2. As he must know himself, and what a wretch he is, so he must know the world, and what an empty thing it is. Cain did see himself, but saw not the emptiness of this world; and therefore instead of going to G.o.d by Christ, he went to the world, and there did take up to his dying day. (Gen 4:16) The world is a great snare to the soul, even to the souls of awakened sinners, by reason of its big looks, and the fair promises that it makes to those that will please to entertain it. It will also make as though it could do as much to the quieting of the spirit as either sermon, Bible, or preacher.

Yea, and it has its followers ready at its heels continually to blow its applause abroad, saying, 'Who will show us any [other] good?'

(Psa 4:6) and though 'this their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings.' (Psa 49:13) So that unless a man, under some awakenings, sees the emptiness of the world, he will take up in the good things thereof, and not come to G.o.d by Christ.

Many there be now in h.e.l.l that can seal to this for truth. It was the world that took awakened Cain, awakened Judas, awakened Demas.

Yea, Balaam, though he had some kind of visions of G.o.d, yet was kept by the world from coming to him aright. See with what earnestness the young man in the gospel came to Jesus Christ, and that for eternal life. He ran to him, he kneeled down to him, and asked, and that before a mult.i.tude, 'Good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?' (Mark 10:17-24) And yet when he was told he could not come, the world soon stepped betwixt that life and him, and persuaded him to take up in itself; and so, for aught we know, he never looked after life more.

There are four things in the world that have a tendency to lull an awakened man asleep, if G.o.d also makes him not afraid of the world.

(1.) There is the bustle and c.u.mber of the world, that will call a man off from looking after the salvation of his soul. This is intimated by the parable of the th.o.r.n.y ground. (Luke 8:14) Worldly c.u.mber is a devilish thing; it will hurry a man from his bed without prayer; to a sermon, and from it again, without prayer; it will choke prayer, it will choke the Word, it will choke convictions, it will choke the soul, and cause that awakening shall be to no saving purpose.

(2.) There is the friendship of this world, to which, if a man is not mortified, there is no coming for him to G.o.d by Christ. And a man can never be mortified to it unless he shall see the emptiness and vanity of it. Whosoever makes himself a friend of this world is the enemy of G.o.d. And how, then, can he come to him by Christ?

(James 4:4)

(3.) There are the terrors of the world, if a man stands in fear of them, he also will not come to G.o.d by Christ. The fear of man brings a snare. How many have, in all ages, been kept from coming to G.o.d aright by the terrors of the world? Yea, how many are there to one's thinking have almost got to the gates of heaven, and have been scared and driven quite back again by nothing but the terrors of this world? This is that which Christ so cautioneth his disciples about, for he knew it was a deadly thing. Peter also bids the saints beware of this as of a thing very destructive. (Luke 12:4-6, 1 Peter 3:14,15)

(4.) There is also the glory of the world, an absolute hindrance to convictions and awakenings, to wit, honours, and greatness, and preferments: 'How can ye believe,' said Christ, 'which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from G.o.d only.' (John 5:44) If therefore a man is not in his affections crucified to these, it will keep him from coming to G.o.d aright.

3. As a man must know himself, how vile he is, and know the world, how empty it is, so he must know the law, how severe it is; else he will not come to G.o.d by Jesus Christ our Lord.

A man that is under awakenings, is under a double danger of falling short of coming to G.o.d by Christ. If he knows not the severity of the law, he is either in danger of slighting its penalty, or of seeking to make amends to it by doing of good works; and nothing can keep him from splitting his soul upon one of these two rocks, but a sound knowledge of the severity of the law.

(1.) He is in danger of slighting the penalty. This is seen by the practice of all the profane in the world. Do they not know the law?

Verily, many of them can say the Ten Commandments without book.

But they do not know the severity of the law; and therefore when at any time awakenings come upon their consciences, they strive to drive away the guilt of one sin, by wallowing in the filth of another.

But would they do thus if they knew the severity of the law?

they would as soon eat fire. The severity of the law would be an intolerable, insupportable burden to their consciences; it would drive them, and make them fly for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before them.

