SECT. II. What is previously required of those that would believe on Christ Jesus.

III. WE come now to speak of the Third thing, which is previously required of those who are to perform this duty. Men must not rashly, inconsiderately, and ignorantly, rush in upon this matter, saying, they are pleased with that device of saving sinners by Christ, and will acquiesce and rest on him for safety. Often men do deceive themselves here, and do imagine that they have done the thing. We shall therefore hold out some things pre-required in a person who is to close with Christ Jesus; which; although we offer noir as positive qualifications, fitting a man for Christ that way: “Come—without money, and without price;” yet they are such things, as without them a man cannot knowingly and cordially perform the duty of believing on Christ Jesus.

Besides the common principles which are to be supposed in those who live under gospel-ordinances; as the knowledge that men have immortal souls; that soul and body will lie united again at the last day; that there is a heaven and hell, one of which will be the everlasting portion of all men; that the Old and New Testament is the true word of God, and the rule of faith and manners; that every man is by nature void of the grace of God, and is an enemy to God, and an heir of condemnation; that reconciliation is only by the Mediator Christ Jesus; that faith 178unites unto him, and is the condition of the new covenant; that holiness is the fruit of true faith, and is to be followed, as that without which no man shall see God; I say, besides these things, the knowledge of which is necessary, it is required of him who would believe on Christ Jesus,

First, That he take to heart his natural condition: and here he must know some things, and also be very serious about them; I say, he must know some things; as,

1. That as he was born a rebel and outlaw unto God, so he hath by many actual transgressions disobeyed God, and ratified the forfeiture of his favour: yea, a man should know many particular instances of his rebellion in every way; as that he is a liar, Sabbath-breaker, blasphemer, or the like; as Paul speaketh very particularly of himself afterwards: “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious.”

2. The man must know that the wrath of God, denounced in Scripture, is standing in force against those very sins of which he is guilty, and so, consequently, he is the party undoubtedly against whom God, who cannot lie, hath denounced war. A man must know, that when the Scripture saith, “Cursed is he that offereth a corrupt thing unto God,” it speaketh against him for his superficial service performed unto God with the outward man, when his heart was far off. When the word saith, “The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,” the man must know it speaketh against himself, who hath often carelessly profaned that dreadful 179name, before which all knees should bow,” and “which his enemies do take in vain.” When the word saith, “Cursed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently,” the man must know that it speaks against himself, who hath irreverently, with much wandering of heart and drowsiness, heard the word preached; and without sense, faith, or understanding, hath often prayed before him. When the word saith, “Woe be unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, and putteth his bottle to him, to make him drunk also, that he may look on his nakedness,” the man must know that it is spoken against himself, who hath gloried in making his neighbour drunk, and that dreadful wrath is determined by the Lord against him, according to that Scripture. When the word saith, “God will judge unclean persons,” and will exclude them from the “New Jerusalem, and they shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone,” the man must know that the Scripture speaketh these very words against him, he being an unclean person; so that he is the person against whom the curses of the law do directly strike.

3. A man must know that he hath nothing of his own to procure his peace, and to set him free from the hazard under which he lieth; because “all his righteousness is as an unclean thing.” His prayers, his other service done to God, his alms-deeds, &c. are not acceptable before God, since they came not from a right principle in his heart, and were not performed in a right way, nor upon a right account, nor for a right end; his “sacrifices have been an abomination unto God.”

4. He must know, that as he is void of all the saving graces of the Spirit, as the true love of God, the true fear of his naive, godly sorrow for sin, &c. so particularly, that he wants faith in Christ, who taketh away the sins of all them who believe on him. Until a man know this, he will still leave all his debt and burden, without care or regard any where else, before he bring it to the surety.

Now, not only must a man know these things, as I said before, but must also very seriously take them to heart; that is to say, he must be affected with these things, and be in real earnest about them, as he useth to be in other cases, in which he useth to be most serious; yea, he should be more in earnest here, than in other cases, because it is of greater concern unto him. This seriousness produces,

1st, A taking of salvation to heart more than any thing else. Shall men be obliged to “seek first the kingdom of God?” Is there but “one thing necessary?” Shall Paul “count all things loss and dung” for this matter? Is a man a gainer, “gaining all the world, if he lose his soul?” Shall this, be the only ground of joy, “that men’s names are written in the book of life?” and shall not men, who would be reckoned serious, take their soul and salvation more to heart than any thing else? Surely it cannot fail. Let none deceive themselves. If the hazard of their soul, and the salvation thereof, and how to be in favour with God, hath not gone nearer to their heart than any thing in the world beside, it cannot be presumed, upon just grounds, that they ever know sin or God, or the eternity of his wrath, aright.

