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immediately from the devil, or arise from the body of death that is in thy flesh. From which thou oughtest thus to say, "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. Rom. vii. 16, 17.

I will give thee a pertinent instance. In Deut. xxii. thou mayest read of a betrothed damsel, one betrothed to her beloved, one that had given her heart and mouth, as thou hast given thyself to Christ; yet was she met with as she walked in the field, by one that forced her, because he was stronger than she. Well, what judgment now doth God, the righteous judge, pass upon the damsel for this? "The man only, saith God, "shall die: but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for, as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: for he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her." Deut. xxii. 25-27. Now, tempted soul, thou art as this damsel. He that forceth thee with these blasphemous thoughts, is the devil; and he lighteth upon thee in a fit place, even in the fields as thou art wandering after Jesus Christ; but thou criest out and by thy cry dost show that thou abhorrest such wicked lewdness. Well, the Judge of all the earth will do right; he will not lay the sin at thy door, but at his that offered the violence. And for thy comfort take this into consideration, that he came to ‘heal them that were oppressed with the devil.' Acts x. 38.

Object. 4. But saith another, I am so heartless, so slow, and, as I think, so indifferent in my coming, that, to speak truth, I know not whether my kind of coming ought to be called a coming to Christ.'

Answ. You know that I told you at first, that coming to Christ is a moving of the heart and affections towards him. 'But, (saith the troubled soul,) my dullness and indifferency in all holy duties, demonstrate my heartlessness in

coming; and to come, and not with the heart, signifies nothing at all.'

Answ. 1. The moving of the heart after Christ, is not to be discerned (at all times) by thy sensible affectionate performance of duties; but rather by those secret groanings and complaints which thy soul makes to God, against that sloth that attends thee in duties.

2. But grant it be, even as thou sayest it is, that thou comest so slowly, &c., yet since Christ bids them come that come not at all, surely they may be accepted that come, though attended with those infirmities, which thou at present groanest under. He saith, "And him that cometh (he saith not, If they come sensibly, and so fast; but, And him that cometh) to me, I will in no wise cast out." He saith also, in the 9th of Proverbs, "As for him that wanteth understanding, (that is, a heart: for oftentimes the understanding is taken for the heart); Come eat of my bread, and drink of the wine that I have mingled."

3. Thou mayest be vehement in the spirit in coming to Jesus Christ, and yet be plagued with sensible sloth. So was the church, when she cried, "Draw me; we will run after thee;" and Paul, when he said, "When I would do good, evil is present with me." Song i. 4; Rom. vii. The workings, strugglings, and oppositions of the flesh, are more manifest than are the workings of the Spirit in our hearts, and so are sooner felt than they. Gal. v. 17. What then? Let us not be discouraged at the sight and feeling of our own infirmities, but run the faster to Jesus Christ for salvation.

4. Get thy heart warmed with the sweet promise of Christ's acceptance of the coming sinner, and that will make thee more haste unto him. Discouraging thoughts, are like unto cold weather; they benumb the senses, and make us go ungainly about our business; but the sweet and warm gleams of promise, are like the comfortable beams of the sun, which enliven and refresh. You see how little the bee and the fly

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do play in the air in winter; why, the cold hinders them from doing it; but when the wind and sun are warm, who are so busy as they?

5. But again, he that comes to Christ, flies for his life. Now there is no man that flies for his life, that thinks he speeds fast enough on his journey; no, could he, he would willingly take a mile at a step. "O my sloth and heartlessness, sayest thou! Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest! I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." Psalm lv. 6, 8.

Poor coming soul, thou art like the man that would ride full gallop, whose horse will hardly trot! Now, the desire of his mind is not to be judged of by the slow pace of the dull jade he rides on; but by his hitching, and kicking, and spurring, as he sits on its back. Thy flesh is like this dull jade; it will not gallop after Christ; it will be backward, though thy soul and heaven lie at stake.