(2.) Or if he slights not the penalty, he will seek to make amends to it by doing of good works for the sins he has committed. This is manifest by the practice of the Jews and Turks, and all that swerve on that hand--to wit, to seek life and happiness by the law.

Paul also was here before he meet with Jesus in the way. This is natural to consciences that are awakened, unless also they have given to them to see the true severity of the law; the which that thou mayest do, if my mite will help, I will cast in for thy conviction these four things--

(a.) The law charges thee with its curse, as well for the pollution of thy nature, as for the defilements of thy life; yea, and if thou hadst never committed sinful act, thy pollution of nature must stand in thy way to life, if thou comest not to G.o.d for mercy by Christ.

(b.) The law takes notice of, and chargeth thee with its curse, as well for sinful thoughts as for vile and sinful actions. 'The [very] thought of foolishness is sin,' (Prov 24:9), though it never breaks out into act, and will as surely merit the d.a.m.nation of the soul as will the greatest transgression in the world.

(c.) If now thou couldst keep all the commandments, that will do thee no good at all, because thou hast sinned first: 'The soul that sinneth shall die.' Unless, then, thou canst endure the curse, and so in a legal way overcome it for the sins that thou hast committed, thou art gone, if thou comest not to G.o.d by Christ for mercy and pardon.

(d.) And never think of repentance, thereby to stop the mouth of the law; for the law calleth not for repentance, but life; nor will it accept of any, shouldst thou mourn and weep for thy sins till thou hast made a sea of blood with tears. This, I say, thou must know, or thou wilt not come to G.o.d by Christ for life. For the knowledge of this will cause that thou shalt neither slight the severity of the law, nor trust to the works thereof for life. Now, when thou doest neither of these, thou canst not but speed thee to G.o.d by Christ for life; for now thou hast no stay; pleasures are gone, all hope in thyself is gone. Thou now diest, and that is the way to love; for this inward death is, or feels like, a hunger-bitten stomach, that cannot but crave and gape for meat and drink. Now it will be as possible for thee to sleep with thy finger in the fire, as to forbear craving of mercy so long as this knowledge remains.

4. As a man must know himself, the emptiness of this world, and the law, so it is necessary for him to know that there is a h.e.l.l, and how insupportable the torments of it are; for all threatenings, curses, and determinations to punish in the next world will prove but fictions and scarecrows, if there be no woeful place, no woeful state, for the sinner to receive his wages in for sin, when his days are ended in this world. Wherefore, this word 'saved' supposeth such a place and state. He is able to save from h.e.l.l, from the woeful place, from the woeful state of h.e.l.l, them that come unto G.o.d by him.

Christ, therefore, often insinuated the truth of a h.e.l.l in his invitations to the sinners of this world to come to him; as where he tells them they shall be saved if they do, they shall be d.a.m.ned if they do not. As if he had said, there is a h.e.l.l, a terrible h.e.l.l, and they that come to me I will save them from it; but they that come not, the law will d.a.m.n them in it. Therefore, that thou mayest indeed come to G.o.d by Christ for mercy, believe there is a h.e.l.l, a woeful, terrible place. h.e.l.l is G.o.d's creature, 'he hath made it deep and large'! The punishments are by the lashes of his wrath, which will issue from his mouth like a stream of burning brimstone, ever kindling itself upon the soul. (Isa 30:33) Thou must know this by the Word, and fly from it, or thou shalt know it by thy sins, and lie and cry in it.

I might enlarge, but if I did, I should be swallowed up; for we are while here no more able to set forth the torments of h.e.l.l, than we are whole here to set forth the joys of heaven; only this may, and ought to be said, that G.o.d is able, as to save, so to cast into h.e.l.l. (Luke 12:5) And as he is able to make heaven sweet, good, pleasurable, and glorious beyond thought; so he is able to make the torments of h.e.l.l so exquisite, so hot, so sharp, so intolerable, that no tongue can utter it, no, not the d.a.m.ned in h.e.l.l themselves.

