to fhew his tender affec

tion;

tion; 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 purpofe? 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 fhed my blood in vain? Shall I bear the wrath of God, the fcorn of men, the terror of death, and curfe of the law, to no effect? Will ye ftill prefer your fins before me, and hear fatan's knocks fooner than mine.

Hear that compaffionate complaint, John v. 40. "Ye 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 heaven to feek and fave you? It is not an enemy, but a friend, ye run from: The worse 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 an inexpreffible madnefs are ye guilty of!"

Behold how he wept for felf-deftroying Jerufalem, rejecting his offers, Luke xix. 41. When he fat down to confider their cafe, his bowels yearned with pity, his tongue broke forth in lamentation, and his eyes gufhed out with tears; fo that his weeping even interrupted his voice, and made him utter fhort and abrupt expreffions, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this day," &c. Where he seems to paufe at every other word, and drop first a word, and then a tear. What a moving fight was, to fee the Son of God in fuch 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, I feek not myfelf, I weep not for myself; for I fhall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, though 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 de

arms of mer

vil's arms, than throw themselves into my cy, or embrace me in the arms of their faith. O! did Chrift weep for you, poor finners; and, will ye not weep for yourselves? Did his heart melt with pity for you; and will not your's melt with defires towards him?

3.

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 reason together," Ifai. i. "O my people what have I done unto thee?" Mic. vi. "What iniquity have ye found in me?" What want of unfuitablenefs have ye seen in me? Have I been a barren wilderness to you? Are not my avays equal? Thus he feeks to draw you with the cords of a man, and with the bonds of love, Hof. xi. 4. And if there arise objections in your heart against coming to Chrift, and receiving him for your Saviour, fee how carefully he lays out himself in his word to answer them all; for he well forefaw every one of them: Produce your caufe (faith the Lord) bring forth your ftrong 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."

Object." But I am the chief of finners, my fins are red as crimson." O! faith Chrift, "I can make them white as wool:" Nay, it was my errand into the world, to fave fuch as thou art, Tim. i. 15.

Object." But I am fick and wounded: what hath Chrift 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," Mat. xi. Am not I the good Samaritan, who am come to pour oil into thy fores," and tenderly bind up thy wounds?" Pfal. cxlvii. 3.

Object." But I have no ground to hope, for I am a loft wretch." O! faith Chrift, I came for this very

errand,

errand, "to feek and to fave that which is loft," Luke xix. 10. and many a loft fheep have I fought and found.

Object. "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, though he were dead, yet fhall he live," John xi. 25 And again he faith, Eph. v. 14. "Awake thou that fleepeft, and arife from the dead, and Chrift shall give thee light."

Object." But I am a flave to fin and fatan, and a prifoner to justice." O! faith Chrift, I came to "proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prifon to them that are bound," Ifa. xi. 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 prifoners of hope, Zech. ix. 11. 12.

Object." 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 rest.

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

Object. "But I am lame, and cannot walk in Christ's ways." O! faith Chrift, I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my ftatutes, Ezek. xxxvi. 6. "Then shall the lame man leap as an hart," Ifa.

Xxxv. 6.

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

Object. "But may not I, notwithstanding, leave him, and make apoftacy?" No, faith Chrift, the covenant runs otherwife, Jer. iii. 19. "Thou shalt call me, my father, and fhalt not turn away from me." Chrift is the furety for thy perfeverance.

Object." But I will be overcome by ftrong temptations." No, faith Chrift, my grace fhall be fufficient for thee.

Object." But (faith fome poor fenfible finner) alas! my cafe is not yet touched, for it is fingular: My fins

are