Christian directions, showing how to walk with God all the day long drawn up…Christian directions, shewing how to walk with God all the day long drawn up…

9 Others bottom their hope of Salvation upon the Mercy of God. They will confess themselves to be poor, wretched, sinful Creatures, but they hope the mercy of God will pardon their sins, and accept their poor services. Thus many make the Mercy of God to eke out their own righteousness, and so both put together they think will be a means of atonement and reconciliation with God, yea and of obtaining eternal life and salvation. But such do wonderfully mistake the proper work of Gods Mercy, which is not to eke out our righteousness, but to show us our unrighteousness and misery, and then to show us Jesus Christ, the perfection of his righteousness, the all-sufficiency of his Sacrifice, with his willingness to receive all poor Sinners that will come unto him, and then to stir up our hearts to receive Jesus Christ as our Priest, Prophet, and King, and to rest upon him for life and for salvation. And thus might I go on, showing you the many false and rotten foundations upon which the greatest part of men do build their hopes of Salvation; whereas in truth Christ is the only true solid foundation, whereon we can safely build the hope of our Salvation.¹ And therefore saith the Apostle, Other foundation can no man lay, th•• that is laid, the Lord Jesus Christ; intimating Christ to be the only true foundation. So that he is the wise Christian that builds ⟨p. 161⟩his hope of salvation only upon that rock the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I pass from the first fundamental Principle to the second, namely,

9 Others bottom their hope of Salvation upon the Mercy of God. They will confess themselves to be poor, wretched, sinful Creatures, but they hope the mercy of God will pardon their sins, and accept their poor services. Thus many make the Mercy of God to eik out their own righteousness, and so both put together they think will be a means of attonement and reconciliation with God, yea and of obtaining eternal life and salvation. But such doe wonderfully mistake the proper work of Gods Mercy, which is not to eik out our righteousness, but to shew us our unrighteousness and misery, and then to shew us Jesus Christ, the perfection of his righteousness, the all-sufficiency of his Sacrifice, with his willingness to receive all poor Sinners that will come unto him, and then to stirre up our hearts to receive Jesus Christ as our Priest, Prophet, and King, and to rest upon him for life and for salvation. And thus might I goe on, shewing you the many false and rotten foundations upon which the greatest part of men doe build their hopes of Salvation; whereas in truth Christ is the only true solid foundation, whereon we can safely build the hope of our Salvation.