(Isa 64:4) If thou lovest thy soul, slight not the knowledge of h.e.l.l, for that, with the law, are the spurs which Christ useth to p.r.i.c.k souls forward to himself withal. What is the cause that sinners can play so delightfully with sin? It is for that they forget there is a h.e.l.l for them to descend into for their so doing, when they go out of this world. For here usually he gives our stop to a sinful course; we perceive that h.e.l.l hath opened her mouth before us. Lest thou shouldst forget, I beseech thee, another time, to retain the knowledge of h.e.l.l in thine understanding, and apply the burning-hot thoughts thereof to thy conscience; this is one way to make thee gather up thy heels, and mend thy pace in thy coming to Jesus Christ, and to G.o.d the Father by him.13

5. It is also necessary that he that cometh to G.o.d by the Lord Jesus, should know what death is, and the uncertainty of its approaches upon us. Death is, as I may call it, the feller, the cutter down.

Death is that that puts a stop to a further living here, and that which lays man where judgment finds him. If he is in the faith in Jesus, it lays him down there to sleep till the Lord comes; if he be not in the faith, it lays him down in his sins till the Lord comes. (Heb 11:13, 1 Thess 4:14, Job 20:11) Again; if thou hast some beginnings that look like good, and death should overtake thee before those beginnings are ripe, thy fruit will wither, and thou wilt fall short of being gathered into G.o.d's barn. Some men are 'cut off as the tops of the ears of corn,' and some are even nipped by death in the very bud of their spring; but the safety is when a man is ripe, and shall be gathered to his grave, as a shock of corn to the barn in its season. (Job 24:20-24, 5:26)

Now if death should surprise and seize thee before thou art fit to die, all is lost; for there is no repentance in the grave, or rather, as the wise man has it, 'Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.' (Eccl 9:10)

Death is G.o.d's sergeant, G.o.d's bailiff, and he arrests in G.o.d's name when he comes, but seldom gives warning before he clappeth us on the shoulder; and when he arrests us, though he may stay a little while, and give us leave to pant, and tumble, and toss ourselves for a while upon a bed of languishing, yet at last he will p.r.i.c.k our bladder, and let out our life, and then our soul will be poured upon the ground, yea, into h.e.l.l, if we are not ready and prepared for the life everlasting. He that doth not watch for, and is not afraid lest death should prevent him, will not make haste to G.o.d by Christ. What Job said of temporal afflictions, such an one will death be if thou art not aware--'When I looked for good, then evil came--The days of affliction prevented me.' (Job 30:26,27) If thou lookest, or beginnest to look for good, and the day of death shall cut thee off before thou hast found that good thou lookest for, all is lost, soul, and life, and heaven, and all. Wherefore it is convenient that thou conclude the grave is thy house, and that thou make thy bed once a day in the grave; also that thou say unto corruption, 'Thou art my father; to the worm, thou art my mother and my sister.' (Job 17:13,14) I say, be acquainted with the grave and death. The fool puts the evil day far away, but the wise man brings it nigh. Better be ready to die seven years before death comes, than want one day, one hour, one moment, one tear, one sorrowful sigh at the remembrance of the ill-spent life that I have lived. This, then, is that which I admonish thee of; namely, that thou know death, what it is, what it doth when it comes. Also, that thou consider well of the danger that death leaves that man in, to whom he comes before he is ready and prepared to be laid by it in the grave.

6. Thou must also be made by thy awakenings to see what Christ is. This is of absolute necessity; for how can or shall a man be willing to come to Christ that knows not what he is, what G.o.d has appointed him to do? He is the Saviour, every man will say so; but to sense, smell, and taste, what saving is, and so to understand the nature of the office and work of a Saviour, is a rare thing, kept close from most, known but by some. Jesus of Nazareth is the Saviour or the reconciler of men to G.o.d in the body of his flesh through death. (Col 1:19-21) This is he whose business in coming from heaven to earth was to save his people from their sins. Now, as was said, to know how he doth this, is that which is needful to be inquired into; for some say he doth it one way, some, he doth it another; and it must be remembered that we are now speaking of the salvation of that man that from new or first awakenings, is coming to G.o.d by Christ for life. (1.) Some say he doth it, by giving of us precepts and laws to keep, that we might be justified thereby.

