Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest

First: Then hence will follow, That it is not any degree of trouble for sin, how much soever one hath been troubled for sin, or how little soever that gives them interest, or not interest in Christ. I say, it is not the measure of it; for certainly if we could come to Christ without any burden or sense of our sin; if it were possible that we could come to Christ (I say) without any such being burdened for sin, we might; but because that Jesus Christ doth work upon the heart in a rational way, as a rational Creature, although he doth work above Reason, and conveys supernatural Grace that is beyond Reason; yet still he doth work upon the heart as a Rational Creature. Now therefore the work of Reason must be made subservient to the work of Gods Grace, usually, when the Lord works upon a soul, he makes use of the work of Reason, to make that subservient to the Work of his Grace. Now because no man can come to a Saviour, but he must know what need he hath of a Saviour; therefore if I come to Christ as a Saviour to save my soul from sin, I must apprehend what sin is, that I may be sensible of it.

First: Then hence will follow, That it is not any degree of trouble for sin, how much soever one hath been troubled for sin, or how little soever that gives them interest, or not interest in Christ. I say, it is not the measure of it; for certainly if we could come to Christ without any burden or sence of our sin; if it were possible that we could come to Christ (I say) without any such being burdened for sin, we might; but because that Jesus Christ doth work upon the heart in a rational way, as a rational Creature, although he doth work above Reason, and conveys supernatural Grace that is beyond Reason; yet still he doth work upon the heart as a Rational Creature. Now therefore the work of Reason must be made subservient to the work of Gods Grace, usually, when the Lord works upon a soul, he makes use of the work of Reason, to make that subservient to the Work of his Grace. Now because no man can come to a Savior, but he must know what need he hath of a Savior; therefore if I come to Christ as a Savior to save my soul from sin, I must apprehend what sin is, that I may be sensible of it.

Secondly: If God doth work upon the soul as a Rational Creature, then he makes use of this to be a means to stop the soul in the course of sin; for before the sinner is made sensible of the evil of his sin, he goes on in a full career as it were, and nothing will stop him in his course. But now when the soul comes to be thus burdened, the