But be of good comfort. Christ judgeth not according to the fierceness of outward motion (Mark x. 17); but according to the sincerity of the heart and inward parts. John. i. 47; Psalm li. 6. Ziba in appearance came to David much faster than did Mephibosheth; but yet his heart was not so upright in him to David as was his. It is true, Mephibosheth had a check from David: for said he, "Why wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth ?" But when David came to remember that Mephibosheth was lame (for that was his plea, "Thy servant is lame" 2 Sam. xix.), he was content, and concluded, he would have come after him faster than he did; and Mephibosheth appealed to David, who was in those days as an angel of God to know all things that are done in the earth, if he did not believe that the reason of his backwardness lay in his lameness, and not in his mind. Why, poor coming sinner, thou canst not come to Christ with that outward swiftness of career as many others do; but

doth the reason of thy backwardness lie in thy mind and will, or in the sluggishness of the flesh? Canst thou say sincerely, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak?" Matt. xxvi. 41. Yea, canst thou appeal to the Lord Jesus, who knoweth perfectly the very inmost thought of thy heart, that this is true? Then take this for thy comfort. He hath said, "I will assemble her that halteth,""I will make her that halteth a remnant,""-" And I will save her that halteth." Micah iv. 6, 7; Zeph. iii. 19. What canst thou have more from the sweet lips of the Son of God?

6. I read of some that are to follow Christ in chains; I say, to come after him in chains. "Thus saith the Lord, the labor of Egypt, and the merchandize of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains shall they come over, and they shall fall down unto thee; they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely there is none else to save." Isa. xlv. 14. Surely they that come after Christ in chains, come to him in great difficulty, because their steps are straitened by the chains. And what chain so heavy, as those that discourage thee? Thy chain, which is made up of guilt and filth, is heavy, it is a wretched band about thy neck, by which thy strength doth fail. Lam. i. 14; iii. 7. But come, though thou comest in chains. It is a glory to Christ that a sinner comes after him in chains. The chinking of thy chains, though troublesome to thee, is not, nor can be any obstruction to thy salvation; it is Christ's work and glory to save thee from thy chains, to enlarge thy steps, and set thee at liberty.

7. The blind man, though called, surely could not come apace to Jesus Christ; but Christ could stand still, and stay for him. True, "He rideth upon the wings of the wind;" but yet he is long-suffering, and his long-suffering is salvation to him that cometh to him. 2 Pet. iii. 9.

8. Hadst thou seen those that came to the Lord Jesus

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in the days of his flesh, how slowly, how hobblingly, many came to him, by reason of their infirmities; and also how friendly and kindly, and graciously, he received them, and gave them the desire of their hearts, thou wouldst not, as thou dost, make such objections against thyself, in thy coming to Jesus Christ.

Object. 5. But, says another, I fear I come too late; I doubt I have staid too long; I am afraid the door is shut. Answ. Thou canst never come too late to Jesus Christ, if thou dost come. This is manifest by two instances.

1. By the man that came to him at the eleventh hour. This man was idle all the day long. He had a whole day to come in, and he played it all away save only the last hour thereof; but at last, at the eleventh hour, he came, and goes into the vineyard to work with the rest of the laborers, that had borne the burden and heat of the day. Well, but how was he received by the lord of the vineyard? Why, when pay-day came, he had even as much as the rest; yea, had money first. True, the others murmured at him; but what did the Lord Jesus answer them? "Is thine eye evil because mine is good? I will give unto this last even as unto thee." Matt. xx.

2. The other instance is, the thief upon the cross. He came late also, even as at an hour before his death. Yea, he strayed from Jesus Christ as long as he had liberty to be a thief, and longer too; for could he have deluded the judge, and by lying words escaped his just condemnation, for aught I know, he had not come as yet to his Saviour. But being convicted, and condemned to die, yea, fastened to the cross, that he might die like a rogue, as he was in his life; behold the Lord Jesus, when this wicked man converted even now, desireth mercy at his hands, tell him (and that without the least reflection upon him for his former misspent life), "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke xxiii. 43.