(2.) Some say that he doth it, by setting himself a pattern for us to follow him.(3.) Some again hold, that he doth it by our following the light within.

But thou must take heed of all these, for he justifies us by none of these means, and thou dost need to be justified. I say, he justifieth us, not either by giving laws unto us, or by becoming our example, or by our following of him in any sense, but by his blood shed for us. His blood is not laws, nor ordinances, nor commandments, but a price, a redeeming price. (Rom 5:7-9, Rev 1:5) He justifies us by bestowing upon us, not by expecting from us; he justifies us by his grace, not by our works. (Eph 1:7) In a word, thou must be well grounded in the knowledge of what Christ is, and how men are justified by him, or thou wilt not come unto G.o.d by him.

As thou must know him, and how men are justified by him, so thou must know the readiness that is in him to receive and to do for those what they need that come unto G.o.d by him. Suppose his merits were never so efficacious, yet if it could be proved that there is a loathness in him that these merits should be bestowed upon the coming ones, there would but few adventure to wait upon him. But now, as he is full, he is free. Nothing pleases him better than to give what he has away; than to bestow it upon the poor and needy.

And it will be convenient that thou who art a coming soul shouldst know this for thy comfort to encourage thee to come to G.o.d by him.

Take two or three sayings of his, for the confirming of what is now said. 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' (Matt 11:28) 'All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.' (John 6:37) 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' (Mark 2:17) 'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.' (1 Tim 1:15)

7. As a man that would come to G.o.d by Christ must, antecedent to his so coming, know himself, what he is; the world, how empty it is; the law, how severe it is; death, and what it is; and Christ, and what he is; so also he must know G.o.d. 'He that cometh to G.o.d must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.' (Heb 11:6) G.o.d must be known, else how can the sinner propound him as his end, his ultimate end? For so doth every one that indeed doth come to Christ aright; he comes to Christ because he is the way; he comes to G.o.d because he is the end. But, I say, if he knows him not, how can he propound him as the end? The end is that for the sake of which I propound to myself anything, and for the sake of which I use any means. Now, then, I would be saved; but why? Even because I would enjoy G.o.d. I use the means to be saved; and why? Because I would enjoy G.o.d. I am sensible that sin has made me come short of the glory of G.o.d, and that Christ Jesus is he, the only he, that can put me into a condition of obtaining the glory of G.o.d; and, therefore, I come to G.o.d by him. (Rom 3:23, 5:1,2)

But, I say again, who will propound G.o.d for his end that knows him not, that knows him not aright? yea, that knows him not, to be worth being propounded as my end in coming to Jesus Christ; and he that thus knows him must know him to be above all, best of all, and him in whom the soul shall find that content, that bliss, that glory and happiness that can by no means be found elsewhere. And, I say, if this be not found in G.o.d, the soul will never propound him to itself as the only, highest, and ultimate end in its coming to Jesus Christ. But it will propound something else, even what it shall imagine to be the best good; perhaps heaven, perhaps ease from guilt, perhaps to be kept out of h.e.l.l, or the like. I do not say but a man may propound all these to himself, in his coming to Jesus Christ; but if he propound these as his ultimate end, as the chiefest good that he seeks; if the presence and enjoyment of G.o.d, of G.o.d's glorious majesty, be not his chief design, he is not concerned in the salvation that is propounded in our text--'He is able,' and so will 'save to the uttermost them that come unto G.o.d by him.'

What is heaven without G.o.d? what is ease without the peace and enjoyment of G.o.d? what is deliverance from h.e.l.l without the enjoyment of G.o.d? The propounding, therefore, these, and only these, to thyself for thy happiness in thy coming to Jesus Christ is a proposal not a hair's breadth higher than what a man without grace can propound.

