You know what he says to the church of Laodicea — ' Behold, I stand at the door, and knock,' Rev. iii. 20 ; so here — ' It is the voice of my beloved that kuocketh.' Therefore, in such a case, search your own hearts, where, if there be deadness and desertion of spirit, lay the blame upon yourselves, and enter into a search of your own ways, and see what may be the cause.
Now, to come more particularly to Christ's carriage here, knocking at the heart of the sleepy church, we see that Christ takes not the advantage and forfeiture of the sins of his church, to leave them altogether, hut makes further and further love to them. Though the church be sleepy, Christ continues linocking. The church of Laodicea was a lukewarm, proud, hypocritical chui-ch ; yet ' Behold,' saith Christ, ' I stand at the door, and knock,' Rev. iii. 20; and it was such a church as was vainglorious and conceited. ' I am rich, and want nothing, when she was poor, blind, and naked,' Rev. iii. 17. And here he doth not only stand knocking, but he withal suffereth indignities — ' the dew ' to fall upon him, which we shall speak more of hereafter. Christ, therefore, refuseth not weak sinners. He that commands, ' that we should receive him that is weak in the faith,' Rom. xiv. 1, and not cast him off from our fellowship and company, will he reject him that is weak and sleepy ? No. What father will pass by or neglect his child, for some faiUngs and weaknesses ? Nature will move him to respect him as his child.
Now, Christ is merciful both by his office and by his nature. Our nature he took upon him, that he might be a merciful Redeemer, Heb. ii. 17. And then as God also, he is love, ' God is love,' 1 John iv. IG : that is, whatsoever God shews himself to his church, he doth it in love. If he be angiy in correcting, it is out of love ; if merciful, it is out of love ; if he be powerful ia defending his church, and revenging himself on her enemies, all is love. ' God is love,' saith John, John iv. 8 : that is, he shews him- self only ia ways, expressions, and characters of love to his church. So Chiist, as God, is all love to the church. And we see the Scriptures also to set out God as love, both in his essence and in his relations. 1. In relations of love to his church, he is a father : ' As a father pitieth his chUd, so the Lord pities them that fear him,' Ps. ciii. 13. And, 2. Also in those sweet attributes of love, which are his essence, as we see, Exod.
60 BOWELS OPENED. [SeEMON V.
xxxiv. 6. When God describes himself to Moses, after his desire to know him, in the former chapter, ' Thou canst not see me and hve ; ' yet he would make him know him, as was fit for him to be known — ' Jehovah, Jehovah, strong, merciful, gi'acious, long-suffering,' &c., Exod. xxxiv. 6. Thus God will be known in these attributes of consolation. So Christ, as God, is all love and mercy. Likewise Christ, as man, he was man for this end, to be all love and mercy. Take him in his office as Jesus, to be a Savioui* ; he carrieth salvation in his wings, as it is in Mai. iv. 2, both by office and by nature.
And here how excellentl}^ is the expression of Christ's mercy, love, and patience set out! He knocks, * my beloved knocks,.' &c., saying, ' Open.' He knocks for farther entrance, as was shewed before. Some he had already, but he would have further. As you know we have divers rooms and places in our houses. There is the court, the hall, the parlour, and closet : the hall for common persons, the parlour for those of better fashion, the closet for a man's self, and those that are intimate fiiends. So a Christian hath room in his heart for worldly thoughts, but his closet, his inmost affections, are kept for his inmost friend Christ, who is not con- tent with the hall, but will come into the very closet. He knocks, that we should open, and let him come into our hearts, into our more intimate afiections and love. Nothing will content him but intimateness, for he de- serves it. As we shall see, he knocks for this end. But how doth he knock ?
Every kind of way. 1. It is taken from the fashion of men in this kind, God condescending to speak to us in our own language. Sometimes, you know, there is a knocking or calling for entrance by voice, when a voice may serve, and then there needs no further knocking.
Sometimes both by voice and knocking. If voice will not serve, knock- ing^ comes after. So it is here. Christ doth knock and speak, useth a voice of his word, and knocks by his works, and both together sometimes, whether by works of mercy or of judgment. He labours to enter into the Boul, to raise the sleepy soul that way. He begins with mercy usually.