gofpel to poor fad-hearted, contcience-diftreffed finners, Linners that are ready to perifh; to them it will be pleafant they will drink of it, and forget their poverty, and remember their mifery no more. It fhall take away all their forrow and fadnefs; when you fhall be drunk with the fruit of your lufts, and fpue, and ly down, and not rife again.

But now, if any of you fhall begin to fay in your hearts, That you would willingly treat with God; Oh that the day were come wherein we might approach unto him! Let him fpeak what he pleaseth, and propofe what terms he pleaseth, we are ready to hear. Then confider,

Secondly, That the terms provided for you, and propofed unto you, are equal, holy, righteous, yea pleafaut, and eafy. This being another general head of our work in hand, before I proceed to the further explication and confirmation of it, 1 fhall adduce one or two obfervations from what hath been delivered on the first. As,

1. See here on what foundation we preach the gofpel. Many difputes there are, whether Chrift died for all individuals of mankind, or no: If we fay, No, but only for the elect, who are fome of all forts; fome ther tell us, we cannot invite all men promifcuously to believe. But why fo? we invite not men, as all men ; no man, as one of all men, but all men as finners: And we know that Chrift died for finners. But is this the first thing that we are in the difpenfation of the gofpel to propofe to the foul of a finner, under the law; that Chift died for him in particular? Is that the beginning of our meffage unto him? Were not this a ready way to induce him to conclude, Let me then continue in fin that grace may abound; No, but this is in order of nature our first work; even that which we have had in hand. This is the beginning of the gofpel of Jefus Chrift, this is the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. There is a way of reconciliation provided. God is in Chrift reconciling the world

world unto himself. There is a way of acceptance; there is forgiveness with him to be obtained. At this threshold of the Lord's houfe, doth the greatest part of men to whom the gospel is preached fall and perish, never looking in to see the treasures that are in the houfe itself, never coming into any fuch state and condition, wherein they have any grouud or bottom to enquire, whether Chrift died for them in particular or no. They believe not this report, nor take any ferious notice of it. This was the miniftry of the Baptift, and they, who received it not, rejected the counfel of God concerning their falvation, Luke vii. 10. And fo perished in their fins. This is the fum of the blessed invitation given by wisdom, Prov. ix. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. And here men ftumble, fall, and perifh, Prov. i. 29, 30.

2. You that have found grace and favour to accept of these terms, and thereby to obtain peace with God; learn to live in an holy admiration of his condefcenfion and love therein. That he would provide fuch terms; that he would reveal them unto you; that he would enable you to receive them. Unfpeakable love and grace lies in it all Many have not these terms revealed unto them; few find favour to accept of them; and of whom is it that you have obtained this peculiar mercy. Do you aright confider the nature of this matter? The fcripture propofeth it as an object of eternal admiration, So God loved the world! herein is love. not that we loved God but he loved us first. Live in this admiration, and do your utmoft in your feveral capacities to prevail with your friends, relations, acquaintance, to hearken after this great treaty of peace with God, whose terms we fhall nextly confider, as before in general they were expreffed.

Secondly. The terms provided for you, and propofed unto you, are equal, holy, righteous, yea pleafant and eaf, Hof. ii. 18, 19. They are not fuch, as a curfed guilty finner might juftly expect, but fuch as are meet for an infinitely good and gracious God to propofe; nor fuited to the wifdom of man, but full of the wisdom

of

of God. 2 Cor. ii. 6, 7. The poor convinced wretch thinking of dealing with God, Micab. vi. 6, 7. rolls in his mind what terms, he is like to meet withal; and fixes on the most dreadful, difficult, and impoffible terms that can be imagined. If, faith he any thing be done with this great and most high God, it must be by rivers, thoufands, and ten thoufands, children, first born, whatever is dreadful and terrible to nature, whatever is impoffible for me to perform, that is it which he looks for. But the matter is quite otherwife; the terms are wholly of another nature; it is a way of mercy, a way of free forgiveness. The apoftle lays it down, Rom. iii. 23, 24, 25. it is a way of propitiation, of pardon, of forgivenefs, in the blood of Chrift; the terms are the acceptance of the forgivenefs that we have described, Who would not think now, that the whole world would run in to be made partakers of these terms, willingly accepting of them. But it proves for the moft part quite otherwife. Men like not this way of all others. It had been fomething, fays Naaman, if the prophet had come and done fo and fo; but this, Go, wafb and be clean, I do not like it, I am but deluded. Men think within themselves, that had it been fome great thing that was required of them that they might be faved, they would with all speed address themfelves thereunto; but to come to God by Chrift, to be freely forgiven without more ado, they like it nor. Some rigid auftere penances, fome compenfatory obedience, fome fatisfactory mortification. or purgatory, had been a more likely way. This of mere pardon, in and by the crofs, it is but folly, 1 Cor. i. 18. 20. I had rather, faith the Jew, have it as it were by the works of the law, Rom. ix. 32. and chap. x. 3. This way of grace and forgiveness, I like not, fo fay others alfo: So practife others every day; either this way is wholly rejected, or it is mended by fome additions; which, with God, is all one with the rejection of it.

