The Soul's Preparation for Christ

The third ground is this, and the cunningest of all, and that is this; provided the soul be content to be ruled by the Lord Jesus, and to submit unto him, yet here is another deceit of the soul of a poor sinner, that would join something with Christ, for the helping of him in that great work of salvation, and this I take to be the complaint of sinners, and sometime broken hearted ones too; they dare not go to expect mercy from the Lord Jesus. Why? why? because they are unworthy, so abominable their lives, so wretched their courses, that they dare not go to Christ, that he may show mercy to them. I reason the point thus; is it because of your unworthiness that you dare not go to Christ? so then, if you had worthiness, this would encourage you for to go: Why then, you think Christ is not able alone to help you, but you would have your worthiness help Christ to save you, and so you would join with the Lord Jesus in this great price of Salvation and Redemption: If your sins were but small, and you had some worthiness, that so Christ might ⟨p. 120⟩do something, and your worthiness do something, and so you might make up the price between you, then you could be content to go to Christ, but otherwise you think you may not go to Christ, without some worthiness of your own; Again, why then (belike) you […] be beholden to Christ for so much mercy, and so much grace, and so much forgiveness: one of these two must needs be the ground of this complaint, either we would have our own worthiness join something with Christ, or else we are so vile that we will not be beholden to Christ for so much mercy; but this unworthiness indeed is nothing else but pride, a man will not be beholden to Christ for so much mercy, but he will share with Christ in the matter of salvation, or else he will not be partaker of the great work of redemption.

The third ground is this, and the cunningest of all, and that is this; provided the soule be content to be ruled by the Lord Jesus, and to submit unto him, yet here is another deceit of the soule of a poore sinner, that would joyne something with Christ, for the helping of him in that great worke of salvation, and this I take to be the complaint of sinners, and sometime broken hearted ones too; they dare not goe to expect mercy from the Lord Jesus. Why? why? because they are unworthy, so abominable their lives, so wretched their courses, that they dare not goe to Christ, that he may shew mercy to them. I reason the point thus; is it because of your unworthinesse that you dare not goe to Christ? so then, if you had worthinesse, this would incourage you for to goe: Why then, you thinke Christ is not able alone to helpe you, but you would have your worthinesse helpe Christ to save you, and so you would joyne with the Lord Jesus in this great price of Salvation and Redemption: If your sinnes were but small, and you had some worthinesse, that so Christ might