What or who is he that would not go to heaven? What or who is he that would not also have ease from the guilt of sin? And where is the man that chooseth to go to h.e.l.l? But many there be that cannot abide G.o.d; no, they like not to go to heaven, because G.o.d is there. If the devil had a heaven to bestow upon men, a vicious and a beastly heaven, if it be lawful thus to speak, I durst p.a.w.n my soul upon it, were it a thousand times better than it is, that, upon a bare invitation, the foul fiend would have twenty to G.o.d's one. They, I say, cannot abide G.o.d; nay, for all, the devil has nothing but a h.e.l.l for them; yet how thick men go to him, but how thinly to G.o.d Almighty. The nature of G.o.d lieth cross to the l.u.s.ts of men. A holy G.o.d, a glorious holy G.o.d, an infinitely holy G.o.d, this spoils all. But to the soul that is awakened, and that is made to see things as they are; to him G.o.d is what he is in himself, the blessed, the highest, the only eternal good, and he without the enjoyment of whom all things would sound but emptily in the ears of that soul.

Now, then, I advise thee that hast a mind to come to G.o.d by Christ, that thou seek the knowledge of G.o.d--'If thou seekest wisdom as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of G.o.d.'

(Prov 2:4,5) And to encourage thee yet further, he is so desirous of communion with men, that he pardoneth sins for that. Hence he is called not only loving, but love. 'G.o.d is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in G.o.d, and G.o.d in him.' (1 John 4:16)

Methinks, when I consider what glory there is at times upon the creatures, and that all their glory is the workmanship of G.o.d; O Lord, say I, what is G.o.d himself? He may well be called the G.o.d of glory, as well as the glorious Lord; for as all glory is from him, so in him is an inconceivable well-spring of glory, of glory to be communicated to them that come by Christ to him. Wherefore, let the glory, and love, and bliss, and eternal happiness that is in G.o.d allure thee to come to him by Christ.

8. As thou shouldst, nay, must, have a good knowledge of all these, so thou must have it of judgment to come. They that come to G.o.d by Christ are said to 'flee from the wrath to come'; to 'flee for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before them.' (Matt 3:7, Heb 6:18)

This judgment to come is a warm thing to be thought of, an awakening thing to be thought of; it is called the eternal judgment, because it is and will be G.o.d's final conclusion with men. This day is called the 'great and notable day of the Lord,' (Acts 2:20); the day 'that shall burn like an oven,' (Mal 4:1); the day in which the angels shall gather the wicked together, as tares, into bundles, to burn them; but the rest, into his kingdom and glory. This day will be it in which all the bowels of love and compa.s.sion shall be shut up to the wicked, and that in which the floodgates of wrath shall be opened, by which shall a plentiful reward be given to evil-doers, but glory to the righteous. (Psa 31:23) This is the day in which men, if they could, would creep into the ground for fear; but because they cannot, therefore, they will call and cry to the mountains to fall upon them, but they shall not; therefore, they stand bound to bear their judgment.

This day will be the day of breaking up of closet-councils, cabinet-councils, secret purposes, hidden thoughts; yea, 'G.o.d shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing.' (Eccl 12:14) I say he shall do it then; for he will both 'bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart.' (1 Cor 4:5) This is the day that is appointed to put them to shame and contempt in that have, in this world, been bold and audacious in their vile and beastly ways. At this day, G.o.d will cover all such bold and brazen faces with shame. Now they will blush till the blood is ready to burst through their cheeks. (Dan 12:2) Oh! the confusion and shame that will cover their faces while G.o.d is discovering to them what a nasty, what a beastly, what an uncomely, and what an unreasonable life they lived in the world.

They shall now see they contemned G.o.d, that fed them, that clothed them, that gave them life and limb, and that maintained their breath in their nostrils. But, oh, when they see the gulf before them, and all things ready to receive them in thither; then, then they will know what sinning against G.o.d means!

And, I say, thou that art for coming to G.o.d by Christ must know this, and be well a.s.sured of this, or thou wilt never come to G.o.d by him.

