ON THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Lightly. Consider that by coming unto Christ, you shall have an interest in all that glory which we have proposed unto you; for Christ will become yours more intimately than your wives and children are yours, and no all his glory is yours also. All areapt to be affected with the good things of their relations, their grace, their riches, their beauty, their power; for they judge them- selves to have an interest in them, by reason of their relation unto them. Christ is nearer to believers than any natural relations are to us whatever; they have, therefore, an interest in all his glory. And is this a small thing in your eyes, that Christ shall be yours, and all his glory shall be yours, and you shall have the ad- vantage of it unto your eternal blessedness? Is it no- thing unto you to continue strangers from, and uninter- ested in all this glory? to be left to take your portion in this world in lusts and sins, and pleasures, and a few perishing trifles, with eternal ruin in the close; whilst such durable substance, such riches ofglory are tender- ed unto you? Lastly. Consider the horrible ingratitude there is in wneglect or refusal to come in toChrist upon his invi- tation, with the doleful eternal ruin that will ensue there- on: How shall we escape ifwe neglect sogreat salvation? Impenitent unbelievers under the preaching of the gos- pel, are the vilestand most ungrateful of all God's crea- tion. The devils themselves, as wicked as they are, are not guilty of this sin, for Christ is never tendered unto them, they never had an offer of salvation on faith and repentance; this is men's peculiar sin, and will be the peculiar aggravation oftheir misery unto eternity. Hear, ye despisers, wonder, and perish. The sin of the devil is in malice and opposition unto knowledge, above what the nature of man is capable of in this world. Men, therefore, must sin in some instance above the devil, or God would not give them their eternal portion with the devil and his angels: this is unbelief. Some, it may be, will say, What then shall we do? what shall we apply ourselves unto? what is it that is required of us? 1. Take the advice of the apostle, Heb. iii. 7, 8, 13. This day, even this is unto you in the tender of grace the acceptable time, this is the day of salvation. Others have had this day as well as you, and have missed their opportunity; take it lest it should be so with you also. How if any one should write it down, or peculiarly corn- 85 mit it to remembrance, this day there was a tender of Christ, and salvation in him made unto my soul; from this time I will resolve to give up myself unto him. And if you find your resolutions charge your consciences with what you have engaged, and make yourselves to know, that if you go back from it, it is a token that you are going to ruin. S. Consider that it is high time foryou to make some- what of religion. Do not hang always in suspense: let it not be a question with yourselves, whether you have a mind to be saved or no. This is as good a time and season for a resolution as ever you are like to have whilst in this world. Some things, nay, many things may fall in between this and the next opportunity, that shall put you backward, and make your entrance into the king- dom ofheaven far more difficult than ever itwas: and the living in that uncertainty at best, which you do, of what will become of you unto eternity, isthe most miser- able kind of life in the world. Those who put far from them the evil day, and live in the pursuit of lusts and pleasures, have somewhat that gives them present satis- faction, and they say not there is no hope, because they find the life of the hand; but you have nothing that gives you any prevalent refreshment, neither will your latterend be better than theirs, ifyou die without an interest in Christ Jesus. Come, therefore, at length unto a determined resolution what you will do in this matter. Christ hath waited long for you, and who knows how soon he may withdraw, never to look after you any more. Upon occasion of the preceding discourse concerning the glory of Christ, I thought it necessary to add unto it this brief exhortation unto faith in him, aiming to suit it unto the capacity of the meanest sinner, that is capa- ble of any self -consideration as unto his eternal welfare. But yet a little further, to give efficacy unto this exhor- tation, it will be necessary to give some of those com- mon and obvious tergiversations that convinced sinners do usually betake themselves unto, to put off a present compliance with the calls of Christ to come unto him; for although it is unbelief alone acting in the darkness of men's minds, and the obstinacy oftheir wills, that ef- fectually keeps off sinners from coming unto Christ up- on his call, yet it shrouds itself under variouspretences, that it may not appear in itsown ugly form ; for no sm, whereof.men can be guilty of in this world, is of so hor- 1s
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