SERM. X. lift up but thy fincere cry to the Lord Jefus for help, and he will quickly be with thee. When the prodigal, the emblem of a convinced, humbled finner, faid, in himfelf, I will return to my father, the father ran to meet him, Luke xv. 20. He can be with thee in a moment.

Sixthly, None fo willing to receive and undertake all distresfed and afflicted fouls, as Jefus Christ is: he refuses none that come to him. John vi. 37. "He that cometh unto me, I will ❝ in no wife caft out." Whatever their fins have been, or their forrows are; however they have wounded their own fouls with the deepest gafhes of guilt; how defperate and helpless foever their cafe appears, in their own, or others eyes; he never puts them off, or discourages them, if they be but willing to come, Ifa. i. 18, 19.

Seventhly, None so happy and fuccessful, as Chrift; he never fails of performing a perfect cure upon those he undertakes! never was it known that any foul miscarried in his hands, John iii. 15, 16.. Other phyficians, by mistakes, by ignorance, or careleffness, fill church yards, and caft away the lives of men; but Chrift fuffers none to perish, that commit themselves to him.

Eightly, None fo free and generous, as Chrift; he doth all gratis he fells not his medicines, though they be of infinite value; but freely gives them; Ha. lv. 1. "He that hath no mo ney, let him come." If any be fent away, it is the rich, Luke i. 53. not the poor and needy: thofe that will not accept their remedy as a free gift, but will needs purchase it at a price.

Ninthly, and laftly, None rejoice in the recovery of fouls, more than Chrift doth. O! it is unfpeakably delightful to him to fee the efficacy of his blood upon our fouls; Ifa. liii. 11. "He "fhall fee the travail of his foul, (i. e. the fuccefs of his death

and fufferings) and fhall be fatisfied." When he forefaw the fuccefs of the gofpel upon the world, it is faid, Luke x. 21. "la "that hour Jefus rejoiced in Spirit." And thus you fee, there is no phyfician like Chrift, for fick fouls.

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The ufes of this point are,

For information and direction' First, From whence we are informed of many great and neceffary truths, deducible from this: As,

Infer. 1. How inexpreffible is the grace of God, in providing Juch a phyfician as Chrift, for the fick and dying fouls of finners! O bleffed be God, that there is a balm in Gilead, and a phyfician there! that their cafe is not defperate, forlorn and remedilefs, as that the devils and damned is. There is but one cafe except ed from cure, and that, fuch as is not incident to any fenfible,

afflicted foul, Mat. xii. 31. and this only excepted, all manner of fins and diseases are capable of a cure. Though there be fuch a difeafe as is incurable, yet take this for thy comfort, never any any foul was fick (i. e.) sensibly burthened with it, and willing to come to Jefus Christ for healing: for under that fin the will is fo wounded, that they have no defire to Christ. O ineftimable mercy that the fickeft finner is capable of a perfect cure! There be thoufands, and ten thousands, now in heaven and earth, who faid once, Never was any cafe like theirs; so dangerous, fo hopeless. The greatest of finners have been perfectly recovered by Chrift, 1 Tim. i. 15. 1 Cor. vi. 11. O mercy, never to be duly estimated !,

Infer. 2. What a powerful restraint from fin, is the very method ordained by God for the cure of it! Ifa. liii. 5. "By his stripes "we are healed." The phyfician muft die, that the patient might live; no other thing but the blood, the precious blood of Chrift, is found in heaven or earth able to heal us, Heb. ix. 22, 26. This blood of Chrift must be freshly applied to every new wound fin makes upon our fouls, 1 John ii. 1, 2. every new fin wounds him afresh, opens the wounds of Christ anew.

