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2. Some say that he doth it by setting himself a pattern for us to follow him.

3. Some again hold, that he doth it by our following the light within.

But thou must take heed of all these, for he justifies us by none of these means (and thou dost need to be justified); I say, he justifieth us not, either by giving laws unto us, or by becoming our example, or by our following him in any sense, but by his blood shed for us. His blood is not laws, nor ordinances, nor commandments, but a price, a redeeming price. He justifies us, by bestowing upon us, not by expecting from us. He justifies us by his grace, not by our works. In a word, thou must be well grounded in the knowledge of what Christ is, and how men are justified by him, or thou wilt not come unto God by him.

As thou must know him, and how men are justified by him, so thou must know the readiness that is in him to receive and to do for those, what they need, that come unto God by him. Suppose his merits were ever so efficacious, yet if it could be proved, that there is a loathness in him that these merits should be bestowed upon the coming ones, there would but few adventure to wait upon him. But now, as he is full, so he is free. Nothing pleases him better, than to give what he has away, than to bestow it upon the poor and needy. And it will be convenient that thou, who art a coming soul, should know this for thy comfort to encourage thee to come to God by him. Take two or three sayings of his for the confirming of what is now said: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "All that the Father giveth me, shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." "I am not come to call the righteous but sinners, to repentance." "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

Seventhly, As a man that would come to God by Christ, must, antecedent to his so coming, know himself, what he is; the world, how empty it is; the law, how severe it is; death and what it is; and Christ and what he is; so also he must know God. "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him." God he must know, else how can the sinner propound him as his end, his ultimate end? for so doth every one that indeed doth come to Christ aright. He comes to Christ, because he is the way; he comes to God, because he is the end. But I say, if he knows him not, how can he propound him as the end? The end is that for the sake of which I propound to myself any thing, and for the sake of which I use any means. Now then, I would be saved; but why? Even because I would enjoy God. I come to Christ to be saved; and why? because I would enjoy God. I am sensible that sin has made me come short of the glory of God, and that Christ Jesus is he (the only one) that can put me into a condition to obtain the glory of God; and therefore I come to God by him.

But I say again, who will propound God for his end, that knows him not, that knows him not aright? yea, that knows him not to be worth being propounded as his end, in coming to Jesus Christ? and he that thus knows him, must know him to be above all, best of all, and him in whom the soul shall find that content, that bliss, that glory and happiness, that can by no means be found elsewhere. And, I say, if this be not found in God, the soul will never propound him to himself as the only, the highest, and ultimate end in its coming to Jesus Christ; but it will propound something else, even what it shall imagine to be the best good: perhaps heaven, perhaps ease from guilt, perhaps to be kept out of hell, or the like. I do not say but a man may propound all these to himself, in his coming to Jesus Christ; but if he propound these as his ultimate end, as the chiefest good that he seeks;

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if the presence and enjoyment of God, of God's glorious majesty, be not a chief design, he is not concerned in the salvation that is propounded in our text. "He is able," and so will "save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him."

What is heaven without God? What is ease without the peace and enjoyment of God? What is deliverance from hell, without the enjoyment of God? The propounding therefore these, and only these, to thyself for thy happiness, in thy coming to Jesus Christ, is a proposal not a hair's breadth higher than what a man without grace can propound. What, or who is he that would not go to heaven? What, or who is he that would not also have ease from the guilt of sin? And where is the man that chooseth to go to hell? But many there be that cannot abide God; no, they like not to go to heaven, because God is there. If the devil had a heaven to bestow upon men, a vicious and a beastly heaven, (if it be lawful thus to speak) I durst pawn my soul upon it, were it a thousand times better than it is, that upon a bare invitation the foul fiend would have twenty to God's one. They, I say, cannot abide God; nay, for all the devil has nothing but a hell for them, yet how thick men go to him, but how thinly to God Almighty! The nature of God lieth cross to the lusts of men. A holy God, a glorious holy God, an infinitely holy God; this spoils all. But to the soul that is awakened, and that is made to see things as they are, to him God is what he is in himself, the blessed, the highest, the only eternal good, and he without the enjoyment of whom all things would sound but empty in the ears of that soul.

Now then, I advise thee that hast a mind to come to God by Christ, that thou seek the knowledge of God: "If thou seekest wisdom as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God."

And to encourage thee yet further, he is so desirous of communion with men, that he pardoneth sins for that. Hence he is called, not only loving, but love. "God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him."

Methinks, when I consider what glory there is, at times, upon the creatures, and that all their glory is the workmanship of God, O Lord Jesus, say I, What is God himself? He may well be called the God of glory, as well as the glorious Lord; for as all glory is from him, so in him is an inconceivable well-spring of glory, of glory to be communicated to them that come by Christ to him. Wherefore let the glory, and love, and bliss, and eternal happiness that is in God, allure thee to come to him by Christ.

Eighthly, As thou shouldst, nay, must, have a good knowledge of all these, so thou must have it of judgment to come. They that come to God by Christ, are said to fly from the wrath to come, to fly for refuge-to lay hold on the hope set before them.

The judgment to come, is a warm thing to be thought of, an awakening thing to be thought of: it is called the eternal judgment, because it is, and will be, God's final conclusion with men. This day is called the great and notable day of the Lord; the day that shall burn like an oven; the day in which the angels shall gather the wicked together, as tares in bundles, to burn them, but the rest into his kingdom and glory. This day will be it in which all bowels of love and compassion shall be shut up to the wicked, and that in which the floodgates of wrath shall be opened, by which a plentiful reward shall be given to evil doers, but glory to the righteous. This is the day in which men, if they could, would creep into the ground for fear; but because they cannot, therefore they will call and cry to the mountains to fall upon them, but they shall not; therefore they stand bound to bear their judgment.

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This day will be the day of breaking up closet-councils, cabinet-councils, secret purposes, hidden thoughts; yea, God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing. I say he shall do it then, for he will "both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart." This is the day that is appointed to put them to shame and contempt, that have in this world been bold and audacious in their vile and beastly ways. At this day God will cover all such bold and brazen faces with shame. Now they will blush till the blood is ready to burst through their cheeks. O the confusion and shame that will cover their faces, while God is discovering to them what a vile, what a beastly, what an uncomely, and what an unreasonable life they lived in the world! They shall see the contemned God that fed them, that clothed them, that gave them life and limb, and that maintained their breath in their nostrils. But, Oh! when they see the gulf before them then, and all things ready to receive them in thither, then they will know what sinning against God means!

And I say, Thou that art for coming to God by Christ, must know this, and be well assured of this, or thou wilt never come to God by him.

What of the glory of God shall be put upon them that do indeed come to him, will also help in this spiritual journey, if it be well considered by thee: but perhaps terror and unbelief will suffer thee to consider but little of that. However, the things aforementioned will be goads, and will serve to prick thee forward; and if they do so, they will be God's great blessing unto thee, and that for which thou wilt give him thy thanks for ever.

Thus I have in few words spoken something as to the first sort of comers to God by Christ; namely, of the coming of the newly awakened man. And I say again, if any of the things aforenamed be wanting, and are not with his heart, it is a question whether, notwithstanding all the noise