Opened and Applied. his hand upon thy heart or confcience eo apprehend tpee. Is die Lo~d ar 1 work with none of you ? .arc forfaken of Chrift altogether ? There are many waye> of Reli{ling Chri!l: thus ; · l'Ie only name thefe !WO. Fir!l, When the foul will not fuffer the I.ord Jefus to bruiie , or crofs irs will, that fo he may prevaile over the reliHancy of" ir; A firong arme, a !lrono man when his arme is bruifed, or broken, or wounded, cakes away the aa of refiflance; as taking away the very life from it , cake; away the very power of reli!lance ;" fo Chrill would unite himfelf ro rhe foul ; there cm be no confhnc union , where there is conllanr reli!tance. Chrifr comes to rake away char; hence bruifes and wounds rhe foul ; outwardly fometime in name, e!hte; inward ly in confcience , in heart. Now here is mens folly, Th,tt they will not be humbled, when they heare of their eftare in the Word; they will not believe 'tis fo, though tHey ftand all the while convinced therein, as if they hld b~en named ; nay, they will n(>t think of it; if it besins eo trouble them, or if they do begin, they think it is the temptation of the D~vil; and if theirellates or names begin to dye , they will not b; poor nor defpifed; they had rather dye, or live in vexing and fret- ! tino , ratl:lerchan yield ; they will have God.s Will boweq ro their~ , nor I the~rs to the Lnrd, nor yield rhemfelv~s Capiives tQ his mercy, {et him do wi·h ther,l what he will, who owes them nothing. l;hus ir was with £. phra:m; ''"aperm;um h! i\td , admired, embraced Chril} , b4t yet fepenred not; that was to live in the fmoke and fire ·i Wo to you , faith he, for it. 'fer, 6. 7, 8. · Be inJfruEted ; He faith nor, InHruCl: thy felf, but 4e in- ]/ruEt~d, beconvinced '· be humbled ~orrhy fin , le/f my fo:~l dep11rt ; I am with thee yet to pardon It, yet to rake u away. · Secondly, Wh~n they will not be gathe~;edto Chrifi, nQr come \O l).im, nor receive his love when it comes ~o them , but put it far re froqt ~h~ll). ~s much as in them lies. The Difciples to le! ThomM Chrill: was rifen , but hr;: would not believe unlefs he faw him; nay, unlefs he felt ; nay, unlefs he felt his very wounds ; ChFift pjti~s , apd beares with the we~knefs of Faith ; But ( faith he) b~ no more faithlef?, b11t f aithft~l ; ancj hence faith he , Ble{tl:d -tre the) which have not feeu, and yet believed; this 1 Chrift com1 plaines of in the }ewes , p, waald have gathered them , and they 1fould \ "''Jowhererelitl:anceis madetwpwayes. .' . . I 1. By rhe will; when the foul fees che offl!r oLdove fa if<! aqd full , bur will I not be drawn to clofe with ir, b~caufe it knows whether to go , and live, and be yet well enough without ir. John 6. 68. Wherher fh"l( I go ? It hach ! fome other Lovers to give it ,<;on tent ; bur lofs of Chri!ls lov<:, is nor for . 1 the pr~f~nt as bitter as death to him ; bequ[e qaving of it, is not lite to him, becaufe fometl)ing elfe is hi~ life; ehis is, ~l)mity of heart; and indeed I the root isworfu. ( ifworfe may b~) you can fi.nd4 fome pillow to eafe you, when you refufe Chri!ls love to help you. z. By the minde ; the foul knows not whether eo go, ~nd yet rhe rni_nde 1 doth not , nor wi 11 !}l.edit.tte with fixed m~;ditations on the grac\! of <;:h rill, whereby it might b~ drawn eo Cbr~/l; bu~ pores upon its finnes, and unb;:- 1 Jief, and feares , and obJeCts !l:rongly, and C(>ntmually againll the :t,ord, l · \ I[i;iah 40. 27, 28. Haft 11~t _(ec;;, 0-c. ( Belov~) 'Tis with the m.i11de, ; as it is with bu)'ning gla!fes, hold rhem to t~e S\111, and you gather and .Jl• ' 1 nire the ~ames , that tbey purn ; So. eh<,: fo~;le by muling on <;:hNfts ; ~~ . I _Obje&. Many fay, lcannotbe!i(vtthot~gh I feeA.commandforit;~tndGod WJ/l r.ot help me. An(.
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