O think of this, again and again, you that fo eafily yield to the folicitati ons of Satan Is it fo eafy, and fo cheap, to fin, as you seem to make it? Doth the cure of fouls coft nothing? True, it is free to us, but was it fo to Chrift? No, no, it was not; he knows the price of it, though you do not: Hath Chrift healed you by his ftripes, and can you put him under fresh fufferings for you fo eafily? Have you forgot alfo your own fick days and nights for fin, that you are careless in refifting and preventing it? Sure it is not eafy for faints to wound Chrift, and their own fouls, at one ftroke. If you renew your fins, you must also renew your forrows and repentance, Pfal. li. title. 2 Sam. xii. 13. you must feel the anguish and pain of a troubled fpirit again, things with which the faints are not unacquainted; of which they may fay, as the church, "Remembring my affliction, the wormwood and "the gall, my foul hath them ftill in remembrance,” Lam. iii. 19. Yea, and if you will yet be remifs in your watch, and so cafily incur new guilt, though a pardon in the blood of Chrift may heal your fouls, yet fome rod or other, in the hand of a difpleafed father, fhall afflict your bodies, or fmite you in your outward comforts, Pfal. lxxxix. 23.

Infer. 3. If Chrift be the only physician of fick fouls, what fin and folly is it for men to take Chrift's work out of his hands, and attempt to be their own physician?

Thus do thofe that fuperftitiously endeavour to heal their

SERM. X. fouls, by afflicting their bodies; not Chrift's blood, but their own, must be the plaifter: and as blind Papifts, fo, many carnal and ignorant Proteftants ftrive, by confeffion, reftitution, reformation, and ftricter course of life, to heal those wounds that fin hath made upon their fouls, without any refpect to the blood of Chrift: but this courfe fhall not profit them at all. It may, for a time, divert, but can never heal them: the wounds, fo fkinned over, will open and bleed again. God grant it be not when our fouls fhall be out of the reach of the true and only remedy.

Ipfer. 4. How fad is the cafe of thofe fouls, to whom Chrift hath not yet been a phyfician? They are mortally wounded, by fin, and are like to die of their ficknefs; no faving, healing applications have hitherto been made unto their fouls: and this is the cafe of the greatest part of mankind, yea, of them that live under the difcoveries of Chrift in the gofpel. Which appears by thefe fad fymptoms.

First, In that their eyes have not yet been opened, to fee their fin and mifery; in which illumination, the cure of fouls begins, Acts xxvi. 18. To this day he hath not given them eyes to fee, Deut. xxix. 4. but that terrible stroke of God, which blinds and hardens them, is too vifibly upon them, mentioned in Ifa. vi. 9, 10. No hope of healing, till the finner's eyes be opened to fee his fin and mifery.

Secondly, In that nothing will divorce and separate them from their lufts; a fure fign they are not under Christ's cure, nor were ever made fick of fin. O if ever Christ be a physician to thy foul, he will make thee loathe what now thou lovest, and fay to thy moft pleafant and most profitable lufts, Get ye hence, Ifa. XXX. 22. Till then, there is no ground to think that Christ is a phyfician to you.

Thirdly, In that they have no fenfible and preffing need of Chrift, nor make any earnest enquiry after him, as, moft certainly, you would do, if you were in the way of healing and recovery. Thefe, and many other fad fymptoms, do too plainly discover the difeafe of fin, to be in its full ftrength upon your fouls; and if it fo continue, how dreadful will the iffue be? See Ifa. vi. 9,

10.

Infer. 5. What cause have they to be glad, that are under the hand and care of Chrift, in order to a cure, and who do find, or may, upon due examination, find their fouls are in a very hopeful way of recovery! Can we rejoice when the ftrength of a natural difeafe is broken, and nature begins to recover cafe and vigour again? And fhall we not much more re