Here multitudes of fouls deceive themselves and perifh. I know not whether it be more difficult to perfwade

fwade an unconvinced perfon to think of any terms, or a convinced perfon to accept of these. Let men fay what they will, and pretend what they pleafe; yet practically they like not this way of forgivenefs. I fhall therefore offer fome fubfervient confiderations, tending to the furtherance of your fouls, in the acceptance of the terms propofed.

This is the way, thefe are terms of God's own choofing; He found out this way, he established it himfelf. He did it not upon our defire, requeft or propofal, but merely of his own accord; and why fhould we contend with him about it? If God will have us faved in a way of mere mercy and forgivenefs; if his wifdom; and fovereignty be in it, fhall we oppofe him, and fay we like it not? Yet this is the language of un'belief, Rom. x. 3, 4. Many poor creatures have difputed it with God, until at length, being over-powered as it were by the Spirit, have faid, If it muft be fo, and God will fave us by mercy and grace, let it be so, we yield ourselves to his will; and yet throughout their difputes dreamed of nothing, but that their own unworthinefs only kept them from closing with the promife of the gofpel.

Of this nature was that way of Satan whereby he deceived our first parents of their intereft in the covenaut of works; the terms of it, faith he, as apprehended-by you, are unequal. Yea, hath God faid, Ye fhall eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, ye shall not eat, left ye die; come, you fhall not die, for God doth know, in the day you eat thereof, your eyes fhall be opened. There is no proportic between the obedience and the threatning. The iffue cannot be fuch as is feared: And by thefe means he ruined them. Thus also he proceeds to deprive fouls of their intereft in the covenant of grace, whereunto they are invited. The terms of it are unequal, how can any man believe them? There is no proportion between the obedience and the promise. To have pardon, forgiveness, life, and bleffed eternity on believing, who

can

can reft in it? And here lies a confpiracy between Satan and unbelief, against the wisdom, goodness, love, grace and fovereignty of God. The poifon of this deceit lies in this, that neither the righteoufnefs, nor the mercy of God is of that infinitenefs, as indeed they are. The apostle, to remove this fond imagination, calls us to the pleasure of God, 1 Cor i. 2. It pleafed God by the foolishness of preaching, that is, by the gospel preached, which they esteemed foolishnefs, to fave believers. He fuffered men indeed to make trial of other ways; and when their infufficiency for the ends men proposed to themselves was fufficiently manifested, it pleased him to reveal his way. And what are we, that we should contend about it with him? This rejection of the way of perfonal righteoufnefs, and choofing the way of grace and forgiveness, God afferts, Jer. xxxi. 31, 32, 33, 34. Behold the days come faith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Ifrael and the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers: (in which administration of the covenant, as far as it had respect unto typical mercies, much depended on their perfonal obedience) But this fhall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Ifrael, after thofe days faith the Lord, --I will put my laws, &c. and I will forgive their iniquities, and remember their fins no mare. Let then this way ftand, and the way of mans wifdom and self righteoufnefs perish for

ever.

2. This is the way that above others tends directly and immediately to the glory of God. God hath managed and ordered all things in this way of forgivenefs, fo as no flefh fhould glory in his prefence, but that he that glorieth fhould glory in the Lord, Cor. i. 29. 31. Where then is boafting? It is excluded; by what law? By the law of works; nay, but by the law of faith, Rom. iii 27. It might be eafily manifefted, that God hath fo laid the defign of faving finners by forgiveness according to the law of faith, that it is utterly impoffible that any foul fhould, on any account whatever, have the leaft ground

of