putteth his bottle to him to make him drunk also that he may look on his nakedness," the man muft know that it is fpoken against himself, who hath gloried in making his neighbour drunk, and that dreadful wrath is determined by the Lord against him, according to that fcripture. When the word faith, "God will judge unclean perfons," and will clofe them out of the "New-Jerufalem, and they fhall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimftone," the man must know that the Scripture speaketh these very words against him, he being an unclean person; so that he is the person against whom the curfes of the law do directly strike.

3dly. A man must know that he hath nothing of his own to procure his peace, and to fet him free of the hazard under which he lieth: becaufe "all his righteoufness is as an unclean thing. His prayers, his other service done to God, his alms- deeds, &c. are not pafsgilt before God, fince they came not from a right principle in his heart, and were not performed in a right way, nor upon a right account, nor for a right end : his "facrifices have been an abomination unto God."

4thly. He must know, that as he is void of all the faving graces of the spirit, as the true love of God, the true fear of his name, godly forrow for fin, &c. fo particularly, that he wants faith in Chrift, who taketh burden for all them who believe on him. Until a man know this, he will ftill leave all his debt and burden, without care or regard any where elfe, before he bring it to the common cautioner.

Now, not only must a man know these things, as I faid before, but muft alfo very seriously take them to heart; that is to fay, he must be affected with these things, and be in fad earneft about them, as he ufeth to be in other cafes, wherein he useth to be moft ferious; yea, he fhould be more in earnest here, than in other cafes, because it is of greater concernment unto him. This feriousness produceth,

(1.) A taking of falvation to heart more than any thing

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elfe. Shall men be obliged to feek firft the kingdom of God?" is there but "one thing neceffary ?" Shall Paul count all things lofs and "dung" for this matter? Is "a mana lofer gaining all the world,if he lofe his foul ?" Shall this be the only ground of joy," that men's names are written in the book of life?" And fhall not men, who would be reckoned ferious, take their foul and falvation more to heart than any thing else? Surely it cannot fail. Let none deceive themselves. If the hazard of their foul, and the falvation thereof, and how to be in favour with God hath not gone nearer to their heart than any thing in the world befide, it cannot be prefumed, upon just grounds, that they ever knew fin or God, or the everlaftingness of his wrath, aright.

(2.) This ferioufnefs breaketh the man's heart, and fainteth the ftoutnefs of it, and leadeth it out to forrow, as one doth for a first-born, Zach. xii. 10. I grant their forrow will better fuit that fcripture afterwards, when they apprehend Chrift pierced by their fins.

(3.) It leadeth the man to a felf-loathing. A man taking up himself so cannot but loathe himself for his abominations, whereby he hath deftroyed himfelf. There is fomewhat of that fpirit of revenge, which is mentioned as a fruit of true-repentance, This felf-fame thing that ye forrowed after a godly fort, what carefulness it wrought in you-yea, what revenge!"

(4.) This ferioufnefs doth make the man peremptory to find relief; fince it is not in himfelf, he dare not put off and delay his bufinefs as before and this is indeed required, that he find himself fo purfued and put to it, that he flee for refuge fomewhere. I grant fome have a higher and fome a leffer degree of this ferioufnefs, as we fhewed in the former part of this treatife: but if we speak of the Lord's ordinary way of working with those who are come to age, we fay, they muft very fcrioufly take their foul's eftate to heart, defpairing of help in themselves, "fince the whole need not a phyfician, but those who are fick. As for the measure, we plead only that which probably doth fuppofe that a man will

be induced thereby to tranfact cordially with Chrift, on any terms he doth offer himself to be clofed with.

The fecond thing pre-required of him who would believe on Chrift Jefus is, he muft know and take to heart the way of escape from God's wrath the Spirit muft convince him of that righteoufnefs. Here a man muft understand fomewhat diftinctly, that God hath devifed a way to fave poor loft man by Jefus Chrift, whofe perfect righteoufnefs hath fatisfied offended juftice, and procured pardon and everlafting favour to all thofe whom he perfuadeth, by this gofpel to accept of God's offer; "Be it known unto you therefore-that through this man is preached unto you forgiveness of fins; and by him all that believe are juftified from all things." "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe on his name." So that no person is excluded, of whatfoever rank or condition, whatfoever hath been his former way, unlefs he be guilty of the fin against the Holy-Ghoft, which is a malicious hatred and rejection of the remedy appointed for finners, as we fhall hear : for, all manner of fin, is forgiven unto thofe who accept of the offer in God's way, "He is able to fave to the uttermoft thofe that come unto God through him."

