t from discovered sin and
misery, pass straightway over to the grace and mercy of Christ, without
any intervening search of something in himself to warrant him to come.
There should be nothing before the eye of the soul but sin, and misery and
absolute necessity, compared with superabounding grace and righteousness
in Christ; and thus it singly devolves itself over upon Christ, and
receives him as offered freely, "without money and without price." I know
it is not possible that a soul can receive Christ till there be some
preparatory convincing work of the law, to discover sin and misery. But I
hold, that to look to any such preparation, and fetch an encouragement or
motive therefrom, to believe in Christ is really to give him a price for
his free waters and wine,--it is to mix in together Christ and the law, in
the point of our acceptation. And for souls to go about to seek
preparations,--for a time resolving not at all to consider the promise of
the gospel, till they have found them, and satisfaction in them, is
nothing else but to go about to establish their own righteousness, being
ignorant of the righteousness of Christ. And therefore many do corrupt the
simplicity of the gospel, by rigid exactions of preparations, and measures
of them, and by making them conditions or restrictions of gospel commands
and promises; as in this, "Come ye that are wearied." And from thence they
seem to exclude persons not so qualified, from having a warrant to
believe. Alas! it is a great mistake of these and such words. Certainly
these are not set down on purpose to exclude any who will come,--for,
"whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," but rather to
encourage such wearied and broken souls as conceive themselves to be the
only persons excluded, and to declare unto us in some measure, the nature
of true faith, that a soul must be beaten out of itself, ere it can come
to Christ. Therefore, I conclude, that not only is it a ridiculous and
foolish conceit of many Christians that use to object against
believing,--if I were as such and such a person, if I did love God, if I
had these fruits of the Spirit, if I walked according to the Spirit, then
I might believe. Alas! how directly opposite is this to the terms of the
gospel! I say, if thou place satisfaction in these, and from that ground
come to Jesus Christ, then thou dost not come really,--thou dost indeed
establish thine own righteousness. Doth any saint, though ever so