should labour and watch that death might not find me out of the view of spiritual things. If it do, if our bellies cleave unto the dust, and our eyes are turned to the ground; if we are filled with other things, and death approaches, do you think it will be an easy thing to gather in your minds and affections to a compliance with it? You will not find it so. When David was in a good frame, he could say, 'Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth: O Lord, into thine hands I commit my spirit.' I am willing to come and lay down my tabernacle, and embrace this messenger. But David falls from his good frame, under some decays of spirit, Psal. xxxix. and there makes great complaint of it. Where is the readiness now of the good man, and where is his willingness of giving up his spirit into the hand of God? me a little that I may recover my strength,' ver. 13. outward strength, but a better frame, fit to die in. And if death overtake us in such a frame, the best of us will be found to cry so: 'O, spare me a little to recover my strength.' O, the entanglements that have been brought upon me by this and that temptation, and diversion; by this coldness and decay! O Lord, spare me a little. There is mercy with God for persons in this frame; but if it were the will of God, I had rather it should be, Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.'

Spare

Not his

P

SEVERAL PRACTICAL

CASES OF CONSCIENCE RESOLVED:

DELIVERED

IN SOME SHORT DISCOURSES

AT

CHURCH-MEETINGS.

DISCOURSE I.*

Question. WHAT conviction of a state of sin, and of the guilt of sin, is necessary to cause a soul sincerely to look after Christ?

Answer. There is one thing only that I shall at present speak to, and that is this: What is the lowest condition that hath the nature of conviction in sincerity, so as that souls may not be discouraged from closing with Christ, because they have had no greater convictions of sin? And I shall speak to it on this account; because, although the things that have already been spoken by others are true, and such as those who have spoken them have found to be true by the word, and their own experience; yet, it may be, others have not come up in their experience unto such a distinct observation of the work of conviction, as hath been laid down; that they may be discouraged. For seeing conviction is so indispensably necessary, some may say, it hath not been thus and thus with me, according as hath been declared. Therefore I would only shew what I judge to be so necessary, as that without it a soul cannot be supposed sincerely to have closed with Christ. And we having all made our profession of choosing and closing with Christ, as I would be loath to say any thing that might discourage any, lest they should have failed in the very necessary work of conviction; so I would not betray the truth of God, nor the souls of any.

Therefore I shall place it upon this: What Jesus Christ doth indispensably call men unto, in order to believing in him, that is indispensably required of them. And this I shall manifest out of two or three places of Scripture: Mark ii. 17. 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' Now this calling them unto repentance, is a calling them unto it by the faith which is in him. The apostle saith, 1 Tim i. 15. 'It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.' What kind of sinners doth Christ

* Delivered January 28, 1672.

call ? Whom he calls to repentance, he calls to faith; and whom he calls to faith, that they may truly believe; they are sinners, opposed unto them that are righteous: 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' The 'righteous:' Who are those righteous? The Scriptures tell us of these very men, that there were two sorts of them: First, Such as trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised other men. As long as a man trusteth in himself that he is righteous, Christ doth not call that man to believe. So long as a man is persuaded that his condition is good enough, he shall do well enough, that man hath no warrant to believe. Another description of these very persons, though upon another occasion, is given by the apostle Paul, Rom. x. 3. where he says, they were ignorant of the righteousness of God, and went about to establish their own righteousness.' Though they did not come to trust in themselves for righteousness; yet sought righteousness as it were by the works of the law, and went about to establish their own righteousness. Jesus Christ doth not call these men to believe: these righteous persons have no ground for believing. What is the conclusion? Lost sinners, saith Christ, this is that I require of you. So that this is what I assert to be indispensably necessary; namely, That they are so far convinced that they are sinners as to state and course, that they are not righteous in themselves, and can have no righteousness in themselves. I say, therefore, when a person is not really convinced that he is not righteous, he is not under the call of Jesus Christ: and if he doth believe this, he is under a sovereign dispensation, and let not such despond.

Another direction of Christ is, 'The whole need not the physician, but they that are sick;' Matt. ix. 12. There are in my apprehension two things in a sick person that have need of a physician: First, He hath an uneasiness. A man who is sick, though he would shift it, yet his uneasiness will cause him to send for a physician. Saith Christ, I come to such persons who say they can find no rest nor ease in their present condition. It may be, they have often tried this and that, and see all will not do, they are sick still ; conscience reflects, and their hearts are burdened, and they must have relief, or they shall not be free. Secondly, There