The third thing pre-required is, A man must know, that as God hath not excluded him from the relief appointed, fo he is willing to be reconciled unto men thro' Chrift Jefus, and fo to impropriate that falvation to themselves. He not only invites all to come, and welcometh all that come, as we find in the gospel, and commendeth those who come as the centurion, Matth. viii. 10. and the woman of Canaan, Matth. xv. 28. and chideth for not coming and clofing with him, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life;" and condemneth for not closing fo with him, "He that believeth not is condemned already;" but alfo he commandeth all to believe on Chrift; "This is his commandment, that we fhould believe on the name of his Son Jefus

Christ." So as a man is not to queftion the Lord's willingness to receive men who go to Chrift honeftly, for God hath abundantly cleared that in fcripture. Unlefs that a man know fo much, he will carcely dare to lay his heart open for that noble device of faving finners or adventure his own weight and ftrefs upon Christ Jefus.

The fourth thing pre-required is, The man who would clofe with Chrift Jefus muft refolve to break all covenants with hell and death; Whatfoever known evil men are engaged into they muft refolve to forego it; " for there is no concord between Chrift and Belial :" The Lord requireth that they who would expect "him to be for them, fhould not be for another;" This is far from evangelic repentance, which I grant doth not precede a man's closing with Chrift by faith: there is little here beyond a mifregard of these things unto which a man was formerly devoted, and a flighting what he was mad upon, because he feeth himself deftroyed thereby, and relief now offered; whereupon his heart beginneth to be more intent than formerly it was. After this, when Chrift is looked upon alone, his worth and beauty doth appear, fo as among all the gods there is none like unto him, and he looketh out as a fufficient covering of the eyes to all who get him : upon which the heart loveth God's device in the new covenant, and loveth to lay its weight upon Chrift rather than any other way, bending towards him; and fo the man becometh a believer.

Now, I will not fay that all these things, whereof we have spoken, are formally, orderly, and diftin&tly, found in every person before he clofe with God in Chrift; for the way of the heart with Chrift may be added to "the four wonderful things," It is hard to trace the heart in its tranflation from darknefs to light; yet we hold out the moft ordinary and likely way to him who doth ask the way; debarring thereby ignorant and fenfelefs perfons from meddling, and difcharging them to pretend to any intereft in him whilft they remain fuch.

SECTION III.

The Properties and native Confequences of true Believing.

THE Fourth thing we proposed to speak to is, The properties of this duty, when rightly gone about. I fhall only hint a few.

1ft. Believing on Chrift must be perfonal; a man himfelf and in his own proper perfon muft close with Chrift Jefus; "The juft fhall live by his faith," This faith, that it will not fuffice for a man's fafety and relief, that he is in covenant with God as a born member of the vifible church, by virtue of the parents' fubjection to God's ordinances neither will it fuffice that the perfon had the initiating feal of baptifm added, and that he then virtually engaged to feek falvation by Chrift's blood, as all infants do: neither doth it fuffice that men are come of believing parents; their faith will not inftate their children into a right to the fpiritual bleffings of the covenant neither will it fuffice that parents did in fome respect engage for their children, and give them away unto God; all these things do not avail. The children of the kingdom and of godly predeceffors are caft out; unless a man, in his own perfon, put our faith in Christ Jefus, and with his own heart please and acquiefce in that device of faving finners, he cannot be faved. I grant, this faith is given unto him by Chrift; but certain it is that it must be perfonal.

2dly. This duty must be cordial and hearty; "With the heart man believeth unto righteoufnefs:" A man must be fincere, and without guile, in clofing with Chrift, judging him the only covering of the eyes, not hankering after another way. The matter muft not fwim only in the head or understanding, but it must be in the heart; the man not only must be perfuaded that Chrift is the way, but affectionately perfuaded of it, loving and liking the thing, having complacency in it; fo that it is all a man's defire," as David fpeaketh of the covenant, If a man be