*But you will say, Do not all Christians desire to have Christ to be their Saviour? Yes. But here is the deceit; all would have Christ to be their Saviour in the _next world_, and to help them into heaven when they die. But this is not _willing_ Christ to be thy Saviour; for his salvation, if it is had, must be had in this world, if he saves thee, it must be done in this life, by changing and altering _all that is within thee_, by helping thee to a new heart, as he helped the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dumb to speak. For to have salvation from Christ, is to be made like unto him; it is to have his humility and meekness, his mortification and self-denial, his renunciation of the spirit, wisdom, and honours of this world, his love of God, his desire of doing God’s will, and seeking only his honour. To have these tempers formed in thy heart, is to have salvation from Christ; but if thou willest not to have these tempers, if thy faith does not seek, and cry to Christ for them in the same reality, as the lame asked to walk, and the blind to see, then thou art _unwilling_ to have Christ to be thy Saviour.
Again, consider, how was it, that the deep-read _Scribe_, the learned _Rabbi_, the religious _Pharisee_, not only did not receive, but _crucified_ their Saviour? It was because they desired no such Saviour as he was, no such _inward salvation_ as he offered. They desired no change of their own nature, no destruction of their natural tempers, no deliverance from the love of themselves, and the enjoyments of their passions; they liked the gratifications of their old man, their _long robes_, their _broad phylacteries_, and _greetings_ in the markets. They wanted not to have their _pride_ and _self-love_ dethroned, their covetousness, and sensuality subdued. Their only desire was the success of _Judaism_, to have an _outward_ saviour, a _temporal_ prince, that should establish their _law_ and ceremonies over all the earth. And therefore they crucified their Redeemer, and would have none of his salvation, because it consisted in a change of their nature; a kingdom of heaven to be opened _within_ them by the Spirit of God.
*Awake, thou that sleepest, thou art called a Christian, and Christ shall give thee light. Begin to search and dig for this _pearl of eternity_; it cannot cost thee too much, nor canst thou buy it too dear, for it is _all_, and when thou hast found it, thou wilt know, that all which thou hast sold or given away for it, is as meer a nothing, as a bubble upon the water.
*But if thou turnest from this heavenly pearl, or tramplest it under thy feet, for the sake of being rich, or great, either in church or state, if death finds thee in this success, thou canst not then say, that though the pearl is lost, yet something has been gained instead of it. For in that parting moment, the things, and the sounds of this world, will be exactly alike; to have had an estate, or only to have heard of it, to have lived at _Lambeth_ twenty years, or only to have twenty times passed by the palace, will be the same good, or the same nothing to thee.
I will now shew a little more distinctly, what this _pearl of eternity_ is. _First_, It is the light and Spirit of God, which has hitherto done thee but little good, because the desire of thy heart has been after the light and spirit of this world. Thy reason, and senses, and passions, have turned all their attention to the poor concerns of this life, and therefore thou art a stranger to this principle of heaven, these riches of eternity. For as God is not, cannot be truly found by any worshippers, but those who worship him in _spirit_ and in _truth_, so this light and spirit is not, cannot be found, or enjoyed, but by those, whose spirit is turned to it.
When man first came into being, and stood before God as his own image and likeness, this light and Spirit of God were as natural to him, as the _light and air_ of this world is natural to other creatures. But when man, not content with the food of eternity, did eat of the earthly tree, this light and Spirit of heaven were no more natural to him; but instead thereof, he was left to the light and spirit of this world. And this is that death, which God, told _Adam_, he should surely die, in the day that he ate of the forbidden tree.