ESSAY V. .4 Plain. mid _Easy Account of a Sinner's coming to God by Jesus Christ, or of saving Faith in Christ Jesus. Jours xv. 6.r-No Man cometh unto the Fatherbut by me. INNOCENT man in the day of his creation had a liberty or drawing near to Godhis Maker, and of delightful converse with him in a more immediate manner ; but man having fallen .frotn God, and become guilty in his person, and sinful in his nature, dwells in this world afar off from God ; and yet sometimes would attempt to approach, and obtain his favour again merely by his own powers and performances ; as though the goodness of God wouldreceive him again into his presence, and into his . love in the same manner as before. Sinful mankind have been often trying to make their way to God in and of themselvès Thence arise those various mistakengroundsof hope, of which we have given an account in the former discourse : Butthe bless- ed God has sufficiently informed us in the word of his gospel, that is in vain for us to hope to draw near to God, our offended sovereign, without a Mediator ; and there is but one Mediator ; of God's appointment between God and man, and that is the man Christ Jesus ; 1 Tim. ii. 5. and no man cometh unto the Father but by him ; John xv. 6. Now in order to explain what it is for sinners to come to God the bather by Jesus Christ, let us consider that all saving approaches of the creatureunto God, depend on God's approach- es to the creature : He first draws us by his grace, and then we follow. Jer. xxxi. 3. I have loved thee with an everlasting _love, therefore with loving kindness have Idrawn thee. 1 John iv. 19. Ifwe love hire it is because he loved us first. If our souls are set a- moving towards him, it is because his heart, his pity and his love moved first towards us. In the reconciliation of God and his sinful creatures, there must be a mutual approach, and amutual nearness ; but it must be remembered, that the sinner's coming nigh to God, is but an echo or answer to the merciful voice of God coming nigh to him And the same method in which we may suppose the great God to draw near to sinners, the same steps should we take in drawing near to God. It must he granted indeed, that all acts of God are eternal, and his de- crees have no .order of succession as they are in him : The eternal mind conceives the ends and beginnings of all things at once ; but there are many expressions in scripture which conde-
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