Head Ill. JVI'cm unahl e. te r'ecwer hi11ifelf. gofpel, or covenant of grac'e, by exerting his own {hength to Jay hold upon,' and to make ufe of the help o:flered him by a Saviopr. But alas! the unconverted map is clead in 'the pit, and cannot help himfelf, e.ither of thefe ways. Not the fidt wa~'; for the fidl text tells us, that when our Lord came to help us, r...ve wer.e r-...vithoutjirength, unable to 'recover ourfelves. \Ve were zm,godly ; therefoie under a burden of guilt and wrath ; yet without firength, unable to Rand under it ; and unable to throw it cff, or to get from under it: fo that aU mankind ha-d undoubtedly pe– rifhed, had not ChriO: died for the ungodly, and brought help to them ,who cou'ld never have recovered themfdv.es. But when Chri!r comes and 'offereth, help to finners; eannot they take it ? Cannot they improve help when it comes tO their hands ? No, the fet::ood text tells us, they cannot ; Plo maJt ca,n come uJJto me, ( i . e. believe in me, John vi. 44 · ) except the Fat ,6er draw him. · This is a drawing which enables them to come, who tilJ then would not come ; and the efore could not help_tbemfe1ves, by improving the help ' off,;: red. lt is a d1awing, which is always- effectual; for it can be no iefs than h~arir:g and- learning if th-e Father, which whof1:1 partakes of,cometh to Chrifi, ver. 4· 5. There– fore it is not drawing in the way of mere moral fuafion; which may be, yea, a.nd always is ioeffeclual: but it is drawing bymi[Jhty power, Ephef. i. 19. abfolut.ely necdfary for them thar""have no power in tbemfelve$ to come and take ho!d of the offered help. Hearken then, 0. unregenerate man, and be convi 1ced, that as thou art in a mcfl miferable ftate by n;;ture, fo thou art utterly unable to recover thyfelf. any manner of way. ,Thou art ruined; and whn w-ey wiJt thou go to work, to ncover t~yfelf ?. \Vhich ,of thefe two ways wilt thoi.l chufe? \Vilt thou try it alone ! or wilt thou make ufe of help ? ' ·Vi lt thou i'all on the way of works, ot on the w~y of the gofpe! ? J know very well, thou wilt not fo much as try the way of the 'gofp:el, till once thou hafi found the re· coverv impraBicab1e, in the way of the Jaw. Therefore we fhill begin, where corrupt nature teaches men to begin, viz. at the way of the law ·of works. · I. Sinner. I would have thee believe that ~hy wo;rkir;g will cever 'dfeCl: it. \Vork and do thy beO:; thou fl1alt ne- , M 3 nr
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