What of the glory of G.o.d shall be put upon them that do indeed come to him will also help in this spiritual journey, if it be well considered by thee. But, perhaps, terror and unbelief will suffer thee to consider but little of that. However, the things afore-mentioned will be goads, and will serve to p.r.i.c.k thee forward; and if they do so, they will be G.o.d's great blessing unto thee, and that for which thou wilt give him thy thanks for ever. (Eccl 12:10,11)

Thus I have, in few words, spoken something as to the first sort of comers to G.o.d by Christ, namely, of the coming of the newly-awakened man. And I say again, if any of the things afore-named be wanting, and are not with his heart, it is a question whether, notwithstanding all the noise that he may make about religion, he will ever come to G.o.d by Christ. 1. If he knows not himself and the badness of his condition, wherefore should he come? 2. If he knows not the world, and the emptiness and vanity thereof, wherefore should he come?

3. If he knows not the law, and the severity thereof, wherefore should he come? 4. If he knows not h.e.l.l, and the torments thereof, wherefore should he come? 5. If he knows not what death is, wherefore should he come? 6. And if he knows not the Father and the Son, how can he come? 7. And to know that there is a judgment to come is as necessary to his coming as most of the rest of the things propounded.

Coming to G.o.d by Christ is for shelter, for safety, for advantage, and everlasting happiness. But he that knows not, that understands not the things afore-mentioned, sees not his need of taking shelter, of flying for safety, of coming for advantage to G.o.d by Christ. I know there are degrees of this knowledge, and he that has it most warm upon him, in all likelihood, will make most haste; or, as David saith, will hasten his escape 'from the windy storm and tempest'; and he that sees least is in most danger of being the loiterer, and so of losing the prize; for all that run do not obtain it; all that fight do not win it; and ALL that strive for it have it not.

(Psa 55:8, 1 Cor 9:24-26, 2 Tim 2:4,5)

[Of the backslider's return to Christ.]

Second, I shall now come to the second man mentioned; to wit, the man that is turning back from his backsliding, and speak something also about his coming again to G.o.d by Christ.

There are two things remarkable in the returning of a backslider to G.o.d by Christ. 1. The first is, he gives a second testimony to the truth of all things spoken of before. 2. He also gives a second testimony of the necessity of coming to G.o.d by Christ. Of the manner of his coming to G.o.d by Christ perhaps I may also speak a word or two. But,

1. The returning again of the backslider gives a second testimony to the truth of man's state being by nature miserable, of the vanity of this world, of the severity of the law, certainty of death, and terribleness of judgment to come. His first coming told them so, but his second coming tells them so with a double confirmation of the truth. It is so, saith his first coming. Oh! it is so, saith his second. The backsliding of a Christian comes through the overmuch persuading of Satan and l.u.s.t, that the man was mistaken, and that there was no such horror in the things from which he fled, nor so much good in the things to which he hasted. Turn again, fool, says the devil, turn again to thy former course; I wonder what frenzy it was that drove thee to thy heels, and that made thee leave so much good behind thee, as other men find in the l.u.s.ts of the flesh and the good of the world. As for the law, and death, and an imagination of the day of judgment, they are but mere scarecrows, set up by politic heads, to keep the ignorant in subjection. Well, says the backslider, I will go back again and see; so, fool as he is, he goes back, and has all things ready to entertain him; his conscience sleeps, the world smiles, flesh is sweet, carnal company compliments him, and all that can be got is presented to this backslider to accommodate him. But, behold, he doth again begin to see his own nakedness, and he perceives that the law is whetting his axe.

As for the world, he perceives it is a bubble; he also smells the smell of brimstone, for G.o.d hath scattered it upon his tabernacle, and it begins to burn within him. (Job 18:15) Oh! saith he, I am deluded; oh! I am ensnared. My first sight of things was true.

I see it is so again. Now he begins to be for flying again to his first refuge; O G.o.d, saith he, I am undone, I have turned from thy truth to lies! I believed them such at first, and find them such at last. Have mercy upon me, O G.o.d!