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Is there any not needy? Alas! many think so, but none is so. Will you come for hunger and want? A sensible hunger, a sense and sight of need, an appetite after grace and mercy, is an alms that Christ can give; and many professors want it sadly.

3. The command is universal, to all that hear it.

apostle saith, Rom. iii. 19. These things saith the law to them that are under the law; so I may say, This saith the gospel to all under the sound of it, Gome to the throne of grace. It is no indifferent thing. God commands all men to come. Believing (that is, coming) is commanded, 1 John iii. 23. Are you afraid to come? Have not I commanded you? Josh. i. 9. as God spake to the Captain of Israel. Will men own God's authority in the law, and deny it in the gospel? Is he not the same God in both? He that commands you to have no other gods besides him, doth command you to believe on his Son Jesus, who is the true God, and eternal life, 1 John v. 20. If coming to the throne of grace were not commanded, not coming to it were no sin; and who dare say so? Not believing on Jesus Christ is the great gospel-sin, because believing on him is the great gospel-duty and work, John vi. 29. "Object. But I am afraid he commands not me; others he may command, but not such a vile dead creature as I am.

Ans. Are you worse than some he hath commanded? Jer. ii. 1, 4, 5. Thou hast played the harlot with may lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord. Such a practice in your land would greatly defile it, saith the Lord; but such acts of grace become the throne of grate. Are you worse than poor, and blind, and miserable, and wretched, and naked? Yet the king of this throne commands them to come to him, though he sweetly calls it counsel, Rev. iii. 17, 18. And in it we may join his two names, Wonderful, Counsellor, Isa. ix. 6.

Object. 2. But Christ calls and invites them that are weary and heavy laden, Matth. xi. 28. and the thirsty, Isa. lv. 1. and I am not such; and therefore he commands not me to

come.

Ans: 1. Do you expect any grace but at this throne of grace? Think you to work it out in yourselves, and come to him for more? or to get the beginning somewhere else,

and then come to Christ for the rest? This bewrays your pride, and ignorance of the entire corruption of your nature, and of your impotency to any good. This frame discovers your ignorance of the nature of the grace of God, that consists in its freedom; as its glory is, in its being the original cause of all good done for us, and wrought in us, or by us.

Ans. 2. Christ never bid any man be or do any thing without him, and then come to him, and he would do more for him. Christ calls men as he finds them, and then makes them what he would have them: He begins the good work in them, and performs it, Phil. i. 6.

Ans. 3. These and many such like calls and invitations do not limit and restrain the universality of the gospel-command, but do graciously apply it to such cases wherein they that are, are apt to think that they are specially excepted. What is more common than such arguings of unbelief: I have a vast load of sin lying on me; I have spent my time, and strength, and money, on sin and vanity; I have been wearied in the greatness of my way of departing from the Lord, and therefore the Lord will not receive me? Therefore such are named particularly by the Lord, and specially called.

Therefore let no man, whatsoever he hath been, or is, think, that he is not commanded to come to this throne of grace. Take the command, lay it on your conscience, give obedience to it; take the command for your warrant, and never fear but you shall be welcome. Can your soul say, Lord, no man out of hell is more needy of thy saving grace than I, no sinner more unworthy of it than I; yet, because thou commandest me to come, I come to beg, and to receive? He will sweetly receive you: Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out, John vi. 37. A text that hath been an anchor-hold to many a sinking sinner.

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4. All should come to the throne of grace, because of the universality, vast extent, and indefiniteness of the promise of welcome to all that come. The command of God is rant and ground for our obedience, and the promise is a ground for confidence. The promise is God's great mean

