Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest

RULE. IV.

Fourthly, When thy Soul is making towards Christ, labour to keep him continually in thine Eye and look upon him in his excellency, Glory, and beauty, keep the object before thee all the while thou art coming towards him. As it is in any journey, if I am going to a place, and I can see the journeys end, it is in mine eye, I can see the steeple before me of the place that I am going unto; when the Mariner can see the harbour that he is going unto, this is comfortable. So the Soul that comes to Christ must resolve and say, I must keep him in mine Eye, in his lustre, Beauty, and Glory, that so I may see a greater good in Jesus Christ than in all things else, that the goodness that is in him, doth out-bid all good whatsoever. Now this is a great help to come to Christ: for one of the greatest hinderances of the Soul in coming to Christ, is this, that it looseth the sight of Christ in coming, and the Devil propounds other spectacles before its Eyes in coming, and so it looks into the deep pit of its own Heart, and sees no other matter but discouragement, whereas it should keep up its Eyes upon Christ the Son of God, who is opening his Arms ready to embrace it. And there is a secret power and influence that comes from Christ unto the Soul to draw the Soul to him. So long as the Soul keeps Christ ⟨p. 148⟩in his Eye, as the poor Woman said, If I can but touch the hem of his Garment; Nay; you may go further then so, and have a degree of Faith, Nay, If I may have but a sight of Christ, I say, there is that in the sight of Christ that will draw the Heart unto Jesus Christ. As they say of some kind of creatures, the very sight of them will kill a Man, that if they do but see you, or you them, there will come poison from them that will kill you, say the Naturalists. But I am sure it is true of this, that if you can keep Christ in your Eye, the very sight of the excellency of Christ, will be of excellent virtue to draw the Soul to Christ. And therefore you that are coming to Christ, observe this, some that are coming to Christ it fares with them, as with the Children of Israel when they were going to Canaan;