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Part II. is made offer of to finners, and that freely, and they accept of the offer, and receive him.

7. To believe on the Lord Jefus, is to lean upon him, to stay ourselves on him. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her beloved? Cant. viii. 5. that is, believing on her beloved. And in the like manner doth the prophet Ifaiah exprefs himself, Ifa. 1. 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his fervant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and (tay upon his God. Now here we again may fee what the finner's ftate is before he doth believe: he is in a tottering condition; he is not able to stand under the weight of that burden he has upon him. He is not able to abide the fhock of the ftorm that is blowing against him; if he get not fomething to lean to, he must fall: and if he fall, he is crushed entirely; for he ftands upon the brink of the pit, and if he falls, he falls into that pit, whence there is no redemption. If he mifs a ftep, and plunge into the pit, there is no stepping up thence again: this he fees to be his cafe; he is fenfible of his danger, and fees Chrift able to fupport him, to establish him: therefore he leans to him; he expects to be able to stand the fhock of all the ftorms that can blow against him in his dependence on him.

8. To believe on Chrift, is to lay hold on him, to take hold of his ftrength. Let him take hold of my ftrength, fays the Lord, that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me, Ifa. xxvii. 5. And it is called a taking hold of God's covenant, Ifa. lvi. 4. And in the new teftament it is called an apprehending of Chrift, Phil. iii. 12. Not as though I had already attained, either were

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already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which alfo I am apprehended of Jefus Chrift. And Heb. vi. 18, it is called a laying hold on the hope fet before us. The finner is like to fink; and seeing Chrift by him, he catches hold of him, to keep himself from finking. We might multiply other expreffions of faith, fuch as cleaving to the Lord, opening to Chrift, fubmitting to the righteousness of God, 2 Kings viii. 5. Deut. iv. 4. These we pafs, not defigning a full enumeration, but what may lay a foundation for the following enquiry, and lead us into the meaning of this word ufed in the text. We might have infifted in fhewing these three or four laft expreffions, to be comprehenfive of all the particulars noticed in the two or three firft expreffions: but what is obvious needs not be infifted upon. We fhall therefore wave the explication of any more texts to this purpofe, and proceed,

IV. To enquire what is implied in this duty enjoined in the text, Believe on the Lord Jefus Chrift. This enquiry will be eafy after fuch a foundation has been laid in the preceeding. Believing on the Lord Jefus Chrift implies then,

1. A fenfe of fin and mifery. This is plain from all the expreffions whereby the Spirit of God elsewhere points forth this duty. There is not one of them but carries in it an indication of this. The ftung Ifraelite is fenfible of his smart and danger before he looks to the brafen ferpent. The prodigal knows his want before he thinks of coming to his father's houfe. The Manflayer underftands his fin and danger, before he flees to the city of refuge. The burdened finner is fenfible. of the weight of fin, before he roll it over upon another and the like may be faid of all the reft

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of the expreffions mentioned; putting on, receiving, leaning to, laying hold of, opening, and cleaving to the Lord Jefus Chrift. All of them plainly intimate this, That a fenfe of fin and danger is the ground-work of this duty, neceffarily prefuppofed to, and implied in it. And more over we may not only understand, that the sense of fin and mifery is implied in the duty, but also what fort of a fense of these it is, which is requisite, and which is implied. And,

(1.) By thefe expreffions we may fee, that it is a distinct and particular knowlege of our fin and mifery. The finner that betakes himself to Chrift by faith, knows his fore, understands well the evil he labours under. It is not a confused and general apprehenfion of danger, fuch as perfons who are melancholy fometimes fall under, without understanding what it is or whence it flows; but they can tell diftinctly what it is that pains them. The stung man knows where he is wounded. The prodigal can tell what he wants.

The

manflayer can tell why he makes fuch hafte to the city of refuge. The burdened finner can tell, that it is a load upon him, under the weight of which he is like to be crushed, that makes him flee to one that has shoulders able to carry it.

(2.) This fenfe of fin and mifery, as it is diftinct, fo it is deep. A great many of those who live under the gospel, and are furnished with any tolerable measure of knowlege, it may be, can tell pretty distinctly their fin and danger; and, it may be, know likewise many particular fins they are guilty of: yet their fenfe however diftinét, is not deep. But fuch as do believe have a deep sense of fin and mifery. It is fuch a sense as is fixed and has rooting in the mind, it engroffes the thoughts,

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thoughts, and fills the mind with apprehenfions about the the foul's ftate and condition. moreover, it doth not hold here, but finks down upon the heart, and takes hold of the affections, and fills them likewise. Fear, grief, hatred and revenge take their turns in the foul: grief for the offence done to God; fear for the confequence of it, with refpect to ourfelves; hatred against fin and felf-revenge, because of our folly in bringing on the guilt of fo much fin upon ourselves. Many in the visible church who will pretend they are fenfible of fin, have never, it may be, to this day been affected with it; never had any grief or fear, any hatred or revenge against it and themfelves on its account. Such perfons, pretend what they will, are indeed ftrangers to faith, and one day will be found fo. The man that flees for his life to the city of refuge, not only knows what he has done, and what fin deferves; but moreover has a deep impreffion of both. What do ye think was it that bufied the 'man's thoughts, when fleeing to the city of refuge? Certainly his fin and danger were the things that ftuck with him, and affected his heart with fear, which made him flee amain to the city of refuge: and the like might be faid with refpect to the other expreffions of faith.

(3.) This fenfe of fin and mifery is a preffing apprehenfion of both: and this lies in two things. Firft, It makes his prefent ftate and condition intolerable, I mean it makes a Chriftlefs ftate utterly intolerable. It is fo uneafy, it cannot be endured. It is not like that fenfe of fin which moft part have, and have no more, that fuffers them to live contentedly all their days without Chrift in the world. Who of you will not pretend to be fenfible of fin? And yet who of you doth not find it an eafy thing

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to live in that condition? I appeal to your consci ences who pretend to be fenfible of fin, whether or not ye could live contentedly all your days in your prefent ftate, had ye but corn, and wine, and oil, all the neceffaries for a prefent life? I am fure most of you cannot but own, that ye would and could do fo; ye could easily digeft fin, and get rid of disturbance from that, if things in a world went well with you. A fad and fure fymptom is this that hitherto ye are not fenfible of fin, and therefore do not believe. Secondly, It prompts to diligent endeavours after falvation, as abfolutely neceffary. The fenfible finner, as he cannot reft and acquiefce with fatisfaction in his present condition, fo it makes him reftlefs in looking after relief.

All these things appear fo plain from what has formerly been difcourfed, in the explication of the feveral fcripture expreifions which point forth this duty, that it is needless to infift upon the proof of them by new fcriptures. And indeed, though the teftimonies alledged had not given fuch pregnant proof of this, the reafon of the thing itself will. difcover it to be indifpenfably neceffary to faith, that there be a diftinct, deep, and preffing fenfe of fin. For, (1.) Where there is only a confufed apprehenfion of danger, or indistinct notion of it, it confounds and difturbs the finner, and puts him perfectly out of cafe, to judge of the fuitablenefs of any relief that is offered to him. He knows not where the fore is; and therefore can neither know what would be ufeful, nor where to apply it. (2.) If impreffions of fin and danger be not deep, and amount to no more but fome notions floating in the brain, every thing will carry the mind off from the gofpel-relief, and take it to other things. Unless the affections be fome way or

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