joice, when our fouls begin to mend, and recover sensibly, and all comfortable figns of health and life appear upon them? particularly, when the understanding, which was ignorant and dark, hath the light of life beginning to dawn into it; fuch is that in 1 John ii. 27. When the will, which was rebellious and inflexible to the will of God, is brought to comply with that holy will, faying, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts ix. 6. When the heart, which was harder than an adament, is now brought to contrition for fin, and can mourn as heartily over it, as ever a father did for a dead fon, a beloved, and only fon; when its averfations from God are gone, at least have no fuch power as once they had; but the thoughts are now fixed much upon God, and fpiritual things begin to grow pleasant to the foul; when times of duty come to be longed for, and the foul never better pleased than in fuch feafons: when the hypocrify of the heart is purged out, so that we begin to do all that we do hear. tily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men, Col. iii. 23. 1 Theff. ii. 4. when we begin to make confcience of fecret fins, Pfal. cxix. 113., and of fecret duties, Matth. vi. 5, 6.: when we have an equal refpect to all God's commandments, Pfal. cxix. 8., and our hearts are under the holy, and awful eye of God, which doth, indeed, over-awe our fouls, Gen. xvii. 1. O what fweet signs of a recovering foul are thefe! Surely fuch are in the skilful hand of the great Physician, who will perfect what yet remains to be done.

Second ufe for direction.

In the last place, this point yields us matter of advice and direction to poor fouls that are under the disease of fin; and they are of two forts, which I will distinctly speak to: viz. First, Such as are under their first sickness of spiritual sorrow for fin, and know not what course to take: or, Secondly, Such as have been longer in the hands of Chrift the Physician, but are troubled to fee the cure advance fo flowly upon them, and fear the iffae.

Firft, As to thofe that are in their first troubles for fin, and know not what course to take for ease and safety; I would addrefs to them thefe following counfels.

First, Shut your ears against the dangerous counfels of carnal perfons, or relations; for as they themselves are unacquainted with thefe troubles, fo alfo are they with all proper remedies: and it is very ufual with the devil to convey his temptations to diftreffed fouls, by fuch hands; because, by them, he can do it with least fufpicion. It was Auguftine's complaint, that his VOL. II.

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SERM. X own father took little care for his foul; and many parents act, in this cafe, as if they were employed by Satan.

Secondly, Be not too eager to get out of trouble, but be content to take God's way, and wait his time. No woman that is wife, would defire to have her travail haftened one day before the due time; nor will it be your interest to haften too foon out of trouble. It is true, times of trouble are apt to feem tedious; but a falfe peace will endanger you more than a long trouble: a man may lengthen his own troubles to the lofs of his own peace, and may fhorten them to the hazard of his own foul.

Thirdly, Open your cafe to wife, judicious, and experienced Chriftians, and efpecially the minifters of Chrift, whose office it is to counfel and direct you in these difficulties; and let not your troubles lie, like a fecret, finothering fire, always in your own breasts. I know men are more ashamed to open their fins under convictions, than they were to commit them before conviction: but this is your intereft, and the true way to your reft and peace. If there be with you, or near you, an interpreter, one of a thoufand, to fhew you your righteousness, and remedy, as it lies in Chrift; neglect not your own fouls, in a finful concealment of your cafe: it will be the joy of their hearts to be employed in fuch work as this.

Fourthly, Be much with God in fecret, open your hearts to him, and pour out complaints into his bofom. The eii. Pfalm bears a title very fuitable to your cafe and duty; yea, you will find if your troubles work kindly, and God intend a cure upon your fouls, that nothing will be able to keep God and your fouis afunder whatever your incumbrances in the world be, fome time will be daily redeemed, to be fo fpent betwixt you and God. Fifthly, Plead hard with God, in prayer, for help and healing. "Heal my foul, (faith David) for I have finned against thee," Pfal. xli. 4. Tell him Chrift hath his commiffion fealed for fuch as you are: he was fent to " bind up the broken-hearted," Ila. lxi. I. Tell him he came into the world, to feek and "fave that which was loft," and fo are you now, in your own account and apprehenfions. Lord, what profit is there in my blood? Wilt thou purfue a dried leaf? And why is my heart wounded with the fenfe of fin, and mine eyes open to fee my danger and mifery? Are not thefe the firft dawnings of mercy upon finners? O let it appear, that the time of mercy, even the fet time, is now come.

Sixthly, Underftand your peace to be in Christ only, and faith to be the only way to Chrift and reft; let the great enquiry of your fouls be after Christ and faith; ftudy the nature and ne