Motive 2. The Lord Jesus is this day come nigh to every one of your souls. I may say to you as Christ did to them, Luke x. 9. ^' The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." The Lord grant he be not as nigh to some of you as ever he shall be ; for he must come nearer, or else you are lost for ever. It is not Christ among you in the means of grace, but Christ within you by the work of grace, which must be unto you the hope of glory, Col. i. 27. He IS not only among you with respect to external means, but he is come into your understandings and consciences ; yea, some motions of his you may feel upon your affections ; there wants but a little more to make you eternally happy. O what would one effectual touch upon your wills be worth now [ the head-work is done, but O that the heart-work were done too. You are almost saved, but to be almost saved, is to be wholly and eternally lost, if it go no further. It is a sad thing for a man that hath one foot in heaven to slide from thence into hell; it is sad to be shipwrecked at the harbour's mouth.
Motive 3. Jesus Christ hath unquestionable right to enter into, and possess every one of your souls : Satan is but an usurj^er : Christ is your lawful owner and proprietor ; thy soul, sinner, hath not so full a title to thy body, as Christ hath to thy soul : Satan keeps Christ out of his right. Christ knocks at the door of his own house ; he built it, and therefore may well claim admission in
to it; it is his own creature, Col. i. 16. " By him were all things ** made, whether they be visible or invisible ;'' bodies or souls. The invisible part, thy soul, is his workmanship, a stately struc- ture of his own raising. He hath also a right by redemption, Christ hath bought thy soul, and that at the invaluable price of his own blood. Who then can dispute the right of Christ to enter into his own house ? But alas ! he cometh to his own, but his own receive him not.
Motive 4. Open the door to Christ, for a train of blessings and mercies come in with him ; a troop of privileges follow him. In the same day and hour that Christ comes into thine heart, by a full consent and deliberate choice, a pardon comes with him of all the ans that ever thou committedst in thought, word, or action. Will such a pardon be welcome to thy soul ? Then let Christ be wel- come, Eph. i. 7. for where Christ comes, pardon comes. If you open to Christ, you open to peace, and who would shut the door of his soul against peace ? If peace be welcome, let Christ be welcome ; for peace follows faith in Christ, Rom. v. 1. Where Christ comes liberty comes, John viii. 36. " If the Son therefore make you free, " then are you free indeed."" Are you in love with bonds and fetters.^ Satan's laws are written in blood. Christ's yoke is easy, and his commands not grievous. If you love liberty, love Christ. In a word, where Christ comes, salvation comes ; " for he is the *^' author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.*" If there- fore you love pardon, peace, liberty, and salvation, shut not the door against Christ ; for all these follow him wherever he goes.
Motive 5. Christ this day solemnly demands entrance into thy soul ; he begs thee to open to him, 2 Cor. v. 20. he commands thee to open unto him, 1 John iii. 23. He denounceth eternal damnation to those that refuse him entrance. Now consider well, here is entrance demanded under pain of the eternal wrath of God: This demand is filed and recorded in heaven; at your own peril be it, if you shut the door against him : Only thus will I say in my Redeemer's behalf, if you refuse, bear witness heaven and earth this day, that Christ solemnly demanded entrance into thy soul, and was refused ; bear witness, that the door was shut against the only Redeemer, who intreated, commanded, and threatened eternal damnation to the rejectors of him. Oh ! methinks, that scripture, Prov. i. 24, 25. is able to strike terror into the very centre of that soul that refuses the offers of Christ !
Motive 6. And so I have done my master's errand, if you now refuse the knock of Christ at your hearts, he may never knock more ; and where are you then ? There is a knock which will be the last knock, a call which will be lais last call ; and after
that no more knocks or calls, but an eternal silence as to any over- ture of mercy or grace.
Object 1. But if I do open to Christy lie will never come in to Mich ajilthy polluted sinful soul as mine is.
Jnsw. Who saith so ? Who dare affirm so impudent a falsehood in the very face of the text .? *' If any man open to me, I will *' come in to him.""
Object. % If I open to Christ, I must bid farewell to ease and rest in this zvorld ; reproaches, sufferings, losses follow him.
Answ. If Christ, pardon, and salvation, be not worth the endur- ing and suffering these small things, sure thou valuest Christ and thy soul at a low rate. O who can sufficiently bewail the ignorance and folly of unbelievers that will sell their souls and hopes of hea- ven for such trifles ! And if Christ and thy soul must part upon these terms, then hear me, sinner, and let it sink into thine heart ; thy damnation will be both,
1. Just and righteous.
2. Unavoidable and sure.
1. Thy damnation will be just; for thou hadst thy o\vn choice, and deliberately preferredst the insignificant trifles of this world before Christ and salvation. It was plainly told thee what the issue of thy rejecting Christ would be ; and yet, after sufficient warning thou adventuredst upon it : Whatever other sinners will plead, I know not, but as for thee thou must be speechless, Matth. xxii. 12. If thou die christless thou must appear at his bar speech- less; and the day of judgment will be the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment oi God, Rom. ii. 5.
2. It will also be unavoidable, for there is no other way to salva- tion but this. Acts iv. 12. No Christ, no heaven; no faith, no Christ : " How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation \* Heb. ii. 3. Mercy itself cannot save thee out of Christ, fop all the saving mercy of God is dispensed to men through him, Jude 21. It is to no purpose to cry mercy. Lord, mercy ! when Christ, in whom all the mercies of God are dispensed to men, is rejected by thee.
III. Use, for Consolation.
This point winds up in consolation to all such, as, hearing the knocks of Christ, have opened or are now resolved to open their hearts unto him ; and that nothing henceforth shall keep Christ and their souls asunder ; To such I shall address the following grounds of comfort.
Consolation 1. An opening heart to Christ is a woi-k wholly and altogether supernatural ; a special work of the Spirit of God, never found upon any but an elect soul There are common gifts of the