2d, This seriousness breaks the man’s heart, and makes the stoutness of it faint, and leads it out to sorrow, as one doth for a first-born. I grant their sorrow will better suit that Scripture afterwards, when they apprehend Christ pierced by their sins.

3d, It leads the man to a self-loathing: A man taking up himself so, cannot but loathe himself for his abominations, whereby he hath destroyed himself. There is somewhat of that spirit of revenge, which is mentioned as a fruit of true repentance: “This self-same thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you—yea, what revenge?”

4th, This seriousness makes the man peremptory to find relief; since it is not in himself, he dare not put off and delay his business as before: and this is indeed required, that he find himself so pursued and urged to it, that he flee for refuge somewhere. I grant some have a higher and some a lesser degree of this seriousness, as we showed in the former part of this Treatise: but if we speak of the Lord’s ordinary way of working with those who are come to age, we say, they must very seriously take their soul’s state to heart, despairing of help in themselves, “since the whole need not a physician, but those who are sick.” As for the measure, we plead only that which probably supposes that a man will be induced thereby to transact cordially with Christ, on any terms he offers himself to be closed with.

The second thing pre-required of him who would believe on Christ Jesus is, he must know and take to heart the way of escape from God’s wrath: the 182Spirit must convince him of that righteousness. Here a man must understand somewhat distinctly, that God hath devised a way to save poor lost man by Jesus Christ, whose perfect righteousness hath satisfied offended justice, and procured pardon and everlasting favour to all those whom he persuadeth, by this gospel, to accept of God’s offer: “Be it known unto you therefore—that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things.” “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” So that no person is excluded, of whatsoever rank or condition, whatsoever hath been his former way, unless he be guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is a malicious hatred and rejection of the remedy appointed for sinners, as we shall hear: for, all manner of sin is forgiven unto those who accept of the offer in God’s way: “He is able to save to the uttermost those that come unto God through him.”

The third thing pre-required is, A man must know, that as God hath net excluded him from the relief appointed, so he is willing to be reconciled unto men through Christ, and hath obliged men to close with him through Christ Jesus, and so to appropriate that salvation to themselves. He not only invites all to come—“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price,”—and welcometh all that come, as we find in the gospel, and 183commandeth those who come as the centurion, and the woman of Canaan, and chideth for not coming and closing with him: “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life;” and condemneth for not closing so with him: “He that believeth not is condemned already;” but also he commandeth all to believe on Christ: “This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ.” So that a man is not to question the Lord’s willingness to receive men who go to Christ honestly, for God hath abundantly cleared that in Scripture. Unless a man know so much, he will scarcely dare to lay his heart open for that noble device of saving sinners, or adventure the whole weight of his salvation upon Christ Jesus.

The fourth thing pre-required is, The man who would close with Christ Jesus must resolve to break all covenants with hell and death: “Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.” Whatsoever known evil men are engaged in, they must resolve to forego it: “for there is no concord between Christ and Belial.” The Lord requireth that they who would expect “him to be for them, should not be for another.” This is far from evangelical repentance, which I grant doth not precede a man’s closing with Christ by faith there is little here beyond a disregard of these things to which a man was formerly devoted, and a slighting what he was mad 184upon, because he seeth himself destroyed thereby, and relief now offered: upon which his heart begins to be more intent than formerly it was. After this, when Christ is looked upon alone, his worth and beauty doth appear, so that among all the gods there is none like unto him, and he appeareth as a sufficient covering of the eyes to all who get him: upon which the heart loves God’s device in the new covenant, and loves to lay its weight upon Christ rather than any other way, bending towards him; and so the man becomes a believer.

Now, I will not say that all these things of which we have spoken, are formally, orderly, and distinctly, found in every person before he close with God in Christ; for the way of the heart with Christ may be added to “the four wonderful things.” It is difficult to trace the heart in its translation from darkness to light; yet we hold out the most ordinary and likely way to him who asks the way; debarring thereby ignorant and senseless persons from meddling, and discharging them to pretend to any interest in him while they remain such.