2. Invitation. Now if a man do stagger, for all that the King keeps open house, so as he will not or doth not come, then in the second place comes invitaiinn. Because we are slow to believe, therefore God invites us : Mat. xi. 28, • Come unto me, all je that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Many object. Oh, I am not worthy to come ! But you see here is invitation to encourage me ; yea, the sorer and heavier my load is, I should come so much the rather. So that if in this case the question should be asked of such a one, Friend, how came you hither '?
THE WITNESS OF SALVATION. 379
What warrant had you to be so bold ? Then he shews his ticket, as if he should say, Lord, thou gavest me a word of comfort, * a warrant to come.' My load and burden indeed was very heavy, and my unworthiness great ; but at thy invitation, in obedience to thy word, and faith in thy promise, I came hither. Now this invitation is directed to them who have no good- ness yet wrought in them. When, then, my spirit warrants thus much unto me, that upon this word of promise and invitation, I have come in for relief and ease of my miseries unto Christ Jesus, the great physician, relying on him for cure, and lying, as it were, at his foot for mercy, this is the testimony of my spirit, that I do believe, and a ground for me to rest on, that now I am in the way of life, and justified by his grace.
3, Entreaty. Thirdly, Sometimes Christ meets with a slow and dull heart, lazy and careless, in a manner, what become of it ; not knowing or weighing the dangerous estate it is in ; making excuses. There Christ might justly leave us ; for is it not too much that the King should invite us for our good, as he did those in the gospel, who, for refusing to come to his supper, were excluded from ever tasting thereof, and strangers were fetched in in their places ? God might so deal with us ; but you see, 2 Cor. V. 20, ' God sends an embassage to entreat us ; erects a new office, as it were, for our sakes. Says he, ' Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us : w^e pray you in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God.' This may seem to be needless ; we being weaker than he ; ambassadors are sent to the stronger. The apostle reasons the matter : ' Are we stronger than he ? Do we provoke the Lord to anger ?' But here we see and may admire his infinite rich goodness, that he doth come to sue to us to be reconciled with him. We know it might be counted a kind of indignity for the king of Spain, so great a monarch, to sue unto the Hollanders for peace, who are so far inferior vxnto him. This dishonour God puts up at our hands, and says* unto us first, when rather it becomes us on our knees to beg for it. The effect of the embas- sage is, that we would be friends with him, and receive that which is so highly for our advancement. When, therefore, I see this qiiickness in my heart, so that, as St James speaks of the engrafted word to save our souls, I can bring it home, having some sweet relish and high estimation of it in my heart, that it begins to be the square and rule of my life, then I am safe. If this or any of these fasten upon the soul, and thereupon I yield and come in, it is enough to shew that I am a justified person, and from hence our spirit may witness, and that truly. This is a third thing in the witness of our spirit.
4. Command. Fourthly, If none of all this will do, then comes a further degree, a command from, the Highest, You shall do it, as 1 John iii. 23, ' And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment.' In the parliament of grace there is a law of faith, which binds one as strictly to believe as to keep any of the commandments. Saith the apostle, Eom. iii. 27, ' Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? Of works ? Nay, but by the law of faith.' So that if I will not beHeve on the Lord Jesus, who easeth me from the rigour of the law, and so is my right- eousness, I shall perish for ever. What, may one object, must I needs believe ? Yes, thou art as strictly bound to believe, as not to murder, not to be an idolater, not to steal. Nay, I will add more, that thy infideUty and contempt of that gracious offer, thy disobedience to the law of faith, is
* Qu. 'sues'?— Ed.
3S0 THE WITNESS OF SALVATION.
greater than thy disobedience to the law of works ; when thou dost fling God's grace in his face again, and, as it were, trample under foot the blood of the covenant. See for this John xvi. 9. What is that great sin which Christ came to reprove ? Even this infidelity, says he, ' because they believe not in me ;' which in two respects is a great sin. First, because it sins against God's mercy ; secondly, because it is a chain which links and binds all other sins together. Thus faith is sure, when it lies on the word, otherwise all other thoughts are but presumption, and will fail a man in the time of need. For what is faith, I pray you, but my assent to believe every word of God. He hath commanded me to believe, and to endeavour the practice.