for working faith; faith is the impression God makes on the soul of a man by the promise. When God takes the promise of the gospel, and applies it with the power of his grace upon the soul, it leaves an abiding mark and signature; and that is faith. The promise comes as the promise of a faithful God, who cannot lye, of a great salvation, to a great sinner. When the sinner sees and feels the truth and goodness of this promise, he believes. This promise of God is to be preached to all that hear the gospel; or rather, this promise is the gospel; the Lord will make it effectual as he seeth good. The apostle Peter encouraged such men to come to the throne of grace, who, if ever any in the world should have been kept back, it should have been they; a crew of the bloody murderers of the Son of God. But the word preached by Peter takes hold of their souls, and they cry out, What shall we do? No wonder they said so, when the cry of Christ's blood was in their consciences. The apostle saith to them, Acts ii. 38. Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, &c. Their sin was very great, peculiar to them only; none before or after them were guilty of this. The cry of innocent blood is a dreadful cry. But this was more than all the murders ever committed in the world. It was the murdering the Son of God, it was slaying the Prince of life; it was all that the devil and wicked world could do, to cut the throat of the gospel, and of all the elect of God: and this wicked act was done against Christ, because he taught that he was the Son of God, and that he came from the Father to be the Saviour of the world. Yet, saith the apostle to them, Repent, and be baptized in his name, for the remission of that sin; you that have been dipped in his blood, and so dreadfully guilty by the shedding of it, be baptized in his name, for the remission of that guilt, and of all others. This calling for repenting of their guilt of Christ's blood, was plainly a requiring of faith in him; not only that he was the Lord Christ they had slain in their unbelief, but that pardon, in the virtue of that blood, might be had by them, on their betaking themselves to him by faith. So did the same apostle preach to

the council, Acts v. 28, 31. when he and his brethren were charged by the high-priest, for filling Jerusalem with the doctrine of Christ, and intending to bring his blood upon them: Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. He directs them to look to Christ as the giver of repentance for, and of forgiveness of all their sins; not excluding, but by, ver. 30. plainly including the greatest of all their sins, their slaying of Christ, and hanging him on a tree: and this they did with wicked hands, Acts ii. 23. and with hearts as wicked as their hands. Yet, thus did Peter preach Christ. So well did he remember his Lord's command, Luke xxiv. 47. That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. His argument is, Acts ii. 39. For the promise is to you, and to your children. Had they not slain the neir, and foundation of all the promises? Had they not done as much as men could do, to forfeit all interest in the promise? Yes; but Peter still invites them to the throne of grace, by an interest yet in the promise. The promise of grace and salvation by Jesus Christ, is the rope and cord that God casts out to sinking sinners: it is equally in the offer of all in the gospel. It is true, that the Lord means and designs it to some particular persons; but that design is secret, and utterly unknown to all, till the promise itself be apprehended by faith, or finally rejected by unbelief. See Jer. xxxviii. 7-14. Ebed-melech let down a rope to draw Jeremiah out of the dungeon by. The cords could never have pulled him up, unless the prophet had put them under him, and unless his friend had drawn him up. He did so, and ventures on this mean of escape. He ventures on the strength of the cord, and on the trustiness of his friend. If either of them had failed him, he might have fallen down, and broke his neck; or stuck still in the mire, and starved in the pit. The case is so here. The promise of salvation is a great security; but it is so only to them that cast themselves on it, and trust to it. Whoever will trust God's promise in Christ, will find, that it is able to bear all their weight, if it were never so great. Therefore lay this warm promise to thy cold heart, and, by the Lord's

blessing, life and warmth will come in. Try the strength of the promise, by casting all thy burden on it; and it will never sink under thee, nor thou perish by its failing. Christians think, that the promises of God are a blessed charter, (and so indeed they are); but few mind the promises as God's tendered and offered security to men; whereby, as means, he works faith in his chosen; and, by the offer of them to all in the gospel, leaves unbelievers inexcusable. Sinners perish under the gospel, not because there is no cord of salvation cast out to them, but because they either love the pit they are in, or cannot trust God's faithful promise of salvation by Christ for their delivery.

So much of the first thing, the proving that all ought to come to the throne of grace, or to God in Christ sitting on it. God is not otherwise approachable; universal need of this throne, and of the blessings given at it; an universal call and command of God to come; an universal promise to all that do come; all prove that all men should come.

II. But though it be the duty of all to come, yet but few do come. We would therefore see who they be that will come to the throne of grace. Of such we have two words.

1. Such as are given of the Father to the Son; all they, and they only, will come to this throne of grace: All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me, saith Christ, John vi. 37. Ye believe not; because ye are not of my sheep, John x. 26. The high spring of all the effectual calling and coming of men to Christ is this; They that are ordained to eternal life, believe, and none but they. It would be very unfit, that the book of life should be opened to, and read by any preacher of the gospel. I think not that ever any apostle had it opened to them with respect to others, so that they should be able, when looking on the multitude they preached to, to say, These are appointed for eternal life, and these passed by. But they being happily in the dark as to this secret purpose of God, did offer salvation through Jesus Christ to all that heard them. So Paul, Acts xiii. 38, 39. Be it known unto you, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe, are justified from all things, from which ye could

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