iihining into them, 2 Cor. iv. 6. If therefore any man's eyes be still blinded with ignorance, prejudice, &c. so that he apprehends not his own guilt and misery, nor sees the worth and necessity of a Saviour; that man's heart is still under Satan's lock and bar, sin is shut in, and Christ is shut out of that man's soul.
Mark 2. No heart opens to Christ by ftiitli till it be first prick- ed and wounded by compunction and humiliation ; this heart- wounding work is always antecedent to the work of faith. I doubt not but your thoughts fore-run my discourse to that famous scrip-% lure, Acts ii. 37. where Peter preaching to those that had crucified Christ, and bringing up his discourse close to their consciences, in the application of that sermon, convincing them not only what a horrid and atrocious crime the crucifying the Son of God was in itself; but also charging it home upon them, " Whom ye have <' taken, and with wicked hands have crucified and slain ; when " they heard this they were pricked at the heart ; and cried out, *' men and brethren what shall we do .^" Upon this out-cry three thousand souls opened in one hour to Christ. Now consider whe- ther your hearts have been thus pricked and wounded ; hath sor- row for sin pierced thy soul .? Vain sinner, that frothy heart of thine must be made to bleed under compunctions for sin, or there will be no room for Christ in it. Come souls, it is in vain to flatter your-^ selves in your own eyes : reflect upon the frames of your hearts, call back the days that are past, and say, when was the time, and where was the place when thou layest at the foot of God, sobbing and mourning upon the account of thy sins ? Did ever God hear such a cry as this from thy soul ! Ah Lord, my sotd is distressed, I roll hither and thitJier fir ease and comfort, hut find none : O the insupportable weight of guilt ! O the bitterness of sin f My soul fails under it, Lord undertake for me.. I do not say, the degrees of compunction and humiliation are equal in all converts ; neither their sins nor abilities to bear sorrows for them, are equal ; but this I say, thy heart must ache for sin, or it Avill never open to Christ ; he binds up none but broken hearts, Isa. xvi. 1.
Mark 3. If Christ be come into thy heart, then the love and delight of every sin is gone out of thy heart. Christ and the love of sin cannot dwell together : what Christ said to the soldiers that apprehended him in the garden, the like he saith to every soul that comes to apprehend him by faith. If you seek me, let these go their way ; away with the sin that thou most delightest in : Christ can- not come in till these be gone, Isa. Iv. 6, 7, 8. " Seek ye the Lord " while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let " the wicked forsake his way, and the unrigliteous man his " thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have " mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly par-
^' don."" Here be the terms of your acceptation and salvation plainly laid down, forsake thy ways and thoughts ; the wa?/ notes the external acts of sin ; and the thoughts the internal acts, both of contrivance and delight in sin ; both these must be forsaken ; and that is not all, for this makes but a negative holiness. Let him re^ turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy. It is in vain for men to make the door of salvation wider than God hath made it ; we can- not bring down Christ's terms lower than he hath set them ; if we will not come up to them, Christ and we must part. And this makes the great struggle, the sharp debate in the souls of converts. O ! it is hard to give up pleasant and profitable lusts ; but away they must go, a bill of divorce must be signed for them, or you cannot be espoused to the Lord Jesus. This will be found to be much harder than to part v>dth all externals for Christ's sake.
Mark 4. No heart can open truly to Christ, that it is not made willing upon due deliberation to receive him, with his cross of suf- ferings, and his yoke of obedience, Mat. xvi. 24. and xi. 29.
An exception against either of these is an effectual bar to thy union with Christ ; he looks upon that soul as not worthy of him, that puts in such an exception. Mat. x. 38. If thou judgest not Christ worth all suffermgs, all losses, all reproaches, he judges thee unworthy to bear the name of his disciple. So for the duties of obedience, called his yoke ; he that will not receive Christ's yoke can never receive his person, nor any benefit by his blood.
Marli 5. Every heart that opens sincerely and evangelically to Christy opens to him in deep humility and sense of its emptiness and unworthiness ; all self-righteousness io given up as dung and dross : Thus Abraham came unto him as to one that justifieth the ungodly, Rom. iv. 5. " Now to him that worketh not, but believeth on *' him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous- ^' ness," Yea, here is the true way of justification indeed; where the imputed righteousness of Christ comes, all self-righteousness vanishes before it. By him that worketh not, understand not an idle, lazy behever, that takes no care of the duties of obedience ; iio, an idle faith can never be a saving faith : But the mean- ing is, he worketh not in a law sense, to the ends and intentions of the first covenant ; to make up a righteousness to himself by his own working, to cover himself with a robe of righteousness of his own spinning and weaving, a home-made cloth ; no, not a rag of that : Thou must receive Christ into an empty, naked, unworthy, soul, or not receive him at all. Blessed Paul heartily rejected all his ovrci righteousness, cast down that house-idol to the ground, that he might be found in the imputed righteousness of Christ, Phil. iii. J 8. Cast that idol out of doors, it stands in the way of a better righteousness. There be divers ways wherein sinners maintain