open and ease its griefs, and, with liberty of speech, to discover all its grievances, fears, and burdens to the Lord. And truly, this world were not worth the living in without such a bles- sed vent to our troubles as this is. The believer only hath gotten the key that opens the door of access unto God ; if he have any sins, wants, burdens, afflictions, temptations, &c. here he can ease Ciiem. Ah ! Christian, the time may come when thy heart may be filled with sorrows to the brim, and there may not be found a person of thy acquaintance in all the world to whom thou canst turn to ease thy sorrows, or give vent to thy troubles. Now, blessed be God for faith; O the ease one act of faith gives a troubled soul, which is like bottles full of new wine, and must either vent or break ! Well may it be said, The just shall live by faith : how can we imagine we should hve without it .^ Certainly our afflictions and temptations would swallow us up, were it not for the sweet assiduous reliefs that come in by faith. (7.) And yet farther to enflame your desires after faith, this is the grace that gives you the soul-reviving sights of the invisible world, without which this world would be a dungeon to us, Heb. xi. 1. It is not only the substance of things hoped for, but the evidence of things not seen. O it is a pre- cious eye ! how transporting are those visions of faith ! 1 Pet. i. 8. " Whom having not seen, we love; whom though now we see " him not, yet, l3elieving, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full " of glory." We that preach of heaven to you, cannot shew you the glorious person of Christ there, nor the thrones, crowns, and palms that are above ; but faith can make these things visible. That is an eye that can penetrate the clouds, and shew you to him that is invisible, Heb. xi. 27. (8.) The grace of faith, which I am recommending to you this day, is instrumentally the livelihood of your souls in this world, Hab. ii. 4. " The just shall live by his " faith.'"* When God gives a soul faith, he gives it him for a livelihood, and expects he should keep house upon it while he lives in this world ; and God reckons he hath made plentiful provision for your souls, when he hath given them faith, and furnished out such variety of precious promises for your faith to feed upon. Abra- ham, Moses, David, and all the saints, kept house upon no other provision but what faith brought in ; and at what a high and ex- cellent rate did they live "^ Here man eateth angels food. It is a storehouse of provision ; it is a shop of cordials ; " I had fainted " unless I had beUeved,'' Psal xxvii. 13. A believer lives the high- est life of all men upon earth ; and as the believer's soul is daily fed by faith, so all the other graces in his soul are maintained and daily supported by the provision faith brings them in. The other graces (as one saith) like the young birds in the nest, live u}X)n that provi-
sion this grace of faith gathers for them, and puts into their mouths. Take away faith, and you quickly starve the soul of a Christian. Will not all this engage your desires after faith ? Why then (9.) consider this is the grace whereby we die safely as well as live com- fortably : as you cannot live comfortably without it in this world, so neither can you die safely or comfortably without it when you go out of this world ; Heb. xi. 13. '^ These all died in faith, not " ha\ing received the promises ; but having seen them afar off, " and were persuaded of them, and embraced them," Mark here, how these excellent persons died ; they all died embracing the pro- mises in the arms of their faith. An allusion to two dear friends, hugging one another at their parting. O precious promises, saith the dying believer ; of what unspeakable use and benefit have you been to me all the days of my pilgrimage ! You are they to whom I was w^ont to turn in all my troubles and distresses ; but I am now going into the life of immediate vision ; farewell blessed promises, scriptures, ordinances, and communion of imperfect saints ; I shall walk no more by faith, but by sight. (10.) In a word, and that a great word too, this is the grace that saves you, Epli. ii. 8. " By grace are you saved through faith.'"' Your salvation is the fruit of free-grace ; but grace itself will not save you in any other method but that of believing. The grace of God runs down through the channel of faith ; faith is the grace that espouses your soul to Christ here, and accompanies it every step of the way until it comes to its full enjoyment in heaven, and then is swallowed up in vision. It emhai'ks you wv\\\ Christ, and pilots you through the dangerous seas, till you drop anchor in the haven of ever- lasting rest and safety ; where you receive the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. O then, in consideration of the incomparable worth and absolute necessity of this precious grace, make it your great study, make it your constant cry to heaven, night and day. Lord give me a believing heart, an opening heart to Jesus Christ. If you fail of this, you come short of the great end and design of the whole gospel, which is to bring you to faith, and by faith to heaven.
wo- if any man hear my voice, and open the door, [I will comi
in to him, and sup with him.^
J.N the former sermons, we have considered Christ^s suit for a sinner^s heart : we now come to the powerful arguments and mo* tives used by him to obtain his suit, which are two :
1. Union, " I will come in to him, and sup with him.'*
2. Communion, " and he with me."
These are strong and mighty arguments and encouragements^ able, one would think, to open any heart in the world to Christ, and yet considering how fast the hearts of men are glued to their lusts, fixed and riveted in their sins, until the Spirit come upon them with powerful convictions ; and when under conviction, what mighty discouragements they labour under from their former sin- fulness and present unworthiness, all this is little enough to bring them to faith ; nay, in itself titterly insufficient, without the al- mighty power second and set them home with effect on the heart ; for it is not mere moral suasion will do the work. It is true, Christ will not make a forcible entrance into the soul, he will come in by the consent of the will ; but the will consents not, until it feels the power of God ujx)n it, Psal. ex. 3. Almighty power opens the heart and determines the will, but still in a way congruous to the nature of the will ; Hos. xi. 4. " I drew them with the cords " of a man, with the bands of love." When, under the influence of this power, the soul opens unto Christ, he will come in, take that soul for his everlasting habitation, refresh and feast it with the sweetest consolations and privileges purchased by his bloody whence the tenth observation is,