Zach. 12. 10. They shall look upon him whom they pierced, and they Shall mourne for him as one mourneth for his onely fon, and they shall be in bitterne fe for him as one that is in bitternesse for his first born.

For faith.

3.Reasons of it. First, fees the greatest love, the sweetest kindnesse, the freest pardons, the readieft acceptations; all which do even meit the heart into a river, and works the greateft mournings.

2

I doubt not but the very behaviour of the father of the Prodi gal, brake the heart of him with more thawings and kindly mournings, then ever did his former mifery and hardship; Ó this, that though he was an ungracious spend-thrift, a stubborne childe, a lewd companion, Luke 15. yet his father should run to meet him, that he fhould fall upon his neck and kiffe him, the kindneffe of those lips wounded his heart with the deeper sense and judging of his own unkindneffe. So when a finner fhall by faith fee Chrift fteping forward in the Gospel, puting forth the hand to him, calling him, come, thou haft done evil as thou canst, haft wronged my father, me, my fpirit, my fervants, thy felfe, I will get thee pardon for all, feare not, nor be difmayed, I will will take upon me the discharge, I will be thine, my blood thine, my righteoufneffe thine; O, this melts the heart: thou canst not take Chrift, but thy heart will break, nor read thy pardon, but thine eyes will melt; what for me, Lord; yea, for thee, what after fuch deep rebellions; yea, after all, and that moft freely and willingly; Good Lord, how the foul weeps now,

&c.

Secondly, faith fees fin in the greatest vilene fe: It is one thing to fee fin, Hell-gates, and another thing to fee fin (if I may fo allude) at Heaven-gates, there I fee it in its reward, which caufeth feare, here I fee it in its proper nature,which caufeth hatred. When I can fee fin as the wrong of a righteous and holy will,as a rebellion against a holy and just Law,as a provocation of a great and holy God, as the fpeare thrusting through the heart of our Lord Jefus Chrift, as the bafeft quality, and vileft abufe, and indignity to love, and mercy, and blood; now, now I begin to melt, to grieve, a God is wronged, a Father is wronged, a Saviour is wronged.

3.Faith melts the promises,and the promises mells the heart: Why? Brethren,

brethren, our foft and mourning hearts are not firft in us, and then in the promises, but first in them, and from them they come down into us. The heart of flesh is first in that promife, Ezek. 36. I will take away the heart of stone, and give you an beare of fieb, and thence it comes to the perfon for to fashion and mollifie his heart. But what draws the promises? Is it not faith. It is the only hand which reacheth out unto them,and receives them; whence it doth fully follow, that beleeving will be no prejudice, but a great furtherance to thy mournful humblings and foftnings.

Obj. I grant it, when a man can indeed beleeve; this beleeving will much abate, and perhaps remove the actuals of an horrible stumbling;(that is) a man fhall not now feel fuch a defperate terrifying, bitter, hopeleffe anguifh as before, but yet it doth open a full veine within the foul, which drops with vitall forrows, with gracious lamentings, with hearty displeasures, with hopeful tears; and though under them the foul is not fo hurried, yet it weeps bitterly, as the wife which holds the lately reconciled husband by the hand,or as the child, which is newly pardoned and embraced.

This is a truth, that faith can heale the teares of a slave,and breed the tears of a childe: It can rebake the ragings of the fea, and yet continue its flowing courfes; It can ftill a raging confcience, and yet beget a ftreame of godly forrow; it can both quiet a troubled fpirit,and raife within us a foft and mourning heart. Yea to speak plainly,a man never till then begins to mourn as a childe, till he hath faith to fee God as a father, and the gracious looks of Chrift (which only faith efpies) they upbraid our finnings more, and no fuch Springs of grief as, they.

6. Obj. But I have stood out my day, and have refused many invitations, and offers, as, now I may not beleeve. I am fure that Chrift will never regard me, because of my former proud refufals of bim in his gracious offers and invitations: Now the day is gone, It is too late.

Sol, To this I answer.

1. That not only the pofitive refusals, but also the flighting pretermiffions of the voice of the Gospel, are (undoubted) finful, for if difobedience to the Law, then much more unto the Gof

Dd

pel

5s Things.

pel is very bad; no man can refufe his remedy, but he makes his wound the greater.

2. Again it is granted, the greater kinde of refufal, adde a greater measure of guilt: the refula's of light against light, is a more dark condition: (that is) when a man knows the Gospel to be the voice of Chrift, and to propound heaven and mercy upon the only termes, and yet he is not gathered, this is finne in more degrees then the pafling over it, then igno. rance, and inobfervation: againe, the more wilfully a man refufeth his opportunity and invitations, this alfo makes the refufal more hainous, and calls upon the foule for greater humblings.

But then know,

1. That Chrift is not alwayes fo quick to break off (for ever) for feme refusals: It is not an uncapable condition, (a fealed ftate) if a man hath stood out against many particular invitations. This fimply is not the finne against the holy Ghost, and therefore it is pardonable, and if the finne be pardonable, then the finner is capable of Christ, in whom alone fin is tó be pardoned.

2. Scarce any beleever, (who is called after the ripenesse of yeares) but bath often refufed (before his converfion) many invitations by grace and mercy. It were an horrid harthneffe for any Minifter to fend all them to hell, who once refufe the news and tender of heaven: Nay, we fee that Chrift hath feveral seasons of converfion,fome he brings home to himself at the night, at the later end of the day, who queftionleffe refused bim in the former part of the day; nay, that grace which doth gather a man to Chrift, conquers our refusing hearts, Ergo, meer refufing is not an eternal prejudice. It is true, that whiles I do refufe, I cannot beleeve, yet though I have formerly refufed, I may yet beleeve.

There is a double refufal of Chrift and the invitations of the Gofpel; one is malitions, this is fearful; another is temerariou, and this is pardonable: That is accompanied with a despiteful. neffe of fpirit, this depends much upon rashnesse, temptations,inadvertency.

Againe, there is a double refufal; one is total, but temporar]; A man doth not hearken, though Chrift doth call, be will

not

not fubfcribe, though Chrift propounds, but goes in his own way and courfe, yet at length with Paul, he may be struck to the ground, and yeild up bimfelf to Chrift.

Another is,total and final, which is an impenitent rebellion; A man holds out against the voice of Chrift for ever, there is no hope for fuch a perfon..

2. No broken and grieved heart for former refu(als can justly say, that it hath stood out its day, and it is too late to be

leeve.

This is a thing of fome concernment, and many are very ftrict in it; I will only prefent my thoughts amidst the crowd of conjectures.

First, how punctual Gods day of grace is in the offer of Christ; fo that if a man doth not take it in the first moment of tender, I think none can tell.

Secondly, to (ay of this or that particular man, that he is gone beyond his day, for ought I know,goes beyond our commiffion.

Thirdly, that at any time when the Gospel is published, then it ought presently to be embraced, Today if you will heare his voice, &c.

Fourthly, God doth not take away from a man his day alwayes immediately upon his first refufal, if fo, perhaps it would have been night with all the world ere this.

Fifthly, it is probable that the day of grace is not closed against a particular perfon, when his heart begins to be broken for former refufals: for when men out-stand this day, usually they are given up to a feared confcience, to a reprobate minde, to a fenfible ftupidity, and to the works of finne with greedineffe; they grow worfe and worse,being not only deftitute of all foftning qualities,but being more hardned by the Gospel, which they refufed and defpifed. The man who out-ftands bis day, is either deprived of the found of the Gospel, or else he hath only the judicial power of is working upon him.

3. The fenfe and grief of the heart for former Standings out, this, I lay, proclaimes that thy day is not fet, nay, this is thy fingular and special day.

D.vines do diftinguish of the day.

One is General, like

the rifing of the Sunne, the ve-
Dd2

ry

ry rifing and publishing of the Gospel makes a day.

Another is Special which is like one of the twelve houres in the day, when the Spirit of God begins to make day within the heart, and Chrift is dealing and fecretly parling with the foul, by conviction of its former refufals, by fweet humblings and meltings for fuch proud and erroneous deni als: That the Prince of my peace should be refufed, that the · Lord of my life should be refufed, that the termes of righteoufneffe and mercy fhould be refused, O how the heart judgeth, condemns rents, and afflicts it felf for it; falls down at the feet of Chrift, not worthy O Lord to look upon thee, whom I have fo often undervalued. This is a fpecial day, here's a feafon for thee, thou mayeft go to Chrift, Chrift hath dealt with thee effectually, this is the acceptable time.

4. If thou hast stood out against Chrift hitherto, thou hast therefore now the more reafon to come in, and not to refuse the offer yet continued.

Obferve two things.

First, that former rebellions are never taken off by by new and continued: For this is to make finning much the worfe; perhaps thou didst refufe Chrift heretofore through ignorance, (thou didst not fee his excellencies, nor thine own neceffity) or perhaps through inadvertency or carelesneffe, thou didst not wifely and feriously heed that great falvation in him: But now thou art convinced, now thou feeft thy refufals, and careJeffe pretermiffions to be finful: Why; is this the way to cure the former by adding more refusals? Didft thou well to refuse him upon his own termes? if thou didst ill then cease refusing; labour to accept of them: Thou canft never pleafe God by continuing in a fin, nor help thy felf by pleading against thy duty.

Secondly, thy obligation and prefent duty ceaseth not because of former refusals: It was thy duty to have received Chrift at the first, and to this very day doth that duty lie upon thee: former miscarriages fhould cause our bumblings, but they never difannul our duties: Why; the Gospel is yet in its revelation of Chrift, and yet in its tender of Chrift unto thee, and yet in commanding of thee to refufe him no more, but to hearken and to beleeve, (that is) to accept of Chrift to be thy Lord and

